An-Na‘am 151

3 min read

This hub gathers 5 instances of the use of this verse in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.

The verse as quoted

And do not kill your children for poverty…

Brief reading

The verse is used to establish ethical and legal limits related to parents, killing, abortion, and lewd acts.

Hubs

  • Human and ethical
  • Legal
  • Poverty: 2
  • Honoring parents: 2
  • Abortion: 2
  • Lewd acts: 2
  • Prohibitions: 2

Its place in the network of concepts

It is connected through combining ethical guidance with a specific prohibition in particular cases.

The verse’s role in the argument

  • Establishing: 3
  • Supporting: 1
  • Distinguishing: 1

Summary of its presence in the atlas

  • Honoring parents and prohibition
  • Killing children because of poverty
  • Its presence in lewd acts and abortion

Pages in the atlas that refer to this verse

These links gather the pages that rely on the verse or make it part of the argument within the atlas.

Instances of use

  • Islam and Human: Used as evidence for the prohibition of killing children after birth out of fear of poverty, and for the idea that provision comes from God.
    • Concept: Poverty
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual evidence: «{ … and do not kill your children for poverty … }»
  • State and Society, p. 45: Presents the verse as a foundational ethical point for humanity’s transition from natural habit to ethical awareness, linking honoring parents to monotheism.
    • Concept: Honoring parents
    • Function of the verse here: Establishing
    • Textual evidence: «In the commandments (al-Furqan), the injunction {and to parents, good treatment} came immediately after His, exalted be He, قوله: {do not associate anything with Him} (An-Na‘am 151).»
  • The Book and the Qur’an, p. 456: Makes it the text of specific prohibition of abortion due to financial need, restricting it to the case of poverty and no other.
    • Concept: Abortion
    • Function of the verse here: Establishing
    • Textual evidence: «God has prohibited killing a child in one case only, which is poverty, as He said: {And do not kill your children for poverty}»
  • Guide to the Contemporary Reading of the Wise Revelation, p. 49: Uses it to show that the prohibition of lewd acts in the form “do not approach” refers to deliberate, intentional acts.
    • Concept: Lewd acts
    • Function of the verse here: Distinguishing
    • Textual evidence: «It is used for matters that we intend with prior insistence and awareness, such as lewd acts; we do not encounter them unintentionally, but rather seek them out in their places: { … and do not approach lewd acts … } (An-Na‘am 151).»
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 153: Makes it an entry point for counting the prohibitions in the Revelation, and for distinguishing between the stage of commandments and the stage of prohibition.
    • Concept: Prohibitions
    • Function of the verse here: Establishing
    • Textual evidence: «Then its rank was raised in the Muhammadan messengerhood to become prohibitions, as in His, exalted be He, قوله: {Say, come, I will recite what your Lord has forbidden to you}»

This page is presented within the general method of building the atlas.

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Muhammad Shahrur Atlas