Al-Isrāʾ 32

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This axis gathers 5 places where this verse is used in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.

The verse text as cited

And do not approach adultery; indeed, it has always been a lewd act and an evil way.

Brief reading

Shahrur uses it to distinguish between forms of lewdness and adultery, and makes the prohibition on approaching adultery a prohibition of its preliminaries as well.

Axes

  • Legislative
  • Human and ethical
  • adultery: 3
  • lewdness: 2
  • chastity: 2
  • approaching: 2

Its place in the conceptual network

It is connected to his distinction between the act and its near boundaries, and the judgment upon its public form.

The verse’s role in the argument

  • Support: 2
  • Context: 1
  • Example: 1
  • Distinction: 1

Summary of its presence in the atlas

  • The prohibition on approaching adultery
  • Distinguishing lewdness from adultery
  • Its presence in the near boundaries of the act

Usage instances

  • Islam and Faith, p. 51: He employs it to distinguish lewdness from adultery, and to add the description “an evil way” to the public act that warrants the legal penalty.
    • Concept: lewdness
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual evidence: «{And do not approach adultery; indeed, it has always been a lewd act and an evil way} (al-Isrāʾ 32).»
  • Islam and Faith, p. 208: He brings it in to contrast adultery with the prohibition of marrying one’s fathers’ wives, and to affirm that the Qur’an distinguishes between forms of lewdness.
    • Concept: adultery
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual evidence: «{And do not approach adultery; indeed, it has always been a lewd act and an evil way} (al-Isrāʾ 32).»
  • The Messengerly Sunna and the Prophetic Sunna, p. 48: He counts it among the prohibitions that fall under wisdom, not under an independent Sunna.
    • Concept: chastity
    • Function of the verse here: Context
    • Textual evidence: «And about adultery (al-Isrāʾ 32)»
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 110: He cites it to clarify that the prohibition on approaching adultery is also a prohibition of its preliminaries and its near boundaries.
    • Concept: approaching
    • Function of the verse here: Example
    • Textual evidence: «- { And do not approach adultery; indeed, it has always been a lewd act and an evil way } (al-Isrāʾ 32).»
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, pp. 111-112: He makes it a model for the command to prevent approaching an act that requires prior intention and planning, not mere avoidance.
    • Concept: adultery
    • Function of the verse here: Distinction
    • Textual evidence: «{ And do not approach adultery; indeed, it has always been a lewd act and an evil way } (al-Isrāʾ 32).»

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

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