This verse recurs in Shahrur’s project because it combines fulfillment of the covenant with the protection of the orphan’s property, and for him both are foundational ethical injunctions. It is central for him because it makes practical responsibility part of the text itself, not an addition to it.
The verse as it appears
And fulfill the covenant, for the covenant will be called to account
Brief reading
Shahrur understands the verse as a prohibition against approaching the orphan’s property except in the best manner, while linking that to fulfillment of the covenant. From this perspective, he treats it as evidence that ethics in the Revelation are not merely general meanings, but clear obligations touching wealth and responsibility.
Axes
- Human and ethical
- Legislative
- Methodological
Related concepts
- orphan: 3
- orphan’s property: 2
- covenants: 1
- the covenant and the orphan: 1
- language and jurisprudence: 1
- approaching: 1
- covenant: 1
- fulfillment: 1
Its place in the network of concepts
The verse is connected to the orphan, the orphan’s property, covenants, and fulfillment. It is central because it links ethics, guardianship, and practical right, and gives his project an example of attention to vulnerable sites and commitment.
The role of the verse in the argument
- Support: 2
- Example: 2
- Context: 1
- Foundation: 1
- Critique of the heritage: 1
Summary of its presence in the atlas
- Protecting the orphan’s property
- Fulfilling the covenant
- One of the sites of ethical injunctions
Instances of use
- Islam and Faith, p. 23: He relies on it to establish that fulfilling the covenant is an innate value and an ethical responsibility.
- Concept: covenants
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual evidence: «- {وَأَوْفُوا بِالْعُهُودِ إِنَّ الْعُهُودَ كَانَ مَسْئُولًا} (al-Isra’ 34).»
- Islam and Faith, p. 23: He cites it to show that caring for the orphan’s property is at the heart of ethical ideals and social justice.
- Concept: orphan
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual evidence: «- {وَلا تَقْرَبُوا مَالَ الْيَتِيمِ إِلَّا بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ…} (al-Isra’ 34).»
- The Messengerly Sunna and the Prophetic Sunna, p. 48: He cites it in enumerating the ethical injunctions that he understands within wisdom.
- Concept: orphan
- Function of the verse here: Context
- Textual evidence: «And regarding approaching the orphan’s property except in the best manner (al-Isra’ 34)»
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 463: He brings together the sixth injunction and the ninth injunction there, and makes it a basis for holding the guardian accountable and for the obligation of fulfilling the covenant.
- Concept: the covenant and the orphan
- Function of the verse here: Foundation
- Textual evidence: «And indeed the four injunctions have come… in the following verses: {وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا مَالَ الْيَتِيمِ… وَأَوْفُوا بِالْعَهْدِ…}»
- Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 94: He uses it to reject confining the understanding of the verse to occasions of revelation or to complex grammatical rules, stressing the clarity of its general meaning.
- Concept: language and jurisprudence
- Function of the verse here: Critique of the heritage
- Textual evidence: «If that is the case, do you mean that the Almighty’s قوله – تعالى –: { وَلا تَقْرَبُوا مَالِ اليتِيمِ إِلَّا بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ } (al-Isra’ 34) …»
- Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 110: He places it under the heading of prohibition of approaching, meaning prohibition of direct handling, within a radical analysis of the root “q-r-b”.
- Concept: approaching
- Function of the verse here: Example
- Textual evidence: «- { وَلا تَقْرَبُوا مَالَ الْيَتِيمِ إِلَّا بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ } (al-Isra’ 34).»
- Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 110: He uses it among the examples of “do not approach” to confirm that the prohibition of approaching is linked to what is within reach and close to action.
- Concept: orphan’s property
- Function of the verse here: Example
- Textual evidence: «- { وَلا تَقْرَبُوا مَالَ الْيَتِيمِ إِلَّا بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ } (al-Isra’ 34).»
Related books
- Islam and Faith
- The Messengerly Sunna and the Prophetic Sunna
- The Book and the Qur’an
- Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence
This page is presented within the general methodology of atlas construction.