This thematic node brings together 3 instances of the use of this verse in the books of Muhammad Shahrur, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
The Text of the Verse as Cited
Has your Lord then singled you out for sons and taken females from among the angels? Indeed, you are uttering a grave statement.
Reader’s Answer
The Question
How does Muhammad Shahrur employ Qur’an 17:40 in his discussion of depicting angels as female?
Shahrur employs the verse in The State and Society within a historical framework he calls the “Age of Motherhood.” He says that early human consciousness was centered on the mother, and that it was therefore not surprising for angels to be depicted or to appear in female form. In this context, the verse is invoked as evidence of the attribution of femininity to angels, not as a Qur’anic affirmation that this attribution is correct; the text itself rejects this statement and describes it as a “grave statement.”
Shahrur cites Qur’an 17:40 in the context of his interpretation of the conception of angels in what he calls the “Age of Motherhood.” He links the possibility of depicting angels or their appearing in female form to humanity’s prior awareness of the female as mother, and to the absence of awareness of the father in his account of that stage.
Citation and Location
The State and Society — p. 79.
Limits of the Reading
- The available citation establishes that Shahrur made this connection in his book, but it does not provide independent proof for the proposed dating of the Age of Motherhood or for its anthropological details.
- It is not valid to attribute to the Qur’an the assertion that angels are female; the verse is phrased as an explicit rejection of this attribution.
- The citation from Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence does not address Qur’an 17:40 and therefore cannot support an interpretation of this verse.
- The occurrence of the verse in Qur’anic Narratives, vol. 2 concerns the meaning of banīn (“sons”) and does not in itself support linking the verse to the Age of Motherhood.
Continue From Here
Brief Reading
The verse is invoked to critique traditional conceptions concerning the form of angels and to relate them to the ancient context of motherhood.
Axes
- Narrative and historical
- Linguistic and semantic
Related Concepts
- Motherhood: 2
- Sons: 2
- Angels: 2
Its Place in the Network of Concepts
It is connected to a historical reading of mental images and to an understanding of the semantic significance of words in their context.
The Verse’s Role in the Argument
- Critique of tradition: 2
- Support: 1
Contexts of Use
- The State and Society, p. 79: He uses it to affirm that ancient consciousness was associated with the female/mother, such that depicting angels in female form was understandable in that context.
- Concept: Motherhood
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual citation: “For this reason, we find His saying—exalted is He—: {Has your Lord then singled you out for sons and taken females from among the angels? Indeed, you are uttering a grave statement} (Al-Isra’ 40).”
- Qur’anic Narratives, vol. 2, p. 51: He employs it alongside Qur’an 16:72 to affirm that the discussion here concerns structure/composition, not merely the meaning of male children.
- Concept: Sons
- Function of the verse here: Critique of tradition
- Textual citation: “And in His saying, exalted is He: {Has your Lord then singled you out for sons and taken females from among the angels…} (Al-Isra’ 40).”
- Corresponding traditional reading: male children
- Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, pp. 130–131: He cites it to critique the belief that angels are female, within the debate over the Age of Motherhood and Fatherhood.
- Concept: Angels
- Function of the verse here: Critique of tradition
- Textual citation: “{Has your Lord then singled you out for sons and taken females from among the angels …} (Al-Isra’ 40).”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.