Al-Baqarah 180

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This verse recurs in Shahrur because it is among the loci of the bequest, which he makes into an independent legislative principle, not a ruling appended to the chapter of inheritance or annulled by it. Through it, he links obligation to capacity, and opens his critique of the inherited understanding of the issue of abrogation.

Verse text as cited

It is prescribed for you, when death approaches one of you …

Brief reading

The verse appears in his view to establish that the bequest stands on its own, and that the obligation within it is inseparable from human ability and capacity. It is therefore read in direct relation to inheritance, but it does not dissolve into it nor is it annulled in its favor.

Axes

  • Legislative
  • Human and ethical
  • Methodological
  • The bequest: 7
  • Obligation: 2

Its place in the network of concepts

The verse is connected to the bequest, obligation, capacity, and critique of abrogation. It is important because it gives Shahrur an entry point for reordering the relationship between the bequest and inheritance within the structure of the text.

The verse’s role in the argument

  • Foundation: 4
  • Critique of tradition: 2
  • Support: 1

Summary of its presence in the atlas

  • The bequest is an independent legislative principle.
  • The obligation in it is tied to capacity.
  • It appears in the critique of the claim that the bequest has been annulled.

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.

Uses

  • The messengerly Sunna and the prophetic Sunna, p. 53: He uses the closing phrase of the verse to affirm that the bequest is a fixed right and an obligation upon the Godfearing, so for him it cannot be subject to abrogation.
    • Concept: The bequest
    • Function of the verse here: Critique of tradition
    • Textual evidence: “Those who said so were mistaken, because the end of the verse escaped them, from His saying, exalted is He, {… A right upon the Godfearing} al-Baqarah 180”
  • Drying Up the Sources of Terrorism, p. 17: He makes it an example of the formula “kutiba” (it is prescribed), which for him indicates an obligation conditioned by capability, not an absolute imposition.
    • Concept: Obligation
    • Function of the verse here: Foundation
    • Textual evidence: “The obligations in the Wise Revelation came in the formula ‘It is prescribed for you,’ such as {It is prescribed for you, when death approaches one of you…} (al-Baqarah 180)”
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 171: He makes it the basis for his view that the bequest takes precedence over inheritance and that its scope is broader than the inherited juristic understanding.
    • Concept: The bequest
    • Function of the verse here: Foundation
    • Textual evidence: “The divine command that He — Glory be to Him — repeated four times in the two verses of al-Nisa’ 11 and 12”
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 171: He uses it to prove that the verse of the bequest is an independent principle that is not abrogated by the hadith ‘There is no bequest for an heir,’ as traditional jurisprudence claims.
    • Concept: The bequest
    • Function of the verse here: Support
    • Textual evidence: “{The bequest is for parents and near relatives} (al-Baqarah 180) refutes claims of abrogation”
    • Counter-traditional reading: Abrogation of the bequest by the inheritance verses and the hadith “There is no bequest for an heir”
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 171: He invokes it to establish that the bequest is a general divine obligation that is not reduced to a bequest for heirs only, nor limited to a fixed third.
    • Concept: The bequest
    • Function of the verse here: Foundation
    • Textual evidence: “{It is prescribed for you, when death approaches one of you, if he leaves wealth, the bequest…} (al-Baqarah 180)”
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 172: He criticizes jurists’ restriction of the bequest to one-third of the estate and argues that the verse does not set a numerical ceiling for it.
    • Concept: The bequest
    • Function of the verse here: Critique of tradition
    • Textual evidence: “{The bequest is for parents and near relatives} … knowing that God — Exalted — in the Wise Revelation did not set limits for the bequest”
    • Counter-traditional reading: Limiting the bequest to one-third
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 178: He makes it a standard for reading the report of Sa‘d ibn al-Rabi‘, and affirms that the Companion should have written his will before going out to fight.
    • Concept: The bequest
    • Function of the verse here: Foundation
    • Textual evidence: “In implementation of God’s — Glory be to Him — command: {It is prescribed for you … the bequest is for parents and near relatives …}”

This page is presented within the general methodology of atlas construction.

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Muhammad Shahrur Atlas