al-Kahf 46

3 min read

This axis gathers 4 instances of the use of this verse in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.

Text of the verse as quoted

WEALTH AND CHILDREN ARE THE ORNAMENT OF THIS WORLDLY LIFE

Brief reading

Shahrur uses it to distinguish the meaning of banūn from males and to reconnect the term to building/structure within thematic unity.

Axes

  • Linguistic and semantic
  • Methodological
  • Thematic unity: 3
  • Building/structure: 2
  • Banūn: 2

Its place in the network of concepts

It is linked to recalibrating meaning and confronting inherited interpretation.

The verse’s role in the argument

  • Critique of tradition: 3
  • Distinction: 1

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

  • The Qur’anic Narrative vol. 2, p. 50: He denies the common meaning of banūn as male children and shifts it to “building/structure,” claiming linguistic and Qur’anic support.
    • Concept: building/structure
    • Function of the verse here: distinction
    • Textual witness: “and banūn in His saying, {WEALTH AND CHILDREN ARE THE ORNAMENT OF THIS WORLDLY LIFE…} (al-Kahf 46), has nothing to do with male offspring, but with building/structure.”
    • Counter-traditional reading: male children
  • The Book and the Qur’an, p. 504: He reinterprets banūn here as buildings and immovable materials, not male children, in order to preserve thematic unity.
    • Concept: banūn
    • Function of the verse here: critique of tradition
    • Textual witness: “And His saying, {WEALTH AND CHILDREN ARE THE ORNAMENT OF THIS WORLDLY LIFE} (al-Kahf 46): banūn here are buildings.”
    • Counter-traditional reading: reading banūn as male children
  • The Book and the Qur’an, p. 505: He uses it again to demonstrate that banūn here cannot mean males, but rather buildings and fixed assets within thematic unity.
    • Concept: thematic unity
    • Function of the verse here: critique of tradition
    • Textual witness: “Then note the thematic unity in His saying, {WEALTH AND CHILDREN ARE THE ORNAMENT OF THIS WORLDLY LIFE} (al-Kahf 46)”
    • Counter-traditional reading: interpreting banūn as male children
  • The Book and the Qur’an, p. 520: He opposes the conventional interpretation that makes banūn mean male children, and insists that the context speaks of buildings/structures and money as the ornament of worldly life.
    • Concept: thematic unity
    • Function of the verse here: critique of tradition
    • Textual witness: “Then note the thematic unity in His saying, {WEALTH AND CHILDREN ARE THE ORNAMENT OF THIS WORLDLY LIFE}”
    • Counter-traditional reading: banūn are male children

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

Graph View

Backlinks2

Muhammad Shahrur Atlas