This axis gathers 7 occurrences of the use of this verse in Muhammad Shahrur’s books, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
The verse as quoted
وَالَّلاتِي يَأْتِينَ الْفَاحِشَةَ مِنْ نِسَائِكُمْ فَاسْتَشْهِدُوا عَلَيْهِنَّ أَرْبَعَةً …
Brief reading
Shahrur uses it to distinguish women’s obscenity from zina, and to connect the ruling in it to a special mode of proof.
Axes
- legislative
- human and ethical
- linguistic and semantic
Related concepts
- obscenity: 4
- lesbianism: 3
- proving obscenity: 2
- women: 2
Its place in the network of concepts
It is linked to the distinction of terms and the boundaries of obscenity in the chapter on women.
The verse’s role in the argument
- Example: 2
- Foundation: 2
- Distinction: 1
- Support: 1
- Critique of the tradition: 1
Summary of its presence in the atlas
- Concerns women’s obscenity
- Linked to special proof
- Present in the distinction of terms
Occurrences of use
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 385: He restricts it to obscenity among women and makes its punishment and evidence different from zina, rejecting its inclusion under abrogation.
- Concept: lesbianism
- Function of the verse here: Distinction
- Textual evidence: “Verse 15 speaks exclusively about obscenity between women … that is, what we now call ‘lesbianism.‘”
- The corresponding traditional reading: Those who say it is abrogated
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 395: He considers it a specific text about obscenity between females and uses it as an example of a new ruling by which the door to obscenities in this chapter was closed.
- Concept: lesbianism
- Function of the verse here: Example
- Textual evidence: “He added a new obscenity that did not exist with Moses, namely lesbianism … {وَالَّلاتِي يَأْتِينَ الْفَاحِشَةَ مِن نِّسَائِكُمْ …} (al-Nisāʾ 15)”
- Drying Up the Springs of Terrorism, p. 57: He uses it to affirm that calling for witnesses means requesting eyewitnesses to the event, not casualties from a battle.
- Concept: proving obscenity
- Function of the verse here: Foundation
- Textual evidence: “{وَالَّلاتِي يَأْتِينَ الْفَاحِشَةَ … فَاسْتَشْهِدُوا عَلَيْهِنَّ أَرْبَعَةً مِنْكُمْ} (al-Nisāʾ 15).”
- Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 136: He cites it to clarify that “coming to” refers to an act issuing from within the body or self, not from outside.
- Concept: obscenity
- Function of the verse here: Example
- Textual evidence: “And His saying: { وَالْلَّاتِي يَأْتِينَ الْفَاحِشَةَ مِنْ نِسَائِكُمْ … } (al-Nisāʾ 15)”
- Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 234: He makes it the basis for addressing public obscenity among women, and states that punishment is only with public testimony, not mere circumstantial evidence.
- Concept: obscenity
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual evidence: “Based on His – تعالى – saying: { وَالْلَّاتِي يَأْتِينَ الْفَاحِشَةَ مِنْ نِسَائِكُمْ … } (al-Nisāʾ 15)”
- Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 234: He understands the verse to mean that the punishment for public female obscenity is house arrest or confinement until God makes a way, not beating or killing.
- Concept: obscenity
- Function of the verse here: Foundation
- Textual evidence: “In the case of public female homosexuality, society has the right to intervene with punishment based on His – تعالى – saying… the punishment is house arrest or detention, or finding an outlet”
- Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, pp. 242-243: He distinguishes the uses of the term “women” to show that it is not limited to the meaning of wives, but may indicate those delayed or the plural of woman depending on context.
- Concept: women
- Function of the verse here: Critique of the tradition
- Textual evidence: “As for ‘women,’ it came as the plural of ‘woman’ … and it came in the sense of ‘what has been delayed‘“
Related books
- The Book and the Qur’an
- Drying Up the Springs of Terrorism
- Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence
This page is presented within the general method of building the atlas.