Women 24

This axis brings together 2 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 cited

And married women, except those whom your right hands possess—God’s ordinance upon you

Reader’s answer

Question

How does Shahrur employ the verse, “And married women, except those whom your right hands possess,” to critique linking the exception to captivity?

Shahrur presents the verse within an account of the traditional exegetical reading, represented by al-Tabari’s interpretation, which makes the exception apply to married women who came into possession through captivity. He then places this within his objection to restricting “those whom your right hands possess” to slaves and female captives; however, this evidence does not yet set out his detailed alternative reading of the verse itself.

Shahrur cites al-Tabari’s interpretation of Women 24, according to which “married women” are women with husbands, and the exception applies to those acquired through captivity.

Evidence and location

The State and Society — p. 266.

Limits of the reading

• The evidence presents al-Tabari’s interpretation of the verse within Shahrur’s discussion and does not offer, at this point, a complete alternative interpretation of Women 24.
• This evidence alone cannot be used to attribute to Shahrur a detailed ruling on marriage or captivity.

Continue from here

• The State and Society
• Rejecting the restriction of those whom your right hands possess to slavery

Brief reading

The verse is invoked in critiquing the traditional reading that linked the exception to captivity and to the meaning of “those whom your right hands possess.”

Axes

• Legislative

Related concepts

• Captivity: 2
• Those whom your right hands possess: 2

Its place in the conceptual network

It is connected to reconsidering the inherited understanding of the term and the ruling.

The verse’s role in the argument

• Critique of tradition: 2

Atlas pages 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.

Related atoms

• Rejecting the restriction of those whom your right hands possess to slavery

Instances of use

• The State and Society, p. 266: He cites the traditional interpretation to show that it explains the exception through captivity, which he later rejects as part of his redefinition of the term.
  • Concept: captivity
  • The verse’s function here: critique of tradition
  • Textual evidence: “Al-Tabari says: … EXCEPT THOSE WHOM YOU ACQUIRED THROUGH CAPTIVITY”
  • Corresponding traditional reading: captivity
• Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 282: He links it to the context of captivity to show that historical jurisprudence differentiated between the free woman and the female slave in permissibility, dress, and veiling.
  • Concept: those whom your right hands possess
  • The verse’s function here: critique of tradition
  • Textual evidence: “{ AND MARRIED WOMEN, EXCEPT THOSE WHOM YOUR RIGHT HANDS POSSESS } (Women 24)”
  • Corresponding traditional reading: treating it as a fixed ruling concerning slavery

Related books

• The State and Society
• Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence

This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.