This locus brings together 1 instance 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 TEST THE ORPHANS UNTIL, WHEN THEY REACH MARRIAGEABLE AGE…}
Reader’s answer
Question
Where is Qur’an 4:6 located, what distinction does Shahrur derive from it, and what function does it serve in his argument?
The verse is located in Surat al-Nisaʾ (4:6). Shahrur employs it in the context of the sixth injunction, distinguishing therein between fathers and non-fathers: in his reading, the injunction is addressed to non-fathers, because the father is the guardian by virtue of his status when the mother is absent. Here, the verse serves to establish the limits of those addressed by this injunction, rather than merely stating the preservation of an orphan’s property and its delivery upon sound judgment.
Shahrur regards Qur’an 4:6 as the basis for the sixth injunction and maintains that this injunction is directed to non-fathers; for the father, when the mother is absent, is the guardian by virtue of his status, and thus the injunction does not apply to him.
Citation and location
The Book and the Qur’an — p. 460.
Limits of the reading
- The citation does not establish an independent elaboration of the meaning of “sound judgment” or its conditions beyond its occurrence in the text of the verse.
- The citation does not establish any additional rationale for the father being guardian by virtue of his status beyond Shahrur’s own assertion.
- A general theory of safeguarding orphans’ property should not be attributed to Shahrur on the basis of this passage alone; his explicit use here focuses on the party addressed by the sixth injunction.
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Brief reading
Shahrur regards it as a Qur’anic basis for safeguarding orphans’ property and handing it over after sound judgment.
Axes
- Legislative
- Humanitarian and ethical
Related concepts
- Orphans’ property: 2
Its place in the network of concepts
It establishes protection for vulnerable property within the legislative system.
The verse’s role in the argument
- Foundational: 1
Instances of use
- The Book and the Qur’an, p. 460: Shahrur regards it as the Qur’anic basis for the sixth injunction concerning the safeguarding of orphans’ property and its delivery after sound judgment.
- Concept: Orphans’ property
- Function of the verse here: Foundational
- Textual citation: “{AND TEST THE ORPHANS UNTIL, WHEN THEY REACH MARRIAGEABLE AGE…} (Women 6). Therefore, the sixth injunction…”
Related books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.