This axis brings together 1 instance of the use of this verse in the books of Muhammad Shahrur, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
Text of the Verse as Cited
Let those fear who, if they were to leave behind vulnerable offspring, would fear for them. So let them be mindful of God and speak words that are right.
Reader’s Answer
Question
Where does the verse occur in Shahrur’s passage, and what supports it in his argument concerning the will and the future of daughters?
The citation of Women 9 occurs in Towards New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence (p. 178), alongside Cow 180, within Shahrur’s questioning of Saʿd ibn al-Rabīʿ’s failure to make a will for his two daughters. Its function in this passage is to support the linkage of the will to concern for vulnerable offspring, ensuring the children’s future, and preventing injustice toward them after the father’s death.
Shahrur employs Women 9, together with Cow 180, in the context of maintaining that Saʿd ibn al-Rabīʿ should have written a will. He then asks why he did not make a will for his two daughters, given their anticipated need for money after him. Shahrur presents securing the children’s future and preventing injustice toward them after death as an innate basis, and does not in this passage restrict it to the time of the revelation of the verses on wills.
Citation and Location
Towards New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence — p. 178.
Limits of the Reading
- The cited passage does not establish that the verse distinguishes between the will and inheritance as two opposing systems, nor does it establish the priority of the will over inheritance.
- The cited passage does not establish the claim that the intent is to transcend “old inheritance customs” or to exclude the offspring in their favor.
- The passage does not provide an independent technical definition of “vulnerable offspring” or a detailed account of rules for distributing wealth.
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Brief Reading
It is cited as evidence that the will takes into account the vulnerability and needs of offspring before the logic of inherited inheritance customs.
Axes
- Legislative
- Human and Ethical
Related Concepts
- Protection of offspring: 2
- Will: 1
Its Place in the Conceptual Network
It affirms the dimension of care in legislation, rather than mere division.
Role of the Verse in the Argument
- Support: 1
Contexts of Use
- Towards New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence, p. 178: It is cited as evidence that the will takes into account the vulnerability and needs of offspring, rather than excluding them in favor of old inheritance customs.
- Concept: Protection of offspring
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual citation: “And His command—Glory be to Him—: { Let those fear who, if they were to leave behind vulnerable offspring … }”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.