This axis brings together 1 occurrence of the use of this verse in the books of Muhammad Shahrur, linking it to the concepts and arguments that appear around it.
The Verse Text as Cited
She said, “How can I have a boy when no human being has touched me, nor have I been unchaste?”
Reader’s Answer
Question
Where does the verse appear, what does “ghulām” mean for Shahrur, and what function does it serve in his argument?
The verse occurs in Surat Maryam (20), in Maryam’s statement about the possibility of her having a boy. Shahrur employs it within a group of verses to support his reading of “ghulām” as a male who has reached the age of ghulmah, which he links to sexual maturity. The evidence alone does not establish the claim that the term is not exclusive to slaves.
Shahrur considers “ghulām” an attribute of a male who reaches the age of ghulmah, and he links this age to sexual maturity. He cites Maryam 20 among the verses on which he bases this definition.
Evidence and Location
The State and Society — p. 263.
Limits of the Reading
- The evidence establishes Shahrur’s linking of the term “ghulām” to reaching the age of ghulmah and sexual maturity; it does not state that the term is not exclusive to slaves.
- Here, the verse is evidence within a group of evidences in the argument, and the excerpt alone does not provide an independent, detailed account of its contextual meaning within Maryam’s story.
- This passage does not establish a general ruling for all uses of the term beyond the verses gathered by Shahrur.
Continue from Here
Brief Reading
The verse supports the clarification that the term ghulām is not exclusive to slaves, but denotes a boy or male at the age of maturity.
Axes
- Linguistic and semantic
- Political and social
Related Concepts
- Ghulām: 2
Its Place in the Concept Network
It serves to unpack the word’s social meaning within Qur’anic usage.
Role of the Verse in the Argument
- Support: 1
Occurrences of Use
- The State and Society, p. 263: He cites it within his analysis of the term ghulām to indicate that it is not exclusive to slaves, but refers to a boy/male at the age of maturity.
- Concept: ghulām
- Function of the verse here: Support
- Textual evidence: “{She said, ‘How can I have a boy …’} (Maryam 20)”
Related Books
This page is presented within the general atlas-building methodology.