Intended Meaning
The author rejects restricting “milk al-yamin” to the meaning of slavery and enslavement alone, and considers it a broader term that brings together multiple cases and meanings. What is meant here is not a single fixed image, but a general signification that is not confined to enslavement.
The Atom’s Structure in the Atlas
- Type of argument: Critical
- Movement of the argument: Milk al-yamin is broader than the meaning of slavery alone.
- Key terms: Milk al-yamin, slavery, enslavement, term.
- Centrality level: Central.
This atom overturns the older exclusive reading of the term and opens its meaning onto a wider range, allowing it to be re-understood beyond the direct image of enslavement.
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Basis
- Supporting text: “He rejects restricting ‘milk al-yamin’ to slavery and enslavement, and proposes that it is a comprehensive term.”
Related Verses
Place of the Basis in the Book
- Book: The State and Society.
- Location: in the middle section of the book, where he introduces the concept of slavery and milk al-yamin.
- Type of basis: Nearby witness.
- Marker that helps verification: the meaning of “milk al-yamin”
- Reading note: This passage is suitable as support because it explicitly announces that it will uncover the meaning of milk al-yamin, in the context of rejecting the traditional restriction.
Degree of Documentation
- Level: Directly documented
- Meaning of the level: The atom relies on an explicit witness close to the wording of the claim.
- Limits of reading: The wording above is an analytical summary and should not be treated as a verbatim quotation unless the witness is quoted textually.
Its Function in the Book
Its function here is argumentative; it supports a larger conclusion in the chapter or paves the way for it.
Editorial note
The aspect of rejection is highlighted without detailing the alternatives.