Intended Meaning
By “father” here is meant not merely the biological father by lineage, but anyone who undertakes upbringing, care, and intention. Therefore, a father may be a biological father, and he may not be; for fatherhood is understood as responsibility and care more than as a purely genetic relationship.
The Atom’s Structure in the Atlas
- Type of argument: definitional
- Argument movement: expands the meaning of fatherhood to include upbringing and care, not lineage alone.
- Key terms: fatherhood, upbringing, care, lineage.
- Degree of centrality: central.
It redefines fatherhood as a practical responsibility, separating the bond of lineage from the caregiving function that fatherhood socially performs.
Reading Aids
- Muhammad Shahrur Islam and Faith
- Women, Family, and Dress
- The family distinction in the Qur’an redefines fatherhood, motherhood, and adoption
Basis
- Supporting text: “Father: one who undertakes upbringing, care, and intention, and may be a biological father or may not be.”
Degree of Documentation
- Level: directly documented
- Meaning of the level: the atom rests on an explicit witness close to the wording of the claim.
- Limits of the reading: the formulation above is an analytical summary, and is not treated as a verbatim quotation unless the witness is transmitted word for word.
Function in the Book
Its function here is definitional; it establishes a meaning or conceptual distinction that Shahrur relies on in building the idea.
Related to
Editorial Note
Fatherhood is not reduced to genes.