An-Nisā’ 4:15
The verse
As for those of your women who are guilty of lewdness, call to witness four of you against them. And if they testify (to the truth of the allegation) then confine them to the houses until death take them or (until) Allah appoint for them a way (through new legislation). — Marmaduke Pickthall
The issue
The verse determines the penalty for women who “commit adultery” by confining
them to their houses “until death releases them.” In Arabic, this phrase is more literally
translated “until they pass away by death.” Since there is no difference between “passing away” and “death,” it is as if the verse says “until death kills them.” Therefore, to the Arabic reader, the content of the verse is redundant. While some scholars ignored this redundancy, others made this comment: “It is possible to mean ‘until the angels of death kill them...or until they are taken by death and their spirits pass away.’”
The commentators were not confident about the correctness of their view, which can
be seen by the phrase “it is possible.” However, if their view is correct, it means that the Qur’ān has a weakness when it comes to forming expressions.
Arabic text of this item
تحدد الآية عقوبة النّساء <اللاَّتِي يَأْتِينَ الْفَاحِشَةَ> بالحبس في البيوت <حَتَّىَ يَتَوَفَّاهُنَّ الْمَوْتُ>. وفي الآية حشوٌ، لأنه لا فرق بين التوفي والموت، فكأن الآية تقول: «حَتَّىَ يميتهن الْمَوْتُ». وقد تجاهل بعض المفسرين هذا الحشو، في حين أن آخرين دفعوا بما يلي:
يجوز أنْ يراد، حتى يتوفاهن ملائكة الموت... أو حتى يأخذهن الموت ويستوفي أرواحهن.
بيد أن الشارحين ليسوا واثقين من صحة تأويلهم، كما يظهر من قولهم «يجوز»، وإن صحّ تأويلهم، فهذا يعني أن في القرآن ضعفاً في صياغة العبارات.
Sources cited
- الرازي 9: 242، الزمخشري 2: 41.