Document Type : Research Article

Author

• hamid Naderi Ghahfarokhi

Assistant Professor of of Islamic Studies، Shahrekord University، Shahrekord، Iran

Abstract

At the beginning of the revelation of the Holy Qurʾān, the people of Hejaz practiced female infanticide; however, this practice was eradicated sometime after the Quranic reform campaign. Given the Quran’s wisdom in gradual revelation, it seems that this reform campaign followed a specific pattern in the course of revelation. Investigating this issue is necessitated by “unveiling the wise dimensions of the gradual revelation of the Holy Quran,” “the Quran’s concern with correcting improper behaviors in the cultural sphere,” and “the importance of the gradual approach in societal cultural transformations.” The purpose of this research is to demonstrate, through an analytical examination of the verses in the order of revelation, how the Holy Quran eradicated this inhumane culture. The findings of the research indicate that this reform campaign was achieved in five steps: First, “supporting the infant girls buried alive on the Day of Judgment without referring to the perpetrators in Surah At-Takwir (al-nuzūl (Surah Number in the Order of Revelation): 7)”; Second, “indirect criticism of the Arabs’ aversion to daughters in Surahs An-Najm, Al-Isra, and As-Saffat (al-nuzūl: 23, 50, and 56)”; Third, “direct criticism of the Arabs’ aversion to daughters in Surah Az-Zukhruf (al-nuzūl: 64)”; Fourth, “explicit and comprehensive criticism of the culture of burying daughters alive in Surah An-Nahl (al-nuzūl: 70)”; and Fifth, “removing the remnants of the wrong view of daughters in Surah At-Tur (al-nuzūl: 75).” The analysis of these five steps reveals the gradual activism of the Holy Quran to eradicate this culture.

Keywords

• Burying girls alive
• Tanẓīl Interpretation (Exegesis of the Qur’an in the sequence of revelation)
• Quranic Cultural Campaign
• Pre-Islamic Arabs

Main Subjects

• Interpretation of Quran