| Sumario: | This article shows that at least since the sixth century a literary topos existed in the Middle East to link neonatal infanticide to illicit sex. It is attested in a pilgrimage account preserved by Gregory of Tours (d. 592) and a passage in an apocalyptic sermon (Sermo I) attributed to Pseudo-Ephrem. A third passage, Q 81:8-9, speaks about punishing the perpetrators of infanticide on judgment day, using the term al-maw'ūda to describe the victim. In distinction to Sermo I attributed to Pseudo-Ephrem, Q 81:8-9 is closer to a different apocalyptic textual family, probably that which includes the Apocalypse of Paul, whereby it can be concluded that the topos was widely known around 600 ce and clearly predated the emergence of the Quran. This means that the exegesis to understand al-maw'ūda as referring to (and condemning) infanticide within an apocalyptic setting most likely drew on the same tradition of text motifs from which Q 81:8-9 emerged.
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