Abrogation in the Qur'an
Question:
Does Quran abrogate its ayah's (2:106) or is this relevant with Old Testament Laws.
We see many Ayah which abrogate others e.g. 2:180 abrogated by 4:11, 12. Similarly 4:15,16 abrogated by 24:2
Are there any list of Ayah which are abrogated? I am really confused because some scholars says that there were ayahs which abrogated by others and some scholars even say some ayah's are removed. On the other hand some scholar say that there is no abrogation in Quran and each Ayah has its own meaning.
Please help.
Answer:
There can be two different interpretations for 2:106. One is that it relates to the previous Books of God (i.e. Old Testament). The other interpretation is that it in deed related to abrogation (i.e. replacement of some of the verses of the Qur'an). In my current understanding the latter interpretation seems to be more in line with the wording of the verse and its relationship with other verses (look at 16:101).
Abrogation seems to be a fact and even those scholars who did not agree with the word, seemed to be in agreement with the concept (that some instructions would replace the others). I do have sympathy for those scholars who did not agree with the idea of abrogation. There has been much exaggerations about the concept of abrogation to the extent that some consider the number of abrogated verses to be more than 500.
A very few verses of the Qur'an can be said to have been changed due to change in circumstances. One may call this abrogation, or simply a new instruction to replace a temporary one, the most agreed upon one being the change of qiblah (direction of worship). This however is far different than believing in numerous abrogated verses in the Qur'an.
What is attributed to abrogation is normally of one of the following categories:
Again, the point of debate is not whether abrogation exists or not, rather, it is about the extent of abrogation in the Qur'an. In my understanding this was very limited.
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September 2015
Farhad Shafti
Does Quran abrogate its ayah's (2:106) or is this relevant with Old Testament Laws.
We see many Ayah which abrogate others e.g. 2:180 abrogated by 4:11, 12. Similarly 4:15,16 abrogated by 24:2
Are there any list of Ayah which are abrogated? I am really confused because some scholars says that there were ayahs which abrogated by others and some scholars even say some ayah's are removed. On the other hand some scholar say that there is no abrogation in Quran and each Ayah has its own meaning.
Please help.
Answer:
There can be two different interpretations for 2:106. One is that it relates to the previous Books of God (i.e. Old Testament). The other interpretation is that it in deed related to abrogation (i.e. replacement of some of the verses of the Qur'an). In my current understanding the latter interpretation seems to be more in line with the wording of the verse and its relationship with other verses (look at 16:101).
Abrogation seems to be a fact and even those scholars who did not agree with the word, seemed to be in agreement with the concept (that some instructions would replace the others). I do have sympathy for those scholars who did not agree with the idea of abrogation. There has been much exaggerations about the concept of abrogation to the extent that some consider the number of abrogated verses to be more than 500.
A very few verses of the Qur'an can be said to have been changed due to change in circumstances. One may call this abrogation, or simply a new instruction to replace a temporary one, the most agreed upon one being the change of qiblah (direction of worship). This however is far different than believing in numerous abrogated verses in the Qur'an.
What is attributed to abrogation is normally of one of the following categories:
- The two verses are referring to two different subjects (e.g. 2:256 vs. 9:5)
- One verse is completing the other verse (e.g. 4:16 vs. 24:2)
- The verses are giving gradual description of a same directive (e.g. 4:43, 2:219, 5:90)
- A temporary directive changed due to change of the circumstances (e.g. 8:65, 66; 2:184, 185)
Again, the point of debate is not whether abrogation exists or not, rather, it is about the extent of abrogation in the Qur'an. In my understanding this was very limited.
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September 2015
Farhad Shafti