Very Brief Introduction to The Islamic Doctrine of al-Nasikh wa al-Mansukh

Submitted by dhimmi no more (United States), May 19, 2021 at 16:50

Dr. Pipes,

I'm also unaware of claims that Q5:21 as well as Q2:40 and Q2:47 have been abrogated.

For the readers: The doctrine of al-Nasikh wa al-Mansukh's (Abrogation) starting point must have been Q2:256 or the "No compulsion in religion" and was it abrogated by Ayat al-Sayf (the infamous Sword Verse) or Q9:5 (Notice that al-Nahhas tells his readers that Ayat al-Sayf abrogated 124 Quranic verses).

The real dilemma that al-Mufasereen faced when deciphering Q2:256: How can Allah tolerate "false" religion? The way out?

1. Claim that Q2:256 was abrogated by Ayat al-Sayf

2. Or invent a Sabab al-nuzul or the reason why the verse was revealed and in the case of 2:256 there is a story about Jewish and Christian children and Muslim parents and that these children when they become adults can select their religion be it Islam or Judaism or Christianity.

al-Tabari must have been horrified after all how can the God of the universe not make up his mind once and for all, and this is why he starts his tafsir by reciting his mantra اختلف أهل التأويل في معنى ذلك.or al-Mufasereen disagreed in the tafsir of this (Q2:256) then he tells us the above story: نـزلت هذه الآية في قوم من الأنصار- أو في رجل منهم - كان لهم أولاد قد هودوهم أو نصروهم، فلما جاء الله بالإسلام أرادوا إكراههم عليه، فنهاهم الله عن ذلك، حتى يكونوا هم يختارون الدخول في الإسلام.

https://quran.ksu.edu.sa/tafseer/tabary/sura2-aya256.html

For readers interested in reading more about the Doctrine of Abrogation in Islam I suggest al-Nahhas' book "al-Nasikh wa al-Mansukh." It is available on line

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".