Running head: Validity and Importance of Naskh and the Divinity of the Qur’an

Refutation of claim "Naskh (Abrogation) is a clear proof that the Qur'an cannot be God's word"

based on the validity of Naskh and Divinity of the Qur'an.

Rafiqul Hasan Sharif (Joseph)

Islamic Online University

Refutation of claim "Naskh (Abrogation) is a clear proof that the

Qur'an cannot be God's word" based on the validity of Naskh and Divinity of

the Qur'an.

For the last 1400 years, critics of Islam have tried to cast doubts over the authenticity of

the Qur’an. One of their favourite picks is the doctrine of Naskh (abrogation). Some of them

claim, “Naskh is a clear proof that the Qur'an cannot be God's word”. They argue that if God had

to abrogate his previous orders, forgets and changes position, it is contradictory with the

attributes of God and hence it cannot be divine. While others assume that abrogation is hindsight,

which is not fitting for God. In this discussion, we will evaluate the topic statement critically in

the view of authentic Islamic sources, the actual understanding of Naskh and its validity and

importance.

Literally, “Naskh” means annulment, obliteration, removal and transferral. According to

Kamali, it also means “transcription or transfer of something from one state to another while its

essence remains unchanged”. “According to the majority view, obliteration is the primary, and

transcription/transfer is the secondary meaning of Naskh”. (Kamali, 2003) (Nyazee, 2000)

Technically, Naskh (abrogation) in Arabic means lifting and removing. According to the

definition of Al ‘Uthaymeen, “Naskh is the removal of the law of evidence from the Shari‘ah or

its expression by another evidence from the Qur’an or the Sunnah”. (Al-'Uthaymin)

The abrogating rule is referred to as Nasikh, and the abrogated one is called Mansukh.

One certain aspect of Islam is that rulings given by Allah are premised on benefits for His

slaves. However, benefits may vary according to times and individuals. What is of benefit to an

individual may not be beneficial to others; something beneficial at a particular time may not be

beneficial in a different time even for the same person (e.g. taking certain drugs may be
Validity and Importance of Naskh and the Divinity of the Qur’an 3

beneficial when one is sick, but may not be good or even safe when one is healthy). So, such

variations are considered in the legislation of rules, which makes Naskh a necessary principle.

(Denying the Occurrence of Naskh (Abrogation) in the Qur’ān)

If we analyse the following Hadith (prophetic narration) of the Prophet (‫)ﷺ‬, we may

understand the validity and the importance of Naskh (Abrogation) even further.

Ibn Buraida reported on the authority of his father that the Messenger of Allah (‫ )ﷺ‬said:

“I used to prevent you from visiting the graves but you may now visit them…” [Sahih Muslim,

vol. 2, p. 463, no. 2131.] (Ibn Hajjaj)

In the Hadith, we can see that the Prophet (‫ )ﷺ‬prohibited visiting the graves in earlier

days, but later on, he (‫ )ﷺ‬allowed it. In fact, the action now is encouraged. This is an example of

Naskh, where the previous rule of 'impermissibility of visiting the graves' has been changed or

abrogated by the permissibility. We may now analyse to see what benefit or purpose of this

change in law may apply for the society.

Throughout much of human history, honouring the dead through elaborate burial rites,

tombs, decorating graves, festivals of adoration have led to great confusion in religion. As a

result, much of humankind gets involved in some sort of grave worship. Grave worshippers

assign to human souls the divine ability to cause events in this life, which only Allah can cause,

and thus fall into Shirk [assigning partners to Allah, which is the greatest sin in Islam]. ( Philips,

2005)

During the earlier stages of the preaching of the Prophet (‫)ﷺ‬, the concept of Tawheed

[establishment of the oneness of Allah] and Shirk was still in the states of developing. Without

the clear understanding and practice of Tawheed, the risk of a person to fall into Shirk

concerning the grave is very high. Hence, it was the wisdom of the lawgiver to prohibit the act of
Validity and Importance of Naskh and the Divinity of the Qur’an 4

visiting the graves in earlier days to protect the society from this risk. However, when the rules

of Islam were established, the understanding of Tawheed and Shirk was firm and clear; the

prohibition was lifted to benefit the followers. Naskh here is being used to educate and train

society.

In addition, Naskh is further confirmation of the divinity and authenticity of the Qur'an

because it has delivered appropriate rules to be applied in different situations, reflecting the

Wisdom of the Creator who intended Islam to be applicable to all times, places, and people.

(Parrot, 2018)

The greater benefits of Naskh for the followers are also demonstrated in indicating Islam

as the final Religion as in abrogating previous scriptures of Christianity and Judaism. The

wisdom of abrogation reflects in educating the Ummah by driving the quest of betterment, the

quest to evolve and to apply Ijtihad. It teaches the fact that the Qur’an and Sunnah are not to be

understood in parts but as a whole. (Ali, 2009)

For a fact, abrogation was not uncommon in the religion of Jews and Christians. In his

famous Tafsir, Ibn Kathir mentioned in the explanation of Surah Ale Imran (verse: 93) that while

the Jews denied Naskh, it already occurred in their Law:

“Allah started refuting the Jews here (in this verse), by stating that the abrogation of the

Law, that they denied occurs, already occurred in their Law. For instance, Allah has stated in

their Book, the Tawrah, that when Nuh departed from the ark, Allah allowed him to eat the meat

of all types of animals. Afterwards, Isra'il forbade the meat and milk of camels for himself, and

his children imitated this practice after him. The Tawrah later on prohibited this type of food, and

added several more types of prohibitions. Allah allowed Adam to marry his daughters to his

sons, and this practice was later forbidden. The Law of Ibrahim allowed the man to take female
Validity and Importance of Naskh and the Divinity of the Qur’an 5

servants as companions along with his wife, as Ibrahim did when he took Hajar, while he was

married to Sarah. Later on, the Tawrah prohibited this practice. It was previously allowed to take

two sisters as wives at the same time, as Ya`qub married two sisters at the same time. Later on,

this practice was prohibited in the Tawrah. All of these were later prohibited in the Tawrah. All

these examples are in the Tawrah and constitute a Naskh (abrogation) of the Law”. (Ibn Kathir,

2011)

From the discussion above, it is clear that the claim of “Naskh being proof of the Qur'an

not being the God’s word” does not have a valid basis. On the contrary, Naskh demonstrated to

be an effective way used throughout the history to train and educate society. The benefits of

Naskh underline the wisdom of the Lawgiver and further confirm the Divinity of the Qur'an.
Validity and Importance of Naskh and the Divinity of the Qur’an 6

References

Philips, D. (2005). The Fundamentals of Tawheed. Riyadh: International Islamic Publishing

House.

Ali, A. H. (2009). ABROGATION AND IT’S CONTINUED RELEVANCE TO

CONTEMPORARY MUSLIM SOCIETY. Kuala Lampur.

Al-'Uthaymin, M. (n.d.). 'Al-Usul min llm al-'Usul. 5 Pillars Publishing.

(n.d.). Denying the Occurrence of Naskh (Abrogation) in the Qur’ān. Islamic Modernist

Discourse.

Fatoohi, L. (2013). Abrogation in the qur'an and islamic law: A critical study of the concept of

"naskh" and its impact. Abrogation in the Qur'an and Islamic Law. Oxon: Routledge.

Ibn Hajjaj, M. (n.d.). Sahih Muslim.

Ibn Kathir, I.-D. (2011). Tafsir Ibn Kathir. MSA Publication Limited.

Kamali, M. H. (2003). Principles of Islamic Jurisprudence. Cambridge: Islamic Texts Society.

Nyazee, I. (2000). OUTLINES OF ISLAMIC JURISPRUDENCE. Islamabad: IIIT & IRI.

Parrot, J. (2018). Abrogated rulings in the Qur'an: Discerning their Divine Wisdom. Texas:

Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research.