Abrogation in the Qur’an and Islamic Law
Abrogation in the Qur’an and Islamic Law: A Critical Study of the Concept of “Naskh” and its Impact
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A comprehensive critique of abrogation (naskh) and its role in Islamic law:
- How the doctrine of abrogation emerged and developed
- What issues was abrogation developed to address
- The various modes of abrogation
- Abrogation in the Qur’an and the Sunna
- The concept of Islamic law in the Qur’an
This Book
With the exception of John Burton’s work which was published over two decades ago and which suffers from a number of shortcomings, this is the only book in English that is dedicated to the study of abrogation.
Starting with the earliest available sources on abrogation through other primary sources and major works and up to the most recent publications, this book traces the development of the concept of abrogation from its most basic form to the complex and multi-faceted doctrine it has become. The book shows what specific problems the three modes of abrogation were introduced to solve and how this concept has shaped Islamic law. The book also critiques the role of abrogation in rationalizing the view that not all of the Qur’anic revelation has survived in the “muṣḥaf” i.e. the written record of the Qur’an. This role makes understanding abrogation an essential prerequisite for studying the history of the Qur’anic text.
In addition to analyzing the conceptual and documentary bases of each mode of abrogation, the book takes a practical approach by examining specific abrogation claims, including those related to the stoning penalty, law on fighting non-Muslims, and women’s rights law. The theoretical conclusions of the book are thus backed up by data of how abrogation has actually been used.
The book is suitable as a reference work on abrogation for both the expert and more general reader.
Book Details
Author: Louay Fatoohi
Pages: 296
Publication Date: 5th July 2014 (hardback 20th August 2012)
Publisher: Routledge, UK
ISBN: 978-1138809512 (hardback 978-0415631983)
Table of Contents
Introduction
Abrogation From Muslim and Non-Muslim Perspectives
The Literature of Abrogation
Overview of the Book’s Content
Conventions and Styles
1. A History of the Concept of “Abrogation”
1.1 Naskh in the First Muslim Generations
1.2 Naskh According to Shāfiʿī
1.3 Naskh After Shāfiʿī
1.4 Naskh As a Fully Developed Principle
2. Abrogation in Scriptures Before the Qur’an
3. The Term “Naskh” in the Qur’an
3.1 The Variant “nuskhatihā (their inscription)”
3.2 The Variant “nastansikhu (transcribing)”
3.3 The Variant “yansakhu (annuls)”
3.4 The Variant “nansakh (remove)”
4. The Concept of “Naskh” in the Qur’an
4.1 Abrogation As “Replacement” of Verses
4.2 Abrogation As “Erasing” of Verses
4.3 Forcing Abrogation on the Qur’an
5. Conceptual and Implementational Differences of Abrogation
5.1 Differences About the Three Modes of Abrogation
5.2 Disputed Details of the Standard Definition of Abrogation
5.2.1 Abrogation of the Qur’an by the Sunna
5.2.2 Replacement of the Abrogated Ruling
5.2.3 Application of the Abrogated Ruling
5.3 Contradictions with the Definition of Abrogation
5.3.1 Report-Verses
5.3.2 Non-Conflicting Verses
5.3.3 Specification
5.3.4 Explanatory Verses
5.4 Statistics about the Differences
6. Legal Abrogation
6.1 Offering Charity for an Audience with the Prophet
6.2 The Night Prayer
6.3 Drinking Alcohol
6.4 Fighting Less Enemies
6.5 Fasting Penance
6.6 Women’s Rights
7. The Verse of the Sword
8. Does the Muṣḥaf Contain All of the Qur’an?
8.1 The Difference Between “Qur’an” and “Muṣḥaf”
8.2 Is the Muṣḥaf an incomplete Record of the Qur’an?
9. Did the Prophet Forget Verses?
9.1 The Qur’an’s Testimony
9.2 The Problem of the Ḥadīth Narratives
10. Legal-Textual Abrogation
10.1 The Bi’r Maʿūna Passage
10.2 The Son of Adam Passage
10.3 Other Specified and Unspecified Passages
10.4 Legal-Textual Abrogation: A Non-Solution For an Unhistorical Problem
11. Textual Abrogation I: The “Stoning Verse”
11.1 The Stoning Passage
11.2 Stoning by the Prophet
11.3 The Conditions for Stoning
11.4 Terminological and Conceptual Problems in the Stoning Ḥadīths
11.5 Other Problems in the Stoning Ḥadīths
11.6 The Qur’anic Penalty for Sexual Offenses
11.7 Stoning in the Light of the Qur’an
11.8 The Source of the Stoning Penalty
12. Textual Abrogation II: The Five-Suckling Verse and the Anomalous Reading of the Oath Breaking Verse
12.1 The Five-Suckling Passage
12.2 The Missing Word From The Oath Breaking Verse
12.3 The Fallacy of Textual Abrogation
13. Abrogation of the Sunna
13.1 Abrogation of the Sunna by the Qur’an
13.1.1 The Change of Qibla
13.1.2 The Fasting of ʿĀshūrā’
13.1.3 Prohibiting Speaking During Prayer
13.1.4 Sexual Intercourse in Ramadan
13.2 Abrogation of the Sunna by the Sunna
13.2.1 Praying Standing Instead of Sitting
13.2.2 Preserving the Meat of Pilgrimage Sacrifices
13.2.3 Making Juices in Certain Vessels and Visiting Graveyards
14. Islamic Law: A New Reading
14.1 Muslim Tradition Versus Western Interpretation
14.2 The Abrogation Paradox
14.3 Sharīʿa: The Legal Framework of Islamic Law
14.4 The Role of Prophet Muhammad in Islamic Law
14.5 The Role of the Jurist in Islamic Law
15. Conclusion: The Myth of Abrogation
A. The Meaning of “Ḥadīth” and “Sunna”
Bibliography
Classical Works in the Arabic Language
Modern Works in the Arabic Language
Glossary
Index of Qur’anic Verses
Index of Names and Subjects
Copyright © 2012 Louay Fatoohi
Blog: http://www.louayfatoohi.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/louay.fatoohi
Twitter: http://twitter.com/louayfatoohi
All Rights Reserved
It is interesting to compare this book with the e.g. ‘The Prolegomena to the Qur’an by Al-Sayyid al-Khu’i – translated with an Introduction to Abdulaziz A. Sachedina (1998). Furthermore many of the translation on the Al-Quran project http://al-quran.info that includes annotated text and commentaries do have a opinion (often different) on which verses that actually are abrogated,
Sincerely
This is a useful work. Any chance of offering the PDF freely online. You may start a crowd-funding campaign to cover the expected profits & before or after that offer the PDF for free.
This idea is furher explained here:
https://rse-i.blogspot.ca/2017/07/freeforall-islamicbooks-pdf-other-formats.html
This is just a message for you, you may delete this comment and dicsuss with me via email.
Thank you Asim for your comment. The idea explained in that link is certainly interesting. This book has already been published by an international publisher who holds the sales and distribution rights. Regards.
I think you can publish a new edition of the same book by this method, as I guess they hold rights only to the edition they published.
Salam dr.fatoohi, after reading this long thread (partially at least) I realize I have a long way to go to understand Islam and the quran truly as a Muslim. as Tim has also said, I agree that something should be done to reinform the west about how they see Islam. I also wanted to thank you for all of your answers that each could lead to a very informative essay.
I really hope that I could become wise enough one day to stand up for my religion, which is Islam.
and the last thing I wanted to note, is that I believe that I could spread some information about what is and isn’t Islam, as I am a 3d artist, I hope that I could change peoples perspective of Islam with my work. (this reply was for the post on the sword verse, for some reason i couldnt reply there)