Abrogation: The Key
to Understanding
Islam
Understanding the Doctrine of Abrogation is
fundamental to understanding the Koran and
Islam. In order to understand abrogation, we
must first get a basic understanding of the
Koran.
The Koran
The Koran is the sacred book of Islam, and it is
considered by Muslims to be the infallible, pure
word of Allah, eternal and perfect, and the
Koran in Arabic is an exact copy of the book
that Allah has beside him in Paradise. The
verses of the Koran were delivered through the
angel Gabriel to the final prophet Muhammad in
a series of "revelations." Muhammad started
receiving such "revelations" in 610 and they
continued until his death in 632.
The Koran has 114 chapters (suras). However,
they are not arranged in chronological order.
With the exception of the first chapter, they are
rather arranged generally by the length of the
chapter, with the shortest chapters coming at the
end. For example, the first chapter, Al-Fatihah,
has only seven verses, while the second, third,
and fourth chapters have 286, 200, and 176
verses, respectively. Translations of the Koran
usually indicate whether a chapter was
“revealed” in Mecca (Makkah) or in Medina. In
the Koran you will also find that the chapters of
the earlier “revelations” from Mecca are
interspersed among chapters of the later
“revelations” from Medina.
There is an important significance to where a
verse or chapter was "revealed." While in
Mecca, the religion of Islam was just starting
and it was generally not well received. Perhaps
as a result of this, the verses of the Koran
“revealed” in Mecca were generally more
peaceful and accommodating toward non-
Muslims than the verses later “revealed” in
Medina. The verses from Medina have a general
tendency to be more belligerent and intolerant,
and more inclined to make sharp differentiations
between Muslims (believers) and non-Muslims
(disbelievers).
Abrogation
This led to a conflict between the message of a
Meccan verse and that of a Medinan verse
addressing the same general topic. But how can
there be such a conflict if the Koran is the
infallible, eternal, “revealed” word of Allah?
This was covered in a Medinan verse in the
Koran that introduced the concept of
“abrogation”:
Chapter 2, Verse 106
Whatever a Verse (revelation) do We
abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We
bring a better one or similar to it. Know
you not that Allah is Able to do all things?
Abrogation therefore means that if there is a
conflict between the messages of two
“revelations” in the Koran, then the most recent
“revelation” is the one to be followed.
Consequently, a “revelation” made in Medina
would supersede a similar, earlier “revelation”
made in Mecca if there was a conflict between
the two.
So What about the “Peaceful
Verses” in the Koran?
Chapter 9 of the Koran is titled At-Taubah (The
Repentance), although it is also known as Al-
Bara'ah (The Immunity). Ibn 'Abbas, a noted
early Muslim scholar, said that Chapter 9 was
meant to "humiliate" the non-Muslims (Sahih
Muslim, No. 3031). It was also the last complete
chapter to be “revealed” to Muhammad before
he died. So according to the Doctrine of
Abrogation, this chapter is the final word on the
matters is covers. Let's look at some of those
matters:
Chapter 9, Verse 5 - The "Verse of the Sword"
Then when the Sacred Months have
passed, then kill the Mushrikun wherever
you find them, and capture them and
besiege them, and lie in wait for them in
every ambush. But if they repent [by
rejecting Shirk (polytheism) and accept
Islamic Monotheism] and perform As-
Salat (the prayers), and give Zakat
(obligatory charity), then leave their way
free. Verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most
Merciful.
A Mushrikun is in essence any non-Muslim.
With this verse Allah commanded the Muslims
to kill, capture, besiege, and ambush the non-
Muslims wherever you find them.
