The abrogating and the abrogated are a science of illusion

Editorial verification status: This atom has been extracted from an explanatory audiovisual source, and it has now been linked to the closest books within the Shahrur project at the book level. For precise academic citation, consult the original book and the original episode together.

Formulation of the claim

Shahrur describes “the abrogating and the abrogated” as a science of illusion, that is, a misbuilt interpretive framework at its root.

Explanation

After redefining abrogation as legislative development, he considered the common school notion of the abrogating and the abrogated to rest on a misunderstanding. He rejects reading the verses as contradictions that require some to cancel others within the text itself. Instead, he sees legislative development as occurring between revelations and within the structure of rulings, not as chaos within the Qur’an.

Its place in the episode’s argument

This atom is the polemical conclusion of the episode in an important section of it: the dismissal of one of the most prominent traditional sciences in exegesis.

Scope of the claim

It does not deny the existence of differences in rulings; rather, it denies their traditional interpretation as abrogation within the text in the sense of contradiction.

Brief witness

“The abrogating and the abrogated… a science of illusion.”

  • Shahrur - the Qur’an
  • Shahrur - the Decisive
  • Toward New Foundations for Islamic Jurisprudence

Connections to books