Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah 107

The Meaning of Naskh

Ibn Abi Talhah said that Ibn `Abbas said that,

مَا نَنسَخْ مِنْ ءَايَةٍ

(Whatever a verse (revelation) do Nansakh) means, "Whatever an Ayah We abrogate." Also, Ibn Jurayj said that Mujahid said that,

مَا نَنسَخْ مِنْ ءَايَةٍ

(Whatever a verse (revelation) do Nansakh) means, "Whatever an Ayah We erase." Also, Ibn Abi Najih said that Mujahid said that,

مَا نَنسَخْ مِنْ ءَايَةٍ

(Whatever a verse (revelation) do Nansakh) means, "We keep the words, but change the meaning." He related these words to the companions of `Abdullah bin Mas`ud. Ibn Abi Hatim said that similar statements were mentioned by Abu Al-`Aliyah and Muhammad bin Ka`b Al-Qurazi. Also As-Suddi said that,

At first, Muslims used to pray with their faces turned towards the Baytul-Maqdis بیت المقدس at Jerusalem; later on, Allah commanded them to turn towards the Ka'bah کعبہ . Similarly, certain other injunctions were abrogated altogether, or replaced by others. This provided the Jews and some of the associators too with an occasion to taunt the Muslims, and to say that such changes were made by the Holy Prophet ﷺ himself and not by Allah. Their purpose was to sow the seed of doubt in the mind of the Muslims with regard to the Holy Qur'an being a book revealed by Allah. They used to argue that if everything that Allah revealed was good, as the Muslims affirmed, why should one injunction be re-placed by another? For, it would only mean that one of the two injunctions must be good, and the other evil, but no divine revelation can possibly be evil. Putting these two premises together, the Jews tried to draw the conclusion that the Holy Qur'an could not be a revealed book.

The Muslims were told therefore to avoid ambiguous words, and to be quite clear in their speech; words with a derisive shade of meaning should be especially avoided. Furthermore, they were enjoined to pay close attention to what the Prophet said and to try to understand it on their own, without resorting to excessive questioning; receptiveness rather than obstinacy was to mark their attitude to his instructions. This was the way to gain faith, and it was the consolidation and strengthening of faith that was to be sought. The believers were also told not to be jealous of another person’s valuable possessions, for it was God Himself who had bestowed that particular blessing on His servant. God Himself decreed that the Prophet be the recipient of divine revelation. If one were earnest in seeking to learn from him, one could share in the blessing he received.