A Critique of the Theory of Abrogation

by Jasser Auda, Adil Salahi (Translator)

A typical definition of abrogation found in the Jurisprudence literature ‘The (heavenly) replacement of one juridical ruling with a later ruling.’

This book surveys the subject of abrogation (Naskh) in the Qur’an, Hadith and Islamic literature, illustrating that the concept of abrogation was introduced after the Prophetic era in order to explain certain verses of the Qur’an and what has come to be termed as “conflicting Prophetic narrations” (Mukhtalaf al-Hadith).

It goes on to suggest that the “abrogated rulings” were merely pre-Islamic cultural practices that contradicted with Islamic principles. Furthermore, the book argues that the Qur’anic verses and Prophetic narrations, which were misperceived as “conflicting,” should be contextually situated and applied according to the wisdom behind them with the practical implication being the validation of all Qur’anic verses and (authentic) Prophetic instructions regardless of their perceived contradictions. Allowing Islamic jurisprudence to retain its flexibility within changing circumstances.

Genres: Islam

122 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 14, 2018

About the author

Professor Jasser Auda is a founding member and Head of the Dawah Committee at the International Union of Muslim Scholars, a member of the European Council for Fatwa and Research, and teaches and supervises research on Maqasid Al-Shariah at the Faculty of Islamic Studies in Doha. He has a PhD in the Philosophy of Islamic law from the University of Wales, UK, and a PhD in systems analysis from the University of Waterloo, Canada, and a M.Jur. thesis on the Maqasid/purposes of the Shariah from the Islamic American University. Early in his life, he had studied Fiqh, Usul, hadith, Sunnah, and memorized the Quran in the halaqas of the Azhar Mosque in Cairo. He was previously a founding Director of the Maqasid Center in the Philosophy of Islamic Law in London, a founding Deputy Director of the Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics in Doha, and a professor in the Faculty of Law, Alexandria University, Egypt, Islamic Fiqh Academy of India, American University in Sharjah, University of Waterloo, Canada. He lectured on Islam and its law and ethics in dozens of universities and institutes around the world, and wrote a number of books, some of which were translated to fifteen languages.