Rezaul Haque, on Abrogation
The concept of “abrogation” (naskh) is arguably one of the biggest obstacles to a fully peaceful and coherent understanding of the Qur’an.
▲ In short, here’s why this is a major obstacle:
It allows for selective quoting: extremist groups or hard-line preachers often say, “Don’t quote the peaceful verses; they’ve been abrogated.” That opens the door to a one-sided, militant theology.
▲ How the concept of abrogation enables extremist violence:
The concept of abrogation (naskh) is itself a highly debated issue among scholars. There is no unified consensus. While some claim fewer than ten verses are abrogated, others raise the number to over 500. Shockingly, some assert that verse 9:5 alone abrogates more than 100 peaceful Meccan verses. Even more troubling is the claim by certain scholars that Hadith can override or abrogate Qur’anic verses—a view that fundamentally challenges the Qur’an’s authority.
▲ What typically are the verses that they abrogate?
ISIS and similar extremist ideologues often declare that the following verses have been abrogated:
- 2:256 – “…There is no compulsion in religion…”
- 2:190—”Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not like transgressors.”
- 22:39 – “Permission [to fight] has been given to those who are being oppressed…”
- 60:8 – “Allah does not forbid you from being kind and just to those who have not fought you…”
They claim that all these verses have been overridden by verses like;
- 9:5 – “When the sacred months are over, fight the idolaters wherever you find them, lie in ambush for them, arrest and besiege them. However, if they repent, perform the prayer, and pay Zakat, then let them go. Allah is Most Forgiving and Kind.”
- 9:29 – “Fight those who believe not in God and in the Last Day, and who do not forbid what God and His Messenger have forbidden, and who follow not the Religion of Truth among those who were given the Book, till they pay the jizyah with a willing hand, being humbled.”
But here’s the riddle. If you think that verses 2:256, 2:190, 22:39, and 60:8 are not abrogated, you would believe that in verses 9:5 and 9:29 god instructs us only to fight back in self-defense. However, if you feel that verses 2:256, 2:190, 22:39, and 60:8 are nullified, then verses 9:5 and 9:29 give the message of aggressive wars—Muslims are commanded to fight for colonial expansion and mass conversion.
So, the doctrine of abrogation (naskh) has become a theological weapon. Groups like ISIS have employed this concept to invalidate core Qur’anic principles of justice, peace, and restraint, thereby legitimizing horrific crimes under the guise of “religion.”
One must know that this interpretation is not rooted in the Qur’an itself, which consistently emphasizes justice, mercy, and ethical warfare. Nowhere does the Qur’an say that verse 9:5 cancels earlier peaceful commands—it’s context-specific, relating to specific hostile groups who broke treaties and attacked the Muslims first.
▲ The Real-World Consequences
Because of this concept of abrogation, ISIS has been able to justify atrocities like:
- Aggressive warfare
- Forced conversions and extermination campaigns, i.e., atrocities against the Yazidis and Christians
- Kidnapping and systematic rape of Yazidi women, branding them “spoils of war”
Claiming sexual slavery is religiously sanctioned by referring to a twisted reading of verses involving “what your right hands possess” (ma malakat aymanukum)
A 12-year-old Yazidi girl recounted how her ISIS captor would pray before and after raping her, claiming it was allowed by “religious texts.”
ISIS fighters told survivors that enslaving non-Muslim women and using them sexually was “permissible in Islam” because the peaceful verses had been abrogated.
▲ Abrogation as a theological shortcut to brutality
This shows how the weaponization of abrogation enables a theology where mercy is erased, justice is distorted, and violence becomes a virtue.
As long as extremists can declare peaceful Qur’anic teachings as “abrogated,” any act of barbarity can be passed off as religiously justified.
▲ A call for ethical reclamation
If Muslims want to counter extremist narratives, a critical re-evaluation of abrogation is necessary:
The Qur’an presents itself as coherent and free of contradiction (4:82).
- So, ethical verses cannot be cancelled by the so-called aggressive ones
- Verses 2:106 and 16:101 require careful reexamination and consideration
You can read my response in this regard by clicking the link below: