Naskh (tafsir)

Naskh (نسخ) is an Arabic language word usually translated as " abrogation "; it shares the same root as the words appearing in the phrase al-nāsikh wal-mansūkh (الناسخ والمنسوخ, "the abrogating and abrogated [verses]"). It is a term used in Islamic legal exegesis for seemingly contradictory material within or between the twin bases of Islamic holy law : the Qur'ān and the Prophetic Sunna . Over the last century, there have come to be serious objections to the very idea of Naskh within the Muslim community; returning to a dissenting attitude from early Muslim history (e.g., Abu Muslim Al-Asfahani 948-1038 C.E), many modern scholars now reject it outright . In its historical application, naskh typically involves the replacement ( tabdīl ) of an earlier verse/tradition (and thus its embodied ruling ) with a chronologically successive one. The complete suppression ( izāla ) of a regulation so that not even its wording remains is recognized as well, though only in the case of the Qur'ān. The emergence of naskh (initially as practice and then as fully elaborated theory ) dates back to the first centuries of Islamic civilization. Almost all classical naskh works, for instance, begin by recounting the incident of the Kufan preacher banned from expounding the Qur'ān by an early 'ilmic authority figure (usually 'Alī but sometimes also Ibn 'Abbās ) on account of his ignorance of the principles of naskh . Whatever the dubious historicity of such traditions: ...the elaboration of the theories is datable with certainty to at least the latter half of the second century after Muhammad, when Shāfi'ī , in his Risāla and in the somewhat later Ikhtilāf al-Hadīth was applying his considerable talents to resolving the serious problem of the apparent discrepancies between certain Qur'ānic verses and others; between certain hadīths and others; and, most serious of all, between certain Qur'ānic verses and certain hadīths . More precisely: Naskh as a technical term meaning 'abrogation' (although the precise sense of that must be left open) makes its appearance early on in exegesis, for example, in Muqātil's [d. 767] Khams mi'a āya (and, of course, his tafsīr ). In time, more complex philological , theological , and philosophical theorizing accrued to this doctrine , and in general the amount of material recognized as either nāsikh (abrogating) or mansūkh (abrogated) has over time decreased as a result, from the 200+ verses cited by the high-medieval jurists to the 20 recognized by the late medieval al-Suyūti and the mere adduced 7 in one modern study.

Naskh (نسخ) is an Arabic language word usually translated as " abrogation "; it shares the same root as the words appearing in the phrase al-nāsikh wal-mansūkh (الناسخ والمنسوخ, "the abrogating and abrogated [verses]"). It is a term used in Islamic legal exegesis for seemingly contradictory material within or between the twin bases of Islamic holy law : the Quran and the Prophetic Sunna .

Naskh ( نسخ ) is an Arabic word usually translated as " abrogation ". In Islamic legal exegesis (or tafsir ), naskh is a theory developed to resolve seemingly contradictory rulings of Islamic revelation by superseding or canceling the earlier revelation. In the widely recognized and "classic" form of naskh , an Islamic regulation/ruling ( hukm ) is abrogated in favor of another, but the text the hukm is based on is not eliminated. Some examples of Islamic rulings based on naskh include a gradual ban on consumption of alcohol (originally alcohol was not banned but Muslims were told that the bad outweighed the good in drinking), and a change in the direction (the qibla ) that should be faced when praying salat (originally Muslims faced Jerusalem , but this was changed to face the Kaaba in Mecca ). An abrogated text or ruling is called mansūkh ; and a text or ruling which abrogates, nāsikh . Several Quranic verses state that some revelations have been abrogated and superseded by later revelations, and narrations from Muhammad's companions mention abrogated verses or rulings of the religion. The principle of abrogation of an older verse by a new verse in the Quran, or within the Hadiths is an accepted principle of all four Sunni maḏāhib or schools of fiqh (jurisprudence), and was an established principle in Sharia by at least the 9th century, (though since the 19th century, modernist and Islamist scholars have argued against the concept of naskh , defending the absolute validity of the Quran). However, with few exceptions , Islamic revelations do not state which Quranic verses or hadith have been abrogated, and Muslim exegetes and jurists have disagreed over which and how many hadith and verses of the Quran are recognized as abrogated, with estimates varying from less than ten to over 500. Other issues of disagreement include whether the Quran (the central religious text of Islam) can be abrogated by the Sunnah (the body of traditional social and legal custom and practice of the Islamic community), or vice versa — a disagreement between the Shafi'i and Hanafi schools of fiqh ; and whether verses of the Quran may be abrogated at all, instead of reinterpreted and more narrowly defined — an approach favored by a minority of scholars. Usul al-Fiqh: Methodology of Islamic Jurisprudence . With reverence for the word : medieval scriptural exegesis in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam . Abrogation in the Qur'an and Islamic Law .

Islamic concept of legal abrogation ( Learn how and when to remove this message ) Naskh ( نسخ ) is an Arabic word usually translated as " abrogation ". In tafsir , or Islamic legal exegesis, naskh recognizes that one rule might not always be suitable for every situation. In the widely recognized and "classic" form of naskh , one ḥukm "ruling" is abrogated to introduce an exception to the general rule, but the text the ḥukm is based on is not repealed . Some examples of Islamic rulings based on naskh include a gradual ban on consumption of alcohol (originally alcohol was not banned, but Muslims were told that the bad outweighed the good in drinking) and a change in the direction of the qibla , the direction that should be faced when praying salat (originally Muslims faced Jerusalem , but this was changed to face the Kaaba in Mecca ). With few exceptions , Islamic revelations do not state which Quranic verses or hadith have been abrogated, and Muslim exegetes and jurists have disagreed over which and how many hadith and verses of the Quran are recognized as abrogated, with estimates varying from less than ten to over 500. Other issues of disagreement include whether the Quran , the central religious text of Islam, can be abrogated by the Sunnah , the body of traditional social and legal custom and practice of the Islamic community, or vice versa — a disagreement in Sunni Islam between the Shafiʽi and Hanafi schools of fiqh "jurisprudence"; and whether verses of the Quran may be abrogated at all, instead of reinterpreted and more narrowly defined — an approach favored by a minority of scholars. Several ayat (Quranic verses) state that some revelations have been abrogated and superseded by later revelations, and narrations from Muhammad's companions mention abrogated verses or rulings of the religion. The principle of abrogation of an older verse by a new verse in the Quran, or within the hadiths is an accepted principle of all four Sunni madhāhib , or schools of fiqh, and was an established principle in Sharia by at least the 9th century. Starting in the 19th century, modernist and Islamist scholars have argued against the concept of naskh , defending the absolute validity of the Quran. An abrogated text or ruling is called mansūkh , and the text or ruling which abrogates it is called nāsikh . Usul al-Fiqh: Methodology of Islamic Jurisprudence . With reverence for the word: medieval scriptural exegesis in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam . Abrogation in the Qur'an and Islamic Law .

Islamic concept of legal abrogation ( Learn how and when to remove this message ) Naskh ( نسخ ) is an Arabic word usually translated as " abrogation ". In tafsir , or Islamic legal exegesis, naskh recognizes that one rule might not always be suitable for every situation. In the widely recognized and "classic" form of naskh , one ḥukm "ruling" is abrogated to introduce an exception to the general rule, but the text the ḥukm is based on is not repealed . Some examples of Islamic rulings based on naskh include a gradual ban on consumption of alcohol (originally alcohol was not banned, but Muslims were told that the bad outweighed the good in drinking) and a change in the direction of the qibla , the direction that should be faced when praying salat (originally Muslims faced Jerusalem , but this was changed to face the Kaaba in Mecca ). With few exceptions , Islamic revelations do not state which Quranic verses or hadith have been abrogated, and Muslim exegetes and jurists have disagreed over which and how many hadith and verses of the Quran are recognized as abrogated, with estimates varying from less than ten to over 500. Other issues of disagreement include whether the Quran , the central religious text of Islam, can be abrogated by the Sunnah , the body of traditional social and legal custom and practice of the Islamic community, or vice versa — a disagreement in Sunni Islam between the Shafiʽi and Hanafi schools of fiqh ; and whether verses of the Quran may be abrogated at all, instead of reinterpreted and more narrowly defined — an approach favored by a minority of scholars. Several ayat (Quranic verses) state that some revelations have been abrogated and superseded by later revelations, and narrations from Muhammad's companions mention abrogated verses or rulings of the religion. The principle of abrogation of an older verse by a new verse in the Quran, or within the hadiths is an accepted principle of all four Sunni madhāhib , or schools of fiqh, and was an established principle in Sharia by at least the 9th century. Starting in the 19th century, modernist and Islamist scholars have argued against the concept of naskh , defending the absolute validity of the Quran. An abrogated text or ruling is called mansūkh , and the text or ruling which abrogates it is called nāsikh . Usul al-Fiqh: Methodology of Islamic Jurisprudence . Abrogation in the Qur'an and Islamic Law . A Theological and Juridical Reconsideration of the Theory of Abrogation and Its Impact on Qur'anic Exegesis' (PhD thesis, Temple University 2011).