Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery. (Malcolm X)
Thinking about the musing from DAY 45: Five Pillars…And One Quran,
I would submit to you that before moving forward regarding the belief system of Islam, it is important to cover perhaps the most important aspect of this belief system. I would further submit to you that what will be covered now is perhaps the most unique and compelling component contained in the Quran:
The doctrine of abrogation.
So what exactly is the doctrine of abrogation?
In order to better understand the doctrine of abrogation, I will be using the following verses from the Quran:
Surah 2:106, 16:101, 2:190 and 9:5.
First, consider the following from Surah 2:106:
“We do not abrogate a verse or cause it to be forgotten except that We bring forth [one] better than it or similar to it. Do you not know that Allah is over all things competent?”
Second, consider the following from Surah 16:101:
“When We substitute a verse in place of a verse, and Allah is most knowing of what He sends down, they say: You are but a forger! But most of them do not know.”
I would submit to you that in Surah 2:106, a baseline has been created regarding the doctrine of abrogation. In other words, Allah first creates x. Then, sometime in the future, Allah then creates y. At this point, Allah being Allah, y is now greater than x.
If this does not make sense yet, perhaps this math equation may help:
x (before) < y (going forward) = Allah being Allah.
Ok, perhaps it is not exactly the perfect math equation, but then again, I was never strong in any of my math classes growing up….
On the surface, the doctrine of abrogation does make sense. Think about it. You have a cell phone. Or a car. Or a refrigerator. Or…
You get the idea.
Think about an item you have in your possession. After a while what happens to said item? It gets old. It needs a tune up. It gets worn down. It goes out of style. It…
Again, you get the idea.
The next verse from the Quran to help one to better understand the doctrine of abrogation comes from Surah 2:190:
“Fight in the way of Allah those who fight you but do not transgress. Indeed. Allah does not like transgressors.”
Now consider the following analogy and question that I ask my students after we read Surah 2:190:
“Let’s try to apply the concept of Surah 2:190 to a football game. If the Muslims where a football team, according to Surah 2:190, what team would they send out to begin the game: offense, defense, or special teams?”
For most, the answer is clear.
“Defense!”
Finally, I use the following from Surah 9:5:
“And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should repent, establish prayer, and give zakah, let them [go] on their way. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.”
Now, for a follow up question after Surah 9:5 is read:
“So after reading Surah 9:5, and sticking with our football analogy, pretend that the first half has ended and the halftime show is now over. The second half of the football game is ready to begin. After reading this verse, what side of the football field does the Muslim football team head out to, to begin the second half: offense, defense, or special teams?
At this point, everyone knows this answer.
“Offense!”
As for the second and third sentences of Surah 9:5? Well, I would submit to you that perhaps there is a case to be made about the Muslims being on special teams at this point. After all, there appears to be no offensive, or defensive language in both the second or third sentences.
However, the first sentence is quite clear. Offense.
I now ask a third question to gage the understanding of the students regarding the big picture with the doctrine of abrogation:
“So, using our football analogy, after reading Surah 2:190, why is it that the Muslims are now going out on offense to begin the second half?”
Whatever student was lost before I began all of this is no longer lost. This answer is always the loudest and most clear:
“Abrogation!”
That is the correct answer.
A rapid succession of questions and answers quickly follow:
ME: “How many times in the Old Testament is the word or the doctrine of abrogation mentioned?”
STUDENTS: “Zero.” or “none.” or “nowhere.”
ME: “How many times in the New Testament is the word or the doctrine of abrogation mentioned?”
STUDENTS: “Zero.” or “none.” or “nowhere.”
ME: ““How many times in the Quran does the God of Islam, Allah, change because he can, because the doctrine of abrogation allows him to do so?”
STUDENTS: “Huh?”
ME: “Can we agree that the answer to that question would be at least once, because of Surah 2:190 and Surah 9:5? The change from defense to offense?”
SOME RANDOM STUDENT: “Isn’t it actually at least two and not one? Isn’t Surah 2:190 and Surah 9:5 two different verses and thus two different times in the Quran?”
ME: Non-verbal reaction…I shrug my shoulders and raise my eyebrows.
I guess in theory, we could spend the rest of the class period discussing the validity of whether there are one, or two, or perhaps more cases of the doctrine abrogation mentioned directly or indirectly in the Quran.
But that doesn’t matter for us in the classroom. We must move on with the content regarding Islam.
Two final questions are asked:
ME: “Is it possible that the God of the 3 monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, are in fact the same God?”
STUDENTS: “No.”
ME: “Why not?”
STUDENTS: “Because of abrogation.”
The point has been made.
After wrapping up the doctrine of abrogation, I move forward by going back to Muhammad.
It would be most beneficial, if you were a Muslim, to know a simple question:
Is there another book in addition to the Quran, that Muslims should be familiar with?
A book that would answer the question of:
“What Would Muhammad Do?’
Yes there is.
As a practicing Muslim, wouldn’t you want to know how Muhammad handled a situation similar to your own?
Of course you would. That is why it is important for Muslims to be aware of exactly that, what would Muhammad do.
This ‘how to manual’ is called the Sunnah, the ideal model for proper living your life as a Muslim.
So, now that the Muslims know what Allah wants them to do through the Quran, and they also know what Muhammad would do through the Sunnah, is there anything else left for a Muslim to learn?
Yes, the concept of Law of Sharia.
So what is the Law of Sharia?
How does the Law of Sharia, combined with the Quran and Sunnah, make a Muslim complete?
That will be answered next time.
Do not feel discouraged if the Quran and Sunnah, still do not make sense. Do not feel discouraged if you still cannot come to a conclusion regarding Islam as a belief system. Instead, embrace the idea that as this information becomes available, you will have a strong sense as to what belief system is right for you.
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:10 KJV)
Was today’s blog a little confusing at times? Was the content perhaps a little overwhelming? Did you feel lost not understanding some or most of the subject matter?
Those feelings are totally understandable and it is ok to have one or more of those feelings. Remember that you are reading Day 46: The Doctrine Of Abrogation.
If you haven’t been in class since the first day of school…or when the project began…or when the contract was first signed, etc., these feelings make perfect and logistical sense.
Please feel free to go back to where all of this began: