The Verse of the Sword, Inheritance Verse, and the Mistake of Some Mufassirun

آیت سیف سے مسلمانوں کے ساتھ حسن مملوک کی نفی نہیں ہوتی — بعض مفسرین کی غلطی

The Verse of the Sword and Its Supposed Abrogation of Other Verses

Some say: the verse of the sword (āyat al-sayf) has abrogated the verse of patient treatment of the People of the Book. Shah Sahib (rahimahullah) also considers the verse about patient, kind treatment of believers to have been abrogated by it. But I submit that this is not abrogation at all. The verse about kind treatment toward believers is still in force — for every situation and circumstance has its own appropriate verse and ruling from the Qur'an. When the verse of the sword was revealed in Madinah — did it mean that all people everywhere should act on it immediately? Some act on it and some do not. So it cannot be said that some specific Madinan verses abrogate the foundational Makkan principles — each verse holds its place according to its circumstances and conditions.

وَلَا تُلْقُوا بِأَيْدِيكُمْ إِلَى التَّهْلُكَةِ

'And do not throw yourselves into destruction by your own hands.' (al-Baqara 2:195) —

لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا

'Allah does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear.' (al-Baqara 2:286). These Makkan and Madinan verses maintain their own positions in their respective situations — neither abrogates the other.

The Verse on Inheritance (Wasiyya)

People say that the verse: 'Kutiba alaykum idha hadhara ahadakum al-mawtu in taraka khayran al-wasiyyatu lil-walidayn wa al-aqrabin bil-ma'ruf haqqan ala al-muttaqin' (al-Baqara 2:180) — 'Prescribed for you, when death approaches any of you, if he leaves wealth, is to make a bequest for his parents and relatives according to what is reasonable — an obligation upon the God-fearing' — has been abrogated by the hadith: 'La wasiyyata li wariths' (There is no bequest for an heir) and by the Qur'anic inheritance verses. I submit this in reply: that this verse is not abrogated by those prophetic traditions (ahadith). From this verse the preparation for testament (wasiyyah) was being made. The verse is essentially a preamble: it addresses situations where a father, mother, or close relative may be deprived. For example: a grandfather may have died, leaving his children — some of whom are destitute. The grandchildren from a deceased son might be entirely destitute. For them, it is highly appropriate to make a bequest. Then Allah Most High himself has fixed the shares in the verse of inheritance. In this matter there is no contradiction between naskh and mansukh — one verse discusses the preliminary encouragement for a bequest, while the other specifies the fixed shares. The second verse has been determined by Allah himself.

The Error of Some Mufassirun Regarding the Verse of the Zāniya

Some say: the verse of zina — 'āl-Zānī falā yankiḥu illā zāniyatan aw mushrikata wa al-Zāniyatu lā yankiḥuhā illā zānin aw mushrikun wa ḥurrima dhālika 'alā al-mu'minīn' (al-Nūr 24:3) — 'The male fornicator shall not marry except a female fornicator or a polytheist woman, and the female fornicator shall not be married except by a male fornicator or a polytheist; and that is forbidden to the believers' — has been abrogated by: 'wa ankiḥū al-ayāmā minkum' (al-Nūr 24:32). Shah Sahib (rahimahullah) says: this is not abrogation. In the context of this verse, what is meant by 'iḥṣān' (chastity) is the formal marriage (nikah) itself. The verse means that a fornicatress by her very act is one who has become unfit for a chaste man to marry under normal circumstances — not that marriage itself is permanently outlawed. By 'mushrik' and 'mushrika' here is meant unmarried persons, not idolaters. If a person has married anyone outside a proper Islamic marriage contract, it brings disgrace upon the family. For this reason, Imam Ahmad issued his ruling. Shah Sahib further says: the meaning of 'ḥurrima dhālika' is not the prohibition of nikah per se, but that for a believing man it is haram to have relations with a disbelieving woman outside of marriage. The indication of 'dhālik' is toward zina and polytheism.

In summary, this verse has not abrogated the verse on marrying the unmarried — because the Qur'an itself is preserved (mahfuz) and its content is protected in its entirety from beginning to end, as it has come down in authentic mutawatir transmission. No single report (khabar ahad) can stand against the Qur'an. The text of the Qur'an sharif is mutawatir — no tampering with it is possible; no individual (ahad) report can be set against it. The Qur'an sharif has been preserved in its completeness, and Allah Most High is its own guardian, as the Qur'an declares: 'Inna Nahnu nazzalna al-dhikra wa inna lahu la-hafizun.'

The Error of Some Mufassirun in General

From this it is proven that some among the mufassirun have been exceedingly unjust. They say that certain verses of the Qur'an are not to be recited now — because such-and-such a verse has abrogated its ruling and such-and-such a verse has abrogated its recitation. They also say, for example: 'al-Shaykh wa al-Shaykhatu idha zanaya fa arjumuhuma al-battata' (the old man and old woman, when they commit adultery, stone them both without fail) — is a Qur'anic verse, saying: 'I reckon this to be from the Qur'an.' The Qur'an sharif has not a single additional word in it beyond what is established — [to add or subtract from it] is to do disservice to the Qur'an. Its reciters in the authentic tradition — Hafiz Asim, Hafiz Uthman, Hafiz Ali, Hazrat Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, Hazrat Zayd ibn Thabit, Hazrat Ubayy ibn Ka'b — all of whom, with the consent of all authorities, transmitted it in continuous (mutawatir) form, generation after generation, until us. This authentic, verified mutawatir transmission is against any single (ahad) narration. A single report should not be accepted (as Qur'an) — for the Qur'an sharif is protected. From the beginning, the huffaz (memorizers) and the qurra' (reciters) have guarded its tawaatur (continuity). In this mutawatir transmission, against it no single rival narration is admissible. No individual has the power to alter it; whatever trickery anyone may attempt — Allah Most High protects it and so saves the Muslims. Ameen.