al-Qurʾān — Nāsikh wa Mansūkh

Nāsikh wa Mansūkh (abrogation) is an important discipline within the sciences of the Qurʾān (ʿUlūm al-Qurʾān) that examines verses whose rulings were replaced, modified, or superseded by later revelations during the lifetime of the Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ. The term nāsikh refers to the abrogating text, while mansūkh denotes the abrogated ruling. Muslim scholars developed this science to reconcile verses that appeared to convey differing legal directives and to understand the gradual development of Islamic legislation. The Qurʾān itself refers to the principle of abrogation: “Whenever We abrogate a verse or cause it to be forgotten, We bring forth one better than it or similar to it” (Qurʾān 2:106). Another verse states: “And when We substitute one verse in place of another—and Allah knows best what He reveals” (Qurʾān 16:101).

The concept of abrogation reflects the gradual method through which Islamic law and ethical teachings were revealed according to the circumstances and evolving needs of the early Muslim community. Many scholars cite the prohibition of intoxicants as a classic example of progressive legislation. Initially, the Qurʾān merely acknowledged both benefit and harm in wine (2:219), then prohibited prayer while intoxicated (4:43), and finally declared intoxicants unlawful altogether (5:90–91). This gradual transition illustrates the wisdom of divine legislation in preparing society for comprehensive moral reform. Similarly, changes concerning the direction of prayer (qiblah) from Jerusalem to the Kaʿbah are also discussed within the framework of naskh.

Classical scholars classified abrogation into several categories. One category concerns the abrogation of a legal ruling while the recitation of the verse remains in the Qurʾān. Another refers to the abrogation of both the ruling and recitation, while some scholars also discussed cases in which the recitation was removed but the ruling remained operative. However, later scholars approached the subject with greater caution and reduced the number of verses considered abrogated. Early exegetes sometimes identified broad instances of apparent contradiction as naskh, whereas later researchers preferred reconciliation (jamʿ) wherever possible. Consequently, the number of accepted abrogated verses varies significantly among scholars, ranging from several hundred in some early works to only a few in modern studies.

The science of Nāsikh wa Mansūkh holds considerable significance in Qurʾānic exegesis (tafsīr), jurisprudence (fiqh), and legal theory (uṣūl al-fiqh). Knowledge of chronology and historical context is essential for determining whether abrogation has occurred. Scholars emphasize that naskh only applies to legal rulings and practical regulations, not to fundamental beliefs, ethical truths, or narratives. Moreover, abrogation ceased with the completion of revelation and the death of the Prophet ﷺ. Despite scholarly differences regarding the scope and number of abrogated verses, the discipline remains an essential component of Islamic intellectual tradition and demonstrates the dynamic and gradual nature of Qurʾānic legislation in guiding the early Muslim community toward spiritual and social transformation.

## References

1 Qurʾān 2:106, 219; 4:43; 5:90–91; 16:101. 2 Abū Jaʿfar Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad al-Naḥḥās, Al-Nāsikh wa al-Mansūkh, ed. Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Salām Muḥammad (Kuwait: Maktabat al-Falāḥ, 1988). 3 Jamāl al-Dīn Abū al-Faraj Ibn al-Jawzī, Nawāsikh al-Qurʾān (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah, 1984). 4 Jalāl al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Suyūṭī, Al-Itqān fī ʿUlūm al-Qurʾān, ed. Muḥammad Abū al-Faḍl Ibrāhīm (Cairo: al-Hayʾah al-Miṣriyyah al-ʿĀmmah lil-Kitāb, 1974), 2:20–61. 5 Badr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Zarkashī, Al-Burhān fī ʿUlūm al-Qurʾān, ed. Muḥammad Abū al-Faḍl Ibrāhīm (Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Kutub al-ʿArabiyyah, 1957), 2:29–52. 6 Muḥammad ʿAbd al-ʿAẓīm al-Zarqānī, Manāhil al-ʿIrfān fī ʿUlūm al-Qurʾān (Beirut: Dār al-Kitāb al-ʿArabī, 1995), 2:175–223. 7 Mannāʿ al-Qaṭṭān, Mabāḥith fī ʿUlūm al-Qurʾān (Cairo: Maktabat Wahbah, 2000), 233–256. 8 Muftī Muḥammad Taqī ʿUthmānī, ʿUlūm al-Qurʾān (Karachi: Maktabah Dār al-ʿUlūm, 2002), 179–210. 9 John Burton, The Sources of Islamic Law: Islamic Theories of Abrogation (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1990). 10 Louay Fatoohi, Abrogation in the Qurʾān and Islamic Law: A Critical Study of the Concept of Naskh and Its Impact (Kuala Lumpur: Islamic Book Trust, 2013). 11 Aḥmad von Denffer, ʿUlūm al-Qurʾān: An Introduction to the Sciences of the Qurʾān (Leicester: The Islamic Foundation, 1983), 87–106. Top of FormBottom of Form