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The Muslim will satisfactorily be absolved from the necessity of
reading the former Scriptures if the latter have been abrogated by the Qur’an. Hence arises the convenient theory
to this effect, that as the Gospel superseded the Law of Moses, so the gospel itself in its turn, has had to give
place to the Qur‘an, by which it has been abrogated.
Some things, according to this view, have been entirely abolished, such
as the Jewish sacrifices and ceremonial regulations generally. All that has not been abrogated has been
promulgated anew in the Qur’an and the authoritative Traditions. The abrogated things belong to the non-essentials
of religion. No Muslim would think of affirming that any of the essential elements of God's true religion have
been or ever can be changed. This is a most important distinction, to be carefully borne in mind and made use of
in discussions with Muslims on this point.
Muslims can produce the authority of the Qur’an for the existence of
abrogating and abrogated verses of that book, as e.g.
‘Whatever verse we shall abrogate, or cause thee to forget, we will
bring a better than it, or one like unto it’ (Surah 2, Baqarah, 105).
But the Qur’an says nothing of this kind with regard to the previous
Scriptures, either in relation to one another or to the Qur'an itself. On the contrary, they are consistently
praised or confirmed. Jesus was taught the Law and the Gospel by God (Surah 3 Al Imran, 48). He confirmed
the Law and received the Gospel,
'confirming also the light which was given before it' (5 Ma’idah,
50).
Muhammad and the Muslims accept all the former Scriptures without
distinction between the Apostles of God (2 Baqarah, 136, 285; 3 Al ’Imran, 83)
The Qur’an itself ' (is) a confirmation of that which was
(revealed) before it, and an explanation of the Scripture ‘ (Surah 10 Yunus, 38)
It is only when we turn to the Traditions that anything can be found to
support the doctrine of the successive abrogation of the Scriptures. |