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 Post subject: Re: Did 4:11-12 abrogate 2:180?
PostPosted: 26 Apr 2014, 17:43 
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Dehlvi, in his famous book الفوز الكبير في أصول التفسير, page 59, accepts this claim, but adds that the hadeeth "no bequest for an heir" explains the "abrogation."

He does not elaborate, but I think that he is referring to the point he made several times throughout the book, namely, that the meaning of the word "naskh" is much more general than the strict definition of the foundationists. That is, the word means "any subsequent statement regarding a prior ruling." If that is what he meant, then I certainly agree and it would also mean that he did not actually believe that this case is an abrogation case, but rather an elaboration.

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 Post subject: Re: Did 4:11-12 abrogate 2:180?
PostPosted: 25 Jan 2020, 23:32 
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Al-Ghaali, in his book بالحجة والبرهان لا نسخ في القرآن, pages 63-71, rejects this claim by offering these refutation arguments,
  • Al-Zamakhshari argued that the two verses, 2:180 and 4:11 suggest that a bequest may be given to parents in addition to their regular inheritance share. Al-Asfahani suggested likewise.
  • Al-Zamakhshari also argued that 2:180 did not specify the amount of the shares to give and 4:11 elaborated on that. That was the opinion of Al-Asfahani too. Al-Raazi agreed.
  • Al-Shawkani argued that the parents mentioned in 2:180 are parents who do not inherit, such as non-Muslim parents. And the relatives mentioned in 2:180 are relatives that are not named in 4:11, such as siblings of the mother. Al-Qurtubi wrote that this opinion was offered by Ad-Dhahhaak, Tawoos, and Al-Hasan.
  • Ibn Al-Arabi، in his book الناسخ والمنسوخ, page 30, wrote that there is no contradiction between 2:180 and 4:11 since a bequest to relatives is allowed by the majority. As for the claim that it was the hadith "No bequest to an heir", he argued that the hadeeth must be certain in sourcing (متواتر) before it may be considered for the abrogation of a verse. He noted that the hadeeth is not even authentic! (ليس له في الصحة أصل)
  • Imam Muhammad Abduh, in his exegesis (تفسير المنار) rejected the abrogation claim and said that it is quite proper in some cases to bequest to a poor heir in addition to his or her regular share.
  • Al-Ghaali leans toward the opinion that 2:180 is a recommendation and not a mandate. He mentioned that Ibn Al-Jawzi wrote that Al-Shaabi and Al-Nakhei both opined it. Their evidence is the word بالمعروف (properly) and that suggests a recommendation, and also the word المتقين (the pious) and a mandate is not restricted only to the pious. I respectfully disagree. I see the word بالمعروف to mean "as customary" and the word المتقين as an incentive to people to obey the command, so that may be counted among the pious. The words كُتِب عليكم (it has been written upon you) is unambiguous about the command being a mandate and the word حقا (a right) is unambiguous about the will being the right of surviving parents and relatives.

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 Post subject: Re: Did 4:11-12 abrogate 2:180?
PostPosted: 17 Mar 2021, 02:10 
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A completely different thought occurred to me about this abrogation claim. In case this has any merit, let me document my thoughts here. The point came up because of verse 4:18



which uses the same wording about death approaching, in the context of repentance. It occurred to me that the reason repentance is not accepted in this case is because "there is nothing to lose" whereas repentance while there is still a stretch of life entails certain behavior afterwards. By the same token, while one is free to give away his money any way one wants while one is alive, verse 2:180 in fact prohibits that when death approaches. The rationale in this case is that giving away your money earlier may not be taken lightly by you because it has consequences (you may run out of money in the remainder of your life, people who get the money may prove ungrateful to you, etc.), but there is nothing to lose if the money is given away when death approaches, hence the restriction on that in verse 2:180 is needed.

If this logic stands, then 2:180 is certainly not abrogated as it deals with a subject matter that is not touched upon in the inheritance verses. This is perhaps the reason why "يوصيكم" in the inheritance verses is done by God since the person is already deceased, while in 2:180 "الوصية" is by the person who is still alive. It also squares with the narration about the sahabi who wanted to give away his money to charity while on his death bed.

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 Post subject: Re: Did 4:11-12 abrogate 2:180?
PostPosted: 17 Mar 2021, 21:19 
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Pragmatic wrote:
It occurred to me that the reason repentance is not accepted in this case is because "there is nothing to lose" whereas repentance while there is still a stretch of life entails certain behavior afterwards. By the same token, while one is free to give away his money any way one wants while one is alive, verse 2:180 in fact prohibits that when death approaches. The rationale in this case is that giving away your money earlier may not be taken lightly by you because it has consequences (you may run out of money in the remainder of your life, people who get the money may prove ungrateful to you, etc.), but there is nothing to lose if the money is given away when death approaches, hence the restriction on that in verse 2:180 is needed.

Quite insightful! I haven't read that perspective before.
Thank you.

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 Post subject: Re: Did 4:11-12 abrogate 2:180?
PostPosted: 17 Mar 2021, 21:34 
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Al-Qurtubi, in his exegesis of verses 4:11-12, has a section he titled "لا ميراث إلا بعد أداء الوصية والدين" (No inheritance except after paying off bequests and debts).

One may conclude that he rejected the claim of abrogation of verse 2:180. Indeed, the verses clearly give priority in estate distribution to "bequests or debts", so, can one conclude that the bequest verse, 2:180, was not therefore abrogated? Not exactly. That's because an argument can be made that bequests are still allowed, but no longer required. We've shown why verse 2:180 was not abrogated for other reasons.

Another interesting point is the Quran's verbiage of "bequests OR debts." Can one conclude that if the decedent left bequests AND debts that one of them only is to be honored, in which case bequests are the choice to be honored and debts are not because the verse puts bequests first? I don't think that argument has credibility. "Or", in the verse, is not an exclusive conjunction. In modern parlance, it means "and/or". Consensus has been that debts are honored first, including things like legal fees, then bequests then the remainder of the estate. I agree with the consensus on that.

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