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 Post subject: Did 64:16 abrogate 3:102?
PostPosted: 07 Jan 2010, 18:31 
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When 3:102 was revealed, Umar ibn Al-Khattaab, may God have been pleased with him, cried and said, "God has just ordered us to do the impossible!" The prophet, peace be upon him smiled at that remark but said nothing. Then, when 64:16 was revealed, Umar breathed a sigh of relief!

That is probably the basis for those who claim that 64:16 abrogated 3:102. Let's examine that.


is claimed to have been abrogated by


The abrogation case here is that 3:102 mandates that we watch out for God as He ought to be watched out for, which, as Umar concluded, would be impossible, but would it? Remember, the prophet was amused by Umar's interpretation which tells me that he found it interesting. Indeed, no one can properly watch out for God because our abilities are finite and God's attributes are limitless.

The question to ask then to determine whether there is abrogation here is this: Is watching out for God as best we could the same as watching out for God as He ought to be watched out for? I say yes! That's because God tells us that He never mandates anything that is beyond our capacity,

So when He mandated that we watch out for Him as He ought to be watched out for, He mandated something that we can do. Muhammad Al-Khudhari (Bek) agrees with me on this, in his book أصول الفقه, page 253.

Dr. Mustafa Zayd's refutation of this claim, on pages 116-117 (item 847) of volume 2 of his book النسخ في القرآن الكريم, is that 64:16 is an elaboration of the vague (تفسير المبهم). He quotes a few important quotes from scholars,

Abu-Ja`far An-Nahhaas wrote:
The abrogating is what contradicts the abrogated from all of its angles, rescinding it, removing its ruling.

Ibn `Aqeel wrote:
Whoever calls the elaboration in the Quran abrogation is mistaken.

Ibn Al-Jawzi wrote:
This is called elaboration of puzzling text (بيان مشكل). Folks thought that this is requiring what cannot be done, so God removed their puzzlement.

If He said, "Do not watch out for Him as He ought to be watched out for", then that would have been abrogation. Instead, He explained that what He means by "ought to" does not include what is beyond one's capacity.

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 Post subject: Re: Did 64:16 abrogate 3:102?
PostPosted: 07 Jan 2010, 19:53 
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Excellent!

There is a running theme in a number of verses where an apparent "reduction of the burden" is taken as an abrogation case. In addition to dealing with each case on its own merits, it would be warranted to tackle this matter in principle with some elaboration.

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 Post subject: Who said what
PostPosted: 22 Jan 2010, 18:18 
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For:
As-Suddi, Ibn Zayd and Ar-Rabee` ibn Anas (according to Al-Khazraji and Dr. Faaris),
Ibn Abbaas (according to Ar-Raazi and Ibn Salaam),
Qataada (according to Aş-Şa`di and Makki),
Muqaatil (according to Al-Qurtubi and Aş-Şa`di),
Ibn Hazm Al-Andalusi,
Muhammad ibn Ka`b, At-Tabari, Ibn Al-Jawzi (according to Az-Zalmi),
Al-Qaasim ibn Salaam (implied),
Al-Qurtubi (according to Dr. Faaris),
Ibn Salaama,
Az-Zurqaani (in one report),
As-Suyooti,
Ash-Sha`raawi, though he asserts that the two verses talk about two different things.

Against:
Ibn Abbaas (in a direct quote by Ibn Salaam and Nada quting Al-Qurtubi's analysis),
The majority, according to Ar-Raazi and Makki,
Mu`aazh ibn Jabal,
An-Nahhaas,
Makki,
Abu-Abdillah Shu`la,
Ibn `Aqeel,
Abu-Ali Al-Jabaa'i (according to Aş-Şa`di),
At-Tabari, Al-Aloosi, Ar-Raazi, Al-Qurtubi (according to Az-Zalmi),
Al-Asfahaani,
Ibn Al-Jawzi (quoted by Dr. Zayd),
Shah Waliullah Dehlvi,
Az-Zurqaani (in a direct quote from his book مناهل العرفان, volume 4, page 263, per `Ataaya),
Muhammad Al-Khudhari (Bek),
Dr. Mustafa Zayd,
Dr. Ahmad Hijaazi As-Saqqa,
Ali Hasan Al-Areedh,
M. M. Nada,
Dr. Az-Zalmi,
Dr. Muhammad Saalih Ali Mustafa,
Jamaal `Ataaya,
Dr. M. Ibrahim Faaris (implied).

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 Post subject: Re: Did 64:16 abrogate 3:102?
PostPosted: 23 Jan 2010, 10:20 
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Sheikh Ash-Sha`raawi provided an interesting angle about this abrogation claim on pages 511-512 of تفسير الشعراوي من الآية 106 الى الآية 115 من سورة البقرة. He mentions a clever argument that challenges abrogation based on the observation that 64:16 is not "better or similar" when compared to 3:102, since 64:16 asks us to "fear God as much as we can" while 3:102 asks us to "fear God as He should be feared" which sounds like a better thing to do. He counters that by an argument that I find a bit labored, but is nonetheless equally clever. He says that more people will be able to do the lesser requirement, so the cumulative good is better in that case.

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 Post subject: Re: Did 64:16 abrogate 3:102?
PostPosted: 24 Jan 2010, 08:06 
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Linguistic wrote:
The question to ask then to determine whether there is abrogation here is this: Is watching out for God as best we could the same as watching out for God as He ought to be watched out for? I say yes! That's because God tells us that He never mandates anything that is beyond our capacity, 2:286. So when He mandated that we watch out for Him as He ought to be watched out for, He mandated something that we can do. God knows best.

This is an excellent point that I would like to elaborate on. Chapter 2 was revealed before Chapter 3 (with Chapter 8 in between). Although I don't have further information to confirm that 2:286 specifically was revealed before 3:102, I will assume that this is the case and discuss the consequences.

Verse 2:286 is a statement of fact: "God does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity" and hence cannot be abrogated as a matter of principle. Therefore, when 3:102 says "fear God as He should be feared" that cannot possibly contradict the unabrogatable 2:286, hence it cannot be that "fearing God as He should be feared" is beyond our capacity. Therefore, when 64:16 says "fear God as much as much as you can" that cannot contradict 3:102 so the abrogation claim based on the perceived contradiction is void.

Now, let me attempt to interpret 3:102 in a way that explains why there is no contradiction. Not that this is needed to counter the abrogation argument anymore (previous paragraph is sufficient, assuming 3:102 indeed came after 2:286), but just to remove the unease about the apparent contradiction. Look at 3:102 in context,


3:100 and 3:101 are warning us not to obey the people of the book, and that we have God's Prophet and His verses to rely on. The conclusion comes in 3:102 that we should "fear God as He should be feared and not die except as Muslims." IMHO, given this strong context, "the way He should be feared" means the Islamic way, not the way of the people of the book who in their own way are supposedly fearing God as well. In fact, a more accurate linguistic translation of 3:102 is "fear God the true way He should be feared" which is the Islamic way.

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 Post subject: Re: Did 64:16 abrogate 3:102?
PostPosted: 24 Jan 2010, 20:41 
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Pragmatic wrote:
Although I don't have further information to confirm that 2:286 specifically was revealed before 3:102, I will assume that this is the case and discuss the consequences.

There is no dispute about that, as far as I know. I checked As-Suyooti and he does not mention either verse as a subject of dispute over order of revelation.

Quote:
Verse 2:286 is a statement of fact: "God does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity" and hence cannot be abrogated as a matter of principle. Therefore, when 3:102 says "fear God as He should be feared" that cannot possibly contradict the unabrogatable 2:286, hence it cannot be that "fearing God as He should be feared" is beyond our capacity. Therefore, when 64:16 says "fear God as much as much as you can" that cannot contradict 3:102 so the abrogation claim based on the perceived contradiction is void.

Quite agree and it strengthens my argument more.

Quote:
Look at 3:102 in context,
...
3:100 and 3:101 are warning us not to obey the people of the book, and that we have God's Prophet and His verses to rely on. The conclusion comes in 3:102 that we should "fear God as He should be feared and not die except as Muslims." IMHO, given this strong context, "the way He should be feared" means the Islamic way, not the way of the people of the book who in their own way are supposedly fearing God as well. In fact, a more accurate linguistic translation of 3:102 is "fear God the true way He should be feared" which is the Islamic way.

I like that a lot. The Jews have come to believe that there is no life after death. Therefore, they fear God only in the sense that He would punish them in this life. Christians do believe in the Hereafter, but they have assured themselves that they will not be punished in it if they have accepted the alleged sacrifice of Christ. Thus, they too only have to fear God in this life only. Neither dogma is true and neither dogma is a true fearing of God that we Muslims should adopt.

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 Post subject: Re: Did 64:16 abrogate 3:102?
PostPosted: 25 Jan 2010, 08:13 
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Linguistic wrote:
The Jews have come to believe that there is no life after death. Therefore, they fear God only in the sense that He would punish them in this life. Christians do believe in the Hereafter, but they have assured themselves that they will not be punished in it if they have accepted the alleged sacrifice of Christ. Thus, they too only have to fear God in this life only. Neither dogma is true and neither dogma is a true fearing of God that we Muslims should adopt.

We now have a strong counterargument to this abrogation claim, which is among the stronger claims in the abrogation literature.

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 Post subject: Re: Did 64:16 abrogate 3:102?
PostPosted: 31 Jan 2010, 05:32 
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Linguistic wrote:
When 3:102 was revealed, Umar ibn Al-Khattaab, may God have been pleased with him, cried and said, "God has just ordered us to do the impossible!" The prophet, peace be upon him smiled at that remark but said nothing.
...
The abrogation case here is that 3:102 mandates that we watch out for God as He ought to be watched out for, which, as Umar concluded, would be impossible, but would it? Remember, the prophet was amused by Umar's interpretation which tells me that he found it interesting.

The question arises: why wasn't the prophet as concerned as Umar was? We know from the Quran that the prophet, peace be upon him, worried a lot about all his people, not just the Muslims, for instance,

and

So, how can a man with such compassion not worry that God has just ordered Muslims to do the impossible? We can make many good guesses, but the bottom line is that he did not interpret verse 3:102 the way Umar did.

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 Post subject: Re: Did 64:16 abrogate 3:102?
PostPosted: 10 Mar 2010, 05:11 
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In his book, الناسخ والمنسوخ في القرآن, Ibn Hazm Al-Andalusi writes the following about this case,

الآية الخامسة قوله تعالى "يا أيها الذين آمنوا اتقوا الله حق تقاته" 102 آل عمران 3. لما نزلت لم يعلم ما تأويلها فقالوا يا رسول الله ما حق تقاته؟ فقال عليه السلام: حق تقاته أن يطاع فلا يعصى وأن يذكر فلا ينسى وأن يشكر فلا يكفر. فقالوا يا رسول ومن يطيق ذلك؟ فانزعجوا لنزولها انزعاجا عظيما. ثم أنزل الله بعد مدة يسيرة آية تؤكد حكمها وهي قوله تعالى "وجاهدوا في الله حق جهاده" 78 مدنية الحج 22، فكان هذا عليهم أعظم من الأول! ومعناها اعملوا لله حق عمله، فكادت عقولهم تذهل، فلما علم الله ما قد نزل بهم في هذا الأمر العسير خفف فنسخها بالآية التي في التغابن وهي قوله تعالى "فاتقوا الله ما استطعتم" 16 مدنية التغابن 64، فكان هذا تيسيرا من التعسير الأول وتخفيفا من التشديد الأول


He narrates the reaction of Muslims to the revelation of 3:102. They asked the Prophet (PBUH), "What is His true piety?" He answered, "That He is obeyed and not disobeyed, remembered and not forgotten, and thanked and not denied." They said, "O Messenger of God, who can bear that?" And they were troubled a lot. Then shortly afterward, 22:78 was revealed confirming 3:102! It meant "Work for God as He ought to be worked for." Their minds nearly blurred! Then God revealed the easing verse, 64:16, abrogating 3:102.

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 Post subject: Re: Did 64:16 abrogate 3:102?
PostPosted: 15 Mar 2010, 05:31 
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Linguistic wrote:
الآية الخامسة قوله تعالى "يا أيها الذين آمنوا اتقوا الله حق تقاته" 102 آل عمران 3. لما نزلت لم يعلم ما تأويلها فقالوا يا رسول الله ما حق تقاته؟ فقال عليه السلام: حق تقاته أن يطاع فلا يعصى وأن يذكر فلا ينسى وأن يشكر فلا يكفر. فقالوا يا رسول ومن يطيق ذلك؟ فانزعجوا لنزولها انزعاجا عظيما. ثم أنزل الله بعد مدة يسيرة آية تؤكد حكمها وهي قوله تعالى "وجاهدوا في الله حق جهاده" 78 مدنية الحج 22، فكان هذا عليهم أعظم من الأول! ومعناها اعملوا لله حق عمله، فكادت عقولهم تذهل، فلما علم الله ما قد نزل بهم في هذا الأمر العسير خفف فنسخها بالآية التي في التغابن وهي قوله تعالى "فاتقوا الله ما استطعتم" 16 مدنية التغابن 64، فكان هذا تيسيرا من التعسير الأول وتخفيفا من التشديد الأول

After telling the story, the author says in the last sentence: "So when God knew what this difficult matter caused them, He lightened it by abrogating...."

May I kindly ask on what authority is the author telling us a story about what God thought and what caused Him to act?

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