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I would like to express a strong objection to some of the terminology used in the abrogation literature. They refer to something that is not abrogated as " محكم " which intentionally or inadvertently refers to



and I take exception with this implicit connotation.

That bothers me too because it's unnecessary, religiously or linguistically. A better word that has been used by scholars is باقية (staying).

I found out what's been said about the meaning of محكم. As-Suyooti reports the different interpretations. An excerpt follows.

I have difficulty believing that Ibn Abbas, may God be pleased with him, would say that.

I have a simpler view of 3:7. The Quran plays a dual role in the life of Muslims. On the one hand, everyone regardless of their knowledge or intelligence is encouraged to read it as a form of worship and inspiration. On the other hand, scholars depend on it as a source of legislation. In order to fulfill both roles, the style of the the Quran is not 'legalistic'. I view 3:7 as a warning to people that one should not jump to conclusions based on a literal interpretation of single passages in isolation, which would assume that each passage is " محكم " .

I talked some more about محكم and other terminology in this post

The following are key arguments presented by As-Suyooti,


Translation:
Ibn Habeeb An-Naysapoori told that there are three opinions in the matter:
One is that the whole of the Quran is "Muhkam", for God says "A Book whose verses have been fixed" (11:1),
The second is that all of it is "Mutashaabih", for God says, "A Book looking alike with dual [verses]" (39:23),
And the third, which is the correct opinion, is that it is divided into "Muhkam" and "Mutashaabih" for the verse in question, 3:7.

My comment:
All three opinions are correct, not just the third one, even as they appear contradictory. Bear with me.

1. Verse 11:1 makes it clear that the Book's verses have been fixed and then detailed. Thus, all of the verses of the Quran are fixed. None have been abrogated. And they have been detailed in a couple of ways,
   
   1. If we understand متشابهات to mean "carry multiple meanings", then they are that way on purpose. God wanted all those meanings, arrived at with sound logic, to be applicable. That is out of His generosity and grace. He could have made all verses mean one and only one thing and we would have had to comply. The religion then would have been strict. Instead, the religion is flexible and can accommodate changes in life and in people. Thus, the details God refers to in 11:1 are the variety of acceptable meanings.
   2. If we understand متشابهات to mean "look-alike", which is the literal, linguistic meaning, then that is further support to the fact that they detail the other verses. God explained the same concept in several ways in order for us to understand it fully.
   3. God inspired His messenger, peace be upon him, many hadeeths to explain things to us, thus detailing the Quran. God says,
      
      
      
      And
      
      
      If there were abrogated verses in the Quran but neither God nor His messenger have told us about them, that would contradict God's promise in 75:19.
2. Verse 39:23 simply means that the Quran is consistent. متشابها means "every part of it looks like every other part." It is the opposite of متناقضا.
   
3. Verse 3:7, we showed in point 1 above that verses that have multiple meanings detail the other, but all those meanings are consistent as well. They do not contradict each other, nor any other verse.

Translation:
Some said the verse, 3:7, does not imply only these two options. God says, "So that you can explain to people what has been sent down to them" (39:23). But the "fixed" does not need explanation and the "look-alike" cannot be hoped to be explained.

My comment:
The explanation meant in 39:23 is the details referred to in 11:1. As for the look-alikes, we said above that they are not mystery, rather they are a grace, a leeway from God.

That's my humble opinion and God knows best.

You make the key point that seems to be ignored in comparing 11:1 to 3:7. Indeed, 11:1 says


The operative part is "ثم فصلت" which I would translate in today's technical terms as "then were rendered." Thus the verses were perfected first then rendered to us. I think it shows that in spite of being revealed in bits and pieces, each in its own context during the life of the Prophet (PBUH), the whole book had been worked out and perfected ahead of time. The two attributes of God mentioned at the end of the verse fit the two 'stages' of the Quran that the verse referred to. Being "Wise" (حكيم) fits perfecting the book and comes from the same word origin of the verb "أحكمت" that was used, and being "All-familiar" (خبير) fits knowing us well enough to render the book in a form that suits us.

Didn't you tell me once, Pragmatic, that 3:7 is itself a perfect example of a "Mutashaabih" verse? That was a clever observation!

Indeed, there are many interpretations of what the word "Mutashaabih" means, but the funny thing is that there are also many interpretations of what the word "Muhkam" means! It is supposed to have one meaning

Also, the punctuation before والراسخون في العلم ("and those established in knowledge") has been debated. The majority opinion is that there is a pause before it, which would make the meaning: Only God knows their ultimate meaning. If there is no punctuation and therefore no pause, a minority opinion, then those established in knowledge may also know the ultimate meaning. The consequence of that is people who believe they are established in knowledge may start claiming that they know the ultimate meaning! But even that is not supported by the verse, because only God knows who are established in knowledge!!

Thus, this verse explains itself and explains what Mutashaabih means: IMHO, it means there are multiple meanings in many verses that sound logic can lead to and they are all intended. If God meant to convey only one meaning, He could have easily rephrased the verse and removed any ambiguity. The precise meaning of the word "Mutashaabih" and the purpose of having such verses is, of course, known only to God.

Well said.