From all of this, it seems that the interpretation of 2:106 by the companions of Ibn Massoud (أصحاب ابن مسعود) is the original basis for the belief that there are abrogated verses in the text of the Quran.
Thanks, Pragmatic, for the elaborate study. It is evident, therefore, that abrogation of ruling while keeping the verse in the text is a
theory of the early scholars and that it does not have any foundations in the Quran or in the Sunna. Even if a Sunna abrogated another Sunna and both hadeeths were reported in collection books, there is no rationale to extrapolate that to the Quran without evidence. Opinion is not evidence, and to declare a verse no longer enforceable is about as serious as one can get, yet many scholars did just that. Verses 5:44,45 and 47 all have stern words for
من لم يحكم بما أنزل الله (those who do not judge by what God sent down). If we declare a ruling in a verse not applicable, we run that risk, don't we?