Abrogation (naskh) in the Qur'an is one of the most serious and fundamental discourses of Qur'anic Sciences. The importance of this issue can be appreciated from the relevant traditions narrated form the Imams (A.S.). The present article examines abrogation in the Qur'an from the viewpoint of Shaykh Ṭūsī (may God have mercy on him) through his two books Al-Tibyān fī Tafsīr al-Qur'ān and Al-‘Udda fī Uṣūl al-Fiqh.
Abrogation in the Qur'an is perceived to be of three types: abrogation of rule without expression; abrogation of expression without rule; and abrogation of both rule and expression.
Abrogation of rule without expression means that a verse in the Qur'an is confirmed but its legal concept and content is abrogated and is not permissible to be acted on. From the viewpoint of the Shī‘a scholars this is the only abrogation which is permissible in the Qur'ān and the other two would lead to interpolation and are invalid.
Shaykh Ṭūsī has mentioned conditions for the abrogating (nāsikh), the abrogated (mansūkh), and abrogation. Of the conditions of the abrogating is that it ought to be detached from and subsequent to the abrogated, and to be definite and scholarly rather than presumptive. And of the general conditions of abrogation is that it is executed in the legal and obligatory rules rather than in the rational and genetic ones.
The late Shaykh regards as true the incidence of abrogation in command and prohibition or in a tradition that includes a command or a prohibition. Similarly, he considers as permissible the abrogation of a book by a book or a tradition by a tradition in case they are equal in terms of evidentiary proof. Also, he regards the abrogation of a book by a tradition and a tradition by a book as permissible in case the tradition is an interrupted (maqṭū‘) and a widely-transmitted (mutawātir) ḥadīth.
Shaykh Ṭūsī has enumerated two ways to identify the abrogating and the abrogated:
When the abrogating indicates abrogation with a verbal indication.
When the abrogating is demanding abrogation in terms of meaning.
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