Page 171 - Tafsir of surat at tawba repentance

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TYPES OF NASKH

There are basically four different types of naskh which can take place
between the two sources of divine law, the Qur’aan and the Sunnah.
The first is the naskh of the Qur’aan by the Qur’aan. In this type of naskh, a
Qur’aanic verse containing a law is superseded by another Qur’aanic verse
containing a new law. An example can be found in the verses on immoral
women. The early law was stated in the Qur’aan as follows:

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“And for those of your women who have illicit relations, seek four
witnesses among you. If they bear witness, confine the women in
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houses until they die or until Allaah makes another way for them.”

This law was abolished and replaced by the following law of lashing:

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“Lash both the fornicator and the fornicatress one hundred times
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each.”

The second type is naskh of the Qur’aan by the Sunnah. There is controversy
as to whether this category exists. Those who affirm it give as an example of it the
verse on wills, wherein Allaah instructs the believers as follows:

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Soorah an-Nisaa’ (4):15.
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Soorah an-Noor (24):2.

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