Is Islam Cool with Me?: The Law of Abrogation

 Freedom of Speech - Norman Rockwell

Scott Sturman

Is Islam cool with me?  I mean, is it the Religion of Peace or am I hosed, because I don’t see things quite that way?
---W.R. Priskna

Mr. Priskna echoes many of the concerns of Westerners.  One one hand he hears the religion is all accepting and benevolent, while on the other non believers either convert or die.  Which of these two diametrically opposed views are true?  Understanding the Law of Abrogation helps settle the matter in a logical, clear-minded fashion.

The lessons of the Qur’an, listed in its suras or chapters, are contradictory, and for the outsider it is difficult to determine which ones take precedence.  Unlike the Bible which is written chronologically, the Qur’an is ordered by the size of the chapter with the longest first and the shortest last.  The tone and commandments of the suras vary to such an extent that at times it seems implausible they are part of the same book.

The Qur’an by definition is perfect in all respects, since all of its suras are the product of Mohammed’s divine and direct revelation from Allah.  The dilemma of conflicting messages, which must be all correct, is impossible to resolve and requires Muslim scholars to invoke the Law of Abrogation.  Abrogation is the process by which one sura takes precedence over another, and for the most part suras which were written later supersede earlier ones.

Among the believers it is heretical to suppose Muhammed matched the suras to correlate with his power at the time they were revealed.  All of the suras are the word of Allah, so his only Prophet simply relayed the message to the faithful.  Nevertheless, Western scholars make the following observations:  When Mohammed lived in Mecca from 610 - 622 A.D., he had few followers and was politically and militarily weak.  Suras from this period of Islam were conciliatory and inclined to compromise.  From 623 - 626 A.D. Mohammed returned to Medina and fought a series of defensive campaigns against old adversaries.  Consequently, the text of the Qur’an takes on a more aggressive posture as Mohammed’s power waxed.  From 626 A.D. until his death in 632 A.D., Mohammed’s armies embarked on vigorous, proselytizing campaigns meant to forcibly subdue all non believers.  Suras generated from this period tend to be written in an aggressive tone consistent with Islam’s growing militancy.

Since the Qur’an’s text does not follow a timeline, the sunna, the rules of life demonstrated by Mohammed, and the hadith, accounts of the Prophet’s life as told by others, are used to mark the time each sura was added to the Qur’an.  Logically, chapters added later to the Qur’an which conflict with earlier entries must abrogate or cancel them.  Otherwise, in order to keep the Qur’an perfect, Allah through his intermediary Mohammed, would not add flawed chapters.  Previous suras which were no longer valid or perfect could be abrogated by newer faultless ones.  These later sublime additions necessarily supersede their progenitors.

The Qur’an and its supportive literature are written is a style which allow clerics to interpret it flexibly, and this interpretation can be adapted to fit the political needs of the Muslim community.  In this regard the Qur’an is used as a taqiyya-like document which means one thing, but according to the mullahs quite another.  Enemies or outsiders are left uncertain as to what is the true meaning and what is not.  Just as Sir Richard Burton used taqiyya to conceal his identity from the Arabs during his 1853 haji to Mecca, religious scholars interpret the Qur’an to dissimulate true intent from non believers. 

Sura 3:20 states “there is no compulsion in religion” and insures non Muslims of Islam’s peaceful intent.  Sura 9:5, either the last or penultimate of Mohammed’s revelations, is the only chapter which does not begin with the incantation, “in the name of God, most benevolent, ever-merciful.”  It abrogates the earlier verses extolling peace, tolerance, and forgiveness and commands the faithful to “slay the idolaters,” to fight the non believer, and establish God’s kingdom on earth.  So which of these two unambiguous but contradictory proclamations takes precedence?  Priority rests with the more perfect of the two–Allah’s sura revealed to Mohammed at a later date.

So there you have it, Mr. Priskna.

Taqiyya

  Sloss Peak, Alabama - photo by David Sullivan

 by Scott Sturman

“He eats pork.  He parties.  He does normal things,” remarked  Brittany Smith, friend of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, as reported in the April 23, 2013 edition of the Wall Street Journal.  This comment should come as no surprise.  The practice of taqiyya is a historical Muslim tactic of hiding one’s true beliefs and blending into society in order to escape harm.  Nowadays taqiyya has morphed from a vehicle of personal protection to a weapon brandished against the unsuspecting.


Twenty years ago I first came across the term taqiyya in Edward Rice’s biography of Captain Sir Richard Burton, not the actor, but the 19th century explorer, linguist and intellectual.  Burton, who spoke twenty nine languages, translated the Arabian Nights into English, and searched for the source of the Nile, became the second non Muslim European to join the haji to Mecca, when in 1853 disguised as a pilgrim participated in an act forbidden to non believers.  As an Infidel, he utilized taqiyya to mask his persona in Arabia, where his hosts would have taken a dim view of his presence.

The act of taqiyya permits Muslims to shield their true beliefs in order to protect themselves from harm.  Traditionally, taqiyya was used by the Shia sect of Islam, who was persecuted by the far more numerous Sunnis.  Although the term taqiyya is not found in Sunni law, the practice of concealing ones beliefs in dangerous circumstances is common to both sects of Islam, for the Qur'an holds believers blameless who keep their true beliefs secret under perilous circumstances.  In Islamic jurisprudence the term justifies deceit when believers interact with non believers.


Often Muslim scholars deny taqiyya exists by making the argument that those unfamiliar with the nuances of the Arabic culture and language often misinterpret sectarian text with its multiple levels of meaning.  Indeed, to the non Muslim it is difficult to understand reams of scripture which seems ambiguously written and fraught with contradictory proscriptions.  So intricate are these works that Qur'anic scholars can spend a lifetime pondering their subtleties.  I am reminded of an observation found in the New Yorker Magazine, when a reputed Islamic scholar in the holy city of Qom was asked how long he had been studying Islam. He replied, “Only thirty five years.  My entire life has been immersed in the holy Qur’an, and I have not yet begun to master it.”

Complexity aside, the purpose of religion encourages the fellowship of man and establishes personal standards to achieve this goal.  The KKK and Aryan Brotherhood can surround themselves with crosses and purport to be among the Christian fold, but the claim is so absurd that there is no support for this contention within the Christian community.  Salafist Islamic clerics likewise preach treachery, hate, and violence and violate even the most basic principles of what constitutes of legitimate religion.  They are no more Muslim than the KKK or Aryan Brotherhood are Christian, yet for the most part, the press and moderate Muslims consider jihadists above public criticism.  The blood on their hands is somehow different than other mass murderers. 

The Boston tragedy reminds us the media has had enough fun excoriating western religion and culture, and it's time to pursue Islamic fundamentalists with equal venom.  But since the Columbia School of Journalism awards the Pulitzer Prize, I wouldn't hold my breath.  

 Avalanche Tibet - photo by JoAnn Sturman