Abrogation In the Quran and Islamic Law : A Critical Study of the Concept of Naskh and its Impact

DESCRIPTION:

This book examines in detail the concept of "abrogation" in the Qur’an, which has played a major role in the development of Islamic law and has implications for understanding the history and integrity of the Qur’anic text. The term has gained popularity in recent years, as Muslim groups and individuals claim that many passages about tolerance in the Qur’an have been abrogated by others that call on Muslims to fight their enemies. Author Louay Fatoohi argues that this could not have been derived from the Qur’an, and that its implications contradict Qur’anic principles. He also reveals conceptual flaws in the principle of abrogation as well as serious problems with the way it was applied by different scholars.

Abrogation in the Qur’an and Islamic Law traces the development of the concept from its most basic form to the complex and multi-faceted doctrine it has become. The book shows what specific problems the three modes of abrogation were introduced to solve, and how this concept has shaped Islamic law. The book also critiques the role of abrogation in rationalizing the view that not all of the Qur’anic revelation has survived in the "mushaf", or the written record of the Qur’an. This role makes understanding abrogation an essential prerequisite for studying the history of the Qur’anic text.

DETAILS:

ISBN: 9789670526027
AUTHOR: Louay Fatoohi
BINDING: Hardback
PUBLISHER: Islamic Book Trust

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Louay Fatoohi is the Operations Director at Packt Publishing. His research interests are in Qur’anic studies, including comparisons between the Qur'an’s account of history with Biblical narratives, other Jewish and Christian writings, and historical sources. He is the author of The Mystery of the Historical Jesus (2007) and Prophet Joseph in the Qur’an, the Bible, and History (2007).

Louay Fatoohi was born in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1961. He and his wife migrated to the UK in 1992. He lives in Birmingham, England. He obtained a BSc in physics from Baghdad University, Iraq, in 1984 and a PhD in astronomy from Durham University, UK, in 1998.

Originally from a Christian family, Louay reverted to Islam in his early ‎twenties. In addition to being his faith ‎of choice and way of life, Islam is ‎for him is a subject of deep intellectual interest. He is interested in ‎Qur’anic ‎and Islamic studies in general, but his main areas of research are as follows: ‎

• Comparative study of history in the Qur’an, Jewish and Christian ‎scriptures, and independent ‎historical sources‎
• Sufism
• History of the Qur’anic text and revelation
• Quranic Exegesis

Louay is a prolific author who has published over twenty-five books in English and Arabic in Islamic studies. He has also published over twenty research papers in cosmology, applied historical astronomy, and the Islamic calendar.