Abrogation in the Bible: Responding to the Christian Objection Against Naskh in the Qur'an
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One of the things that Christians hold against the Qur’an is the issue of naskh (abrogation) and the mansukh (the abrogated). They try in various ways to attack the Holy Qur’an through it, ignorant that abrogation occurred in their own book more than it occurred in the Holy Qur’an. Hundreds of rulings mentioned in the Holy Book — the prohibition of pork and music, stoning adulteresses, killing apostates, cutting off the hand of thieves, the ruling on the Sabbath, circumcision, swearing, divorce, and many others — were abrogated in the New Testament. Christians do not look at the abrogating and abrogated in their own book, but they focus on the abrogating and abrogated in the Holy Qur’an.
The great scandal is that their point of objection regarding abrogation is their claim that when God abrogates a ruling, this is evidence that He discovered an error in the previous ruling. Yet their own books contain texts describing the Lord’s remorse after discovering His errors — in countless places — which they conveniently ignore.
The Islamic Understanding of Abrogation
The naskh in Islam has principles, rules, and foundations that we do not find the Holy Book adhering to. Abrogation in Islam does not occur in:
News and narratives — such as the stories of the prophets and historical events. Doctrinal matters — such as the obligation to believe in God, the messengers, the angels, or the books, or the disbelief of those who associate partners with God, or the attributes of God. Eternal rulings — such as the punishment for accusing chaste women without four witnesses.
Abrogation in Islam occurs in legal rulings that require the gradual education of the souls of the nation. A ruling comes for a specific time and for a specific reason in a specific situation, so that when this time ends, God sends down another ruling that suits the changed state of the nation. If we suppose that a person lives in darkness for ten years and we bring him out into the light all at once, he will go blind and lose his sight. Therefore, abrogation is merely a gradual progression of rulings to bring people out of the darkness of polytheism and ignorance into the light of Islam.
This is why God Almighty said:
Surat Al-Ma’idah 5:3 الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have approved for you Islam as religion.
Accordingly, abrogation in Islam is from the perfection of the religion, occurs only in rulings and not in doctrine, and God knew in advance that each ruling was for a specific period and circumstance. We do not say, as the Jews and Christians say in their books, that God changed His mind after discovering something He did not previously know. Whoever says this among Muslims has left the religion of Islam.
In contrast, Paul described the abrogated rulings of Moses as “satanic commands,” “misleading spirits,” “unclean old-fashioned fables,” and stated that whoever follows these rulings is an apostate from the faith:
1 Timothy 4:1–7 (SVD) But the Spirit says explicitly that in the latter times some will apostatize. Some depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, (2) with hypocrisy, lying utterances, having their conscience seared, (3) forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving. (4) For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, (5) for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. (6) If you bring these things to the brethren’s mind, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ. (7) But reject filthy, old-fashioned fables, and exercise yourself to godliness.
Furthermore, the Bible itself contains what permits and confirms abrogation:
Hebrews 7:18–19 (SVD) For the former commandment becomes void because of its weakness and unprofitability. (19) For the law made nothing perfect, but a better hope was brought in, by which we draw near to God.
And yet the same Bible states:
Proverbs 28:4 (SVD) Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, and those who keep the law contend with them.
Two Types of Abrogation in the Bible
Abrogation in the Bible is of two types: abrogation that occurs in the law of a later prophet for a ruling that was in the law of a previous prophet, and abrogation that occurs within the law of the same prophet himself.
Part One: Abrogation Between the Laws of Different Prophets
1. The Marriage of Brothers and Sisters in the Time of Adam
Abraham, peace be upon him, married his sister Sarah:
Genesis 20:12 (SVD) And indeed she is my sister, the daughter of my father. However, she is not the daughter of my mother. So she became my wife.
Marrying a sister was then forbidden in the Mosaic Law and made equivalent to adultery, with both spouses subject to death and cursing:
Leviticus 18:9 (SVD) You shall not marry your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether she was born at home or far from home. You shall not uncover her nakedness.
And in Leviticus 20:17 and Deuteronomy 27:22. If this marriage was not permissible in the law of Adam and Abraham, peace be upon them, then all people would be illegitimate children and those who married would have been adulterers deserving death. It must therefore be acknowledged that it was permissible in their law and then abrogated.
2. Prohibition of Some Animals Between the Law of Noah and the Law of Moses
Genesis 9:3 (SVD) And let every living thing that moves shall be food for you, and you shall eat all of them, just as you eat the green herbs which I have given you.
All animals were thus permissible in the Law of Noah. Then many animals were forbidden in the Mosaic Law, including the pig, as in Leviticus 11:4–8. The abrogation in these rulings is clear. It is also worth noting the grave scientific error in this passage, in which the rabbit is described as a ruminant animal.
3. Between the Law of Moses and the Law of Jesus
Many animals forbidden in the Law of Moses had their prohibition abrogated in the Law of Jesus. Paul confirmed the general permissibility:
Romans 14:14 (SVD) For I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone considers anything unclean, it is unclean in his own eyes.
Titus 1:15 (SVD) To the pure, all things are clean. But to the unclean and unbelieving, nothing is pure; even their minds and consciences have become unclean.
And in 1 Timothy 4:4–6: “For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if a person receives it with thanksgiving; because it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.”
4. The Rules of the Feasts — Stated to Be Eternal, Then Abrogated
Leviticus 23:14 (SVD) You shall not eat of the new produce, neither baked flour, nor parched corn, nor fresh grain, until the day on which you bring the offering of your God. This shall be a statute upon you continually from generation to generation.
Leviticus 23:21 (SVD) And you shall set apart that same day to be a holy convocation for you. All the works shall be a statute upon you continually, wherever you live, from generation to generation.
Leviticus 23:31–32 (SVD) Do not do any work; it shall be a statute upon you continually, from generation to generation, wherever you live. It is a Sabbath of rest for you, in which you shall be afflicted.
Leviticus 23:41 (SVD) Four days in the year in the seventh month you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord. And this shall be a perpetual statute upon you from generation to generation.
These were stated to be eternal rulings — then they were all abrogated.
5. The Eternal Rules of the Priesthood of Aaron — All Abrogated by Paul
The many rulings pertaining to the family of Aaron — priesthood, dress, time of attendance for service, and others — were eternal, and they were all abrogated at the hands of Paul, who nullified all the rulings of the Torah, even though Christ, peace be upon him, said:
Matthew 5:17 (SVD) I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.
6. The Ruling on Swearing and Taking Oaths
Matthew 5:33–37 (SVD) Again, you have heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.” (34) But I say to you, do not swear at all… (37) but let your speech be “Yes, yes” and “No, no.” And whatever is more than these is from the evil one.
The rule of swearing and taking oaths was permitted in the Law of Moses until it was completely abrogated by Christ, peace be upon him, and replaced by not taking oaths at all.
7. Combining Two Sisters in Marriage
The Prophet of God Jacob brought together the two sisters Leah and Rachel, daughters of his uncle Laban, as stated in Genesis 29:15–35. This combination is forbidden in the Mosaic Law:
Leviticus 18:18 (SVD) You shall not take a wife in addition to her sister, to be a co-wife with her while your wife lives.
8. Marrying an Aunt
Exodus 6:20 (SVD) Amram married his aunt Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses.
Numbers 26:59 (SVD) The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, who was born in Egypt, and bore to Amram Aaron and Moses, and their sister Miriam.
This marriage is forbidden in the Mosaic Law:
Leviticus 18:12 (SVD) You shall not marry your father’s sister. She is your aunt.
And in Leviticus 20:19. If this marriage was not permissible before the Law of Moses, then Moses, Aaron, and their sister Miriam must have been children of fornication — God forbid. And they could not have entered the congregation of the Lord for ten generations, as stated in Deuteronomy 23:2.
10. An Eye for an Eye and a Tooth for a Tooth
Deuteronomy 19:21 (SVD) Your eye shall not spare — life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Until Christ came, peace be upon him, and abrogated it:
Matthew 5:38–42 (SVD) You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” (39) But I say to you, do not resist evil. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. (40) And whoever wants to sue you and take away your coat, let him have your cloak also. (41) And whoever forces you to go a mile, go with him two.
11. The Law of Moses Abrogated by the Law of Jesus
Jeremiah 31:31–32 (SVD) Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, in which I will make a new covenant with the descendants of Israel and Judah, (32) not like the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. But they broke my covenant, so I forsook them.
Paul claimed in Hebrews 8:7–13 that this law is the law of Jesus:
Hebrews 8:7–13 (SVD) For if the former covenant had been without fault, there would have been no need for another covenant to replace it. (8) For God Himself expresses the inability of the former covenant… (13) Thus, we see that God, by speaking of a new covenant, made the old covenant obsolete. What was old and outdated is ready to vanish.
12. Paul Abrogated All Practical Rulings of the Torah Except Four
Paul and his followers abrogated all the practical provisions of the Torah except four: sacrifice to idols, blood, the strangled animal, and adultery — kept temporarily for the sake of newly converted Jews:
Acts 15:28–29 (SVD) For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you beyond what was due to you. (29) You are only to abstain from eating meat offered to idols, from eating blood, from eating the flesh of animals that have been strangled, and from committing sexual immorality.
Then, when Paul saw that this care for new Jewish converts was no longer necessary, he abrogated even those:
Romans 14:14 (SVD) For I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone considers anything unclean, it is unclean in his own eyes.
Galatians 2:20–21 (SVD) I have been crucified with Christ… I do not nullify the efficacy of the grace of God, for if righteousness were by the law, then the death of Christ would be a useless work.
Galatians 3:10–13 (SVD) All who follow the principles of the works of the law are under a curse, for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in doing everything written in the book of the law.” (11) But that no one is justified in the sight of God by the law is evident. (13) For Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.
Galatians 3:23–25 (SVD) Before faith came, we were under the law’s protection, held in custody until the faith that was expected should be revealed. (24) So the law was our tutor until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. (25) But after faith came, we were released from the tutor’s power.
Ephesians 2:15 (SVD) Having abolished in his flesh the law of commandments with its requirements, that he might form out of the two parties one new man, having made peace between them.
Hebrews 7:12 (SVD) And when there is any change in the priesthood, it is necessary that there be a corresponding change in the law of the priesthood.
Hebrews 10:9–10 (SVD) He added, “Behold, I come to do your will.” So he abolishes the previous system, to put in its place a new system that is in harmony with the will of God. (10) By this divine will we have become holy, since Jesus Christ offered his body for us once for all.
13. The Punishment for Adultery Abrogated
Deuteronomy 22:22–25 (SVD) If a man is found lying with a woman who is the wife of a husband, then both of them shall die. (23) If a young virgin be betrothed to a husband, and a man finds her in the city and lies with her, (24) then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and stone them with stones that they die.
In Genesis 38:24, Judah — the grandfather of Jesus according to the Christian genealogy — ordered Tamar to be burned for adultery. In Leviticus 20:10–21, the killing of adulterers is commanded as a divine ruling. Then Christ dropped that punishment:
John 8:4–7 (SVD) They said to him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.” (5) “And Moses in the law commanded us that such should be stoned. What sayest thou?” (7) And when they continued to ask him, he straightened up and said to them, “He that is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”
And on this basis the punishment for adultery was abrogated to this day in the law of the Christians, and no Christian applied it. And not only that — there are also rulings that have not even been formally abrogated, yet the Christians abandon them and do not act upon them. Can these be called anything other than abandoned?
14. Divorce
In the Mosaic Law, a husband may divorce his wife for any reason, and another man may marry that divorced woman:
Deuteronomy 24:1–3 (SVD) If a man marries a young woman, and she does not please him afterward, because he has discovered some defect in her, and he gives her a certificate of divorce and sends her out of his house, (2) and she marries another man after she has been released…
Then divorce was abrogated in the Law of Jesus except for the reason of adultery, and marrying a divorced woman was made equivalent to adultery:
Matthew 5:31–32 (SVD) And it was said again, “Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.” (32) But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for the reason of adultery, causes her to commit adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Thus abrogation is proven twice: once in the Mosaic Law itself, and once in the Law of Jesus. This is understood from his own saying, “Moses did not permit you to divorce your wives except because of the hardness of your hearts. But before, it was not like that.” So it is as if divorce was originally forbidden, then the Law of Moses abrogated its prohibition and made it permissible, then the Law of Jesus abrogated the permissibility once again.
15. Circumcision — An Eternal Covenant Abrogated by Paul
Genesis 17:9–13 (SVD) And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. (10) This is my covenant… Every male among you shall be circumcised. (11) You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be a token of the covenant between me and you. (12) Every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations… (13) And my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.”
And Jesus himself was circumcised:
Luke 2:21 (SVD) And when eight days were completed for the child to be circumcised, his name was called Jesus, just as he had been named by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
Yet Paul abrogated circumcision:
Galatians 5:2–6 (SVD) Behold, I, Paul, say to you, that if you are circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. (4) For you who seek to be justified by the law, you have been excluded from Christ and have fallen from grace. (6) For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any benefit, but faith working through love.
Galatians 6:13 (SVD) For those who are circumcised do not keep the law, but want you to be circumcised, that they may boast in your flesh.
Acts 21:21 (SVD) And they have reported about you, that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they should not circumcise their children nor walk according to the customs.
All the prophets from the time of Abraham were circumcised, Jesus himself was circumcised, all the disciples were circumcised, and Paul himself was circumcised — yet Paul refused circumcision to people. Was the eternal covenant of circumcision abrogated, or is it still in effect?
16. The Sabbath — An Eternal Covenant Abrogated by Paul
The honoring of the Sabbath was an eternal rule in the Mosaic Law, and whoever did not keep it was obligated to be killed. This was stated repeatedly:
Genesis 2:3 (SVD) And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on it he rested from all the work of creation.
Exodus 31:13–17 (SVD) Observe my Sabbaths, for they are a sign of the covenant between me and you. Whoever profanes it will surely be punished. (15) Whoever does any work on the Sabbath shall surely be put to death. (16) So that the children of Israel may keep the Sabbath and celebrate it throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant. (17) It is a sign of a covenant between me and the children of Israel forever.
And additional texts in Exodus 20:8–11, Exodus 23:12, Exodus 34:21, Leviticus 23:3, Leviticus 19:3, Deuteronomy 5:12–15, and Jeremiah 17:22–27. Numbers 15:32–36 records the stoning of a man for gathering sticks on the Sabbath. The Jews contemporary with Christ persecuted him because he did not honor the Sabbath:
John 5:16 (SVD) Then the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he was doing these works on the Sabbath day.
John 9:16 (SVD) Then some of the Pharisees said, “This man cannot be from God, because he is breaking the Sabbath law.”
Yet Paul abolished the Sabbath completely:
Colossians 2:16–17 (SVD) Therefore let no one judge you in the matter of months and Sabbaths; (17) these were shadows of what was to come, that is, of the reality, which is Christ.
17. The Command to Slaughter Abrogated Before Implementation
In Genesis 22:1–14, God commanded Abraham to slaughter his son as a burnt offering. Then, before the command was implemented, God abrogated it:
Genesis 22:2 (SVD) And he said, Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering.
Genesis 22:13 (SVD) And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up as a burnt offering instead of his son.
The correct and established fact is that the son commanded to be slaughtered was Ishmael, peace be upon him, not Isaac.
18. Every Firstborn Belongs to the Lord — Then Abrogated
Exodus 13:2 (SVD) Sanctify unto me every firstborn of every one that opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.
Exodus 13:12 (SVD) You shall present to the Lord every one that opens the womb, and every firstborn of the livestock that is yours: the males are for the Lord.
And Exodus 34:19. Then this was abrogated in Numbers 3:12 and 8:16:
Numbers 3:12 (SVD) And behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel in place of every firstborn that opens the womb among the children of Israel; and the Levites shall be mine.
Numbers 8:16 (SVD) In place of every firstborn that opens the womb, the firstborn of all the children of Israel, I have taken them for myself.
19. Cow Dung Instead of Human Excrement
Ezekiel 4:15 (ESV) And he said to me, “See, I have given you cow’s dung instead of human dung, so that you may make your bread on it.”
Why did God abrogate the command here and make Ezekiel prepare his food over cow’s dung instead of human dung? This story alone, as the writers of the book claim, has made the followers of this book a laughingstock to people, who taunt them, saying: “How can your Lord command one of His prophets to eat unleavened bread smeared with human dung, then have mercy on him and make him smear it with cow’s dung instead?” What we want here is simply to establish: the Lord abrogated the command regarding Ezekiel’s bread.
20. The Command to Slaughter Only at the Designated Altar — Abrogated
Leviticus 17:1–6 commanded Moses and the Children of Israel to slaughter only at the designated place near the Tent of Meeting, with death for whoever slaughtered outside it. Then this ruling was abrogated in Deuteronomy 12:15–22, and it became permissible to slaughter in any place. The interpreter Horn acknowledged after quoting both passages: “In these two places there is an apparent contradiction, but if it is noted that the Mosaic law was increased and decreased according to the condition of the children of Israel, and was subject to change, then the explanation is very easy. Moses abrogated in the fortieth year of the Exile before they entered Palestine the ruling of the book of Leviticus with the ruling of the book of Deuteronomy explicitly.” So the interpreter Horn acknowledged that explicit abrogation occurred in the law of Moses and that it was increased and decreased according to the condition of the children of Israel.
21. The Age of the Levite Priest — Abrogated in the Same Book
Numbers 4:30 (SVD) From thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old you shall number all who enter the service to do the service of the tent of meeting.
The same requirement — minimum age thirty, maximum age fifty — is repeated in Numbers 4:3, 23, 35, 39, 43, and 46. Then in the same book it was changed:
Numbers 8:24–25 (SVD) From twenty-five years old and upward they shall come to serve as soldiers in the service of the tent of meeting. (25) And from fifty years old they shall return from the service of the service and shall not serve anymore.
22. The Name Given to the People of Israel Abrogated in the Same Passage
Hosea 1:8–10 (SVD) Then Lo-ruhamah was weaned, and she conceived and bore a son. (9) And he said, “Call his name Lo-ammi, for you are not my people, and I will not be yours.” (10) Nevertheless the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea… And it shall come to pass, that instead of it being said to them, “You are not my people,” they shall be called, “Sons of the living God.”
The Lord decided to change the name of the people of Israel in the same book and in the same passage. This is a clear abrogation of a name or description — and it occurs within a single prophetic text. What do Christians object to?
Part Two: Abandoned Rulings — Abrogated Without an Abrogator
There are rulings in the Bible that were never formally abrogated in any later text, yet Christians have entirely abandoned them. What should these be called?
1. Cutting Off the Hand of a Woman Who Grabs a Man’s Private Parts
Deuteronomy 25:11–12 (SVD) If two men are fighting with each other, and the wife of one of them comes forward to rescue her husband from the hand of the one striking him, and she reaches out her hand and grabs his private parts, (12) then you shall cut off her hand, and your eye shall not pity.
2. Cutting Off the Hand of a Thief — Abandoned Without an Abrogator
The Qur’an commands the cutting of the thief’s hand. The Bible commands killing or enslaving the thief:
Exodus 22:2 (SVD) If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there is no blood money for him.
Deuteronomy 24:7 (SVD) If a man is found stealing any of his brethren, the children of Israel, and enslaves him or sells him, that thief shall die; and you shall put away evil from among you.
Zechariah 5:3 (SVD) I will bring it out, declares the LORD of hosts, and it shall enter the house of the thief and the house of him who swears falsely by My name. It shall remain in the midst of his house and destroy it with its timber and its stones.
Is this punishment being applied now? Where is the text that prevented Christians from applying it?
3. Stoning the Disobedient Son — Abandoned
Deuteronomy 21:18–21 (SVD) If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or his mother, and they discipline him but he will not listen to them, (19) then his father and mother shall seize him and bring him to the elders of his city. (20) And they shall say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not listen to our voice, he is a glutton and a drunkard.” (21) And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones so that he dies.
Is this punishment being applied now?
4. Burning the Adulteress — Abandoned
Leviticus 21:9 (SVD) And if a priest’s daughter defiles herself by committing adultery, she defiles her father; she shall be burned with fire.
Leviticus 20:27 (SVD) And if a man or a woman have a medium or a wizard, they shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones; their blood shall be upon them.
5. The Law of Jealousy — Abandoned
Numbers 5:11–29 contains a detailed divine law regarding a husband who suspects his wife of infidelity. He brings her to the priest, who prepares bitter water mixed with dust from the tabernacle floor. The woman drinks it; if she is guilty her belly swells and her thigh falls off; if she is innocent she remains clean. This is stated to be a divine law commanded by the Lord to Moses. It was never abrogated in the New Testament. If it is not what the New Testament abrogated, what do we call it?
6. The Murderer Shall Be Put to Death — Abandoned
Numbers 35:16–21, 29–30, 33 (SVD) If he strikes him with an iron instrument, so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death. (17) And if he strikes him with a hand stone, with which one kills, so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death. (18) Or if he strikes him with a wooden hand instrument, with which one kills, so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall be put to death. (19) The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him. (30) Whosoever kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses. (33) No atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it except by the blood of him who shed it.
7. The Law of Leprosy and Baldness — Abandoned
Leviticus 13:40–46 (SVD) And if a man has lost the hair of his head, he is bald; he is clean. (42) But if there is a reddish white sore in the bald spot, it is leprosy breaking out in his bald spot. (44) He is a leprous man; he is unclean: and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. (45) And the leper in whom the sore is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head shall be uncovered, and he shall cover his mustache, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. (46) All the days that the sore is in him he shall be unclean; he shall dwell alone; his dwelling shall be outside the camp.
This law, as read, was abandoned by later Christians. And Christ himself in his time did not abolish it or prevent people from it. Those who came after him by years abrogated or abandoned it. How is this conceivable?
8. The Goring Bull — Abandoned
Exodus 21:28–29 (SVD) If an ox gores a man or a woman so that he dies, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall be blameless. (29) But if the ox has been a goring ox before, and its owner has been testified against, and he has not restrained it, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death.
The bull is stoned but not slaughtered. Is this punishment applied now?
Part Three: The Bible’s Own Texts Confirming God Abrogates and Regrets
The Christians also have a deeper problem. Their books describe the Lord as regretting, repenting, and changing His mind after discovering errors — which is the very doctrine of bada’ (change of divine will due to prior ignorance) that Muslims explicitly reject. Among the texts:
Exodus 32:14 (SVD) And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
Jeremiah 18:7–10 (SVD) Sometimes I speak concerning a nation and a kingdom, to pluck up and to tear down and to destroy, (8) and that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, and I will repent of the evil that I thought to do to it. (9) And sometimes I speak concerning a nation and a kingdom, to build and to plant, (10) and it does evil in My sight and does not obey My voice, and I will repent of the good with which I said I would do it good.
Judges 2:18 (SVD) And when the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD repented because of their groaning because of those who oppressed them.
Psalm 106:45 (SVD) And He remembered His covenant with them, and repented according to the multitude of His mercy.
See also 2 Samuel 24:16, Jeremiah 26:3, 13, 19, Amos 7:6, and 1 Samuel 15:10–11, 15:35. The Muslims do not say of God what the Jews and Christians say in their books — that He regrets, forgets, and changes His mind after discovering things He did not previously know. Whoever says this among Muslims has left the religion of Islam.
Furthermore, the Bible itself explicitly states that God gives statutes that are not good:
Ezekiel 20:25 (SVD) And I also gave them statutes that were not good, and ordinances by which they could not live.
This means that abrogation, according to them, is a change in the divine will after it became clear to God that what was right was contrary to what He had decreed. This is bada’, and it is not permissible according to Muslim belief.
Part Four: The Bible Praises the Eternal Law That Paul Abrogated
The Bible contains dozens of texts praising the very law that Paul described as “satanic teachings” and “deceiving spirits”:
Proverbs 6:23 (SVD) For the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light, and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.
Proverbs 28:4 (SVD) Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, and those who keep the law contend with them.
Proverbs 28:7 (SVD) He who keeps the law is a discerning son, but a companion of gluttons shames his father.
Proverbs 28:9 (SVD) He who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
Proverbs 29:18 (SVD) Without vision the people fret, but happy is he who keeps the law.
Isaiah 8:20 (SVD) To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, there is no light in them.
Zephaniah 3:4 (SVD) Her prophets are boasters, treacherous men; her priests have defiled the sanctuary, they have transgressed the law.
Malachi 2:9 (SVD) Therefore I have made you despised and vile before all the people, just as you have not kept my ways, but have shown partiality in the law.
Isaiah 24:5 (SVD) And the land is defiled under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the laws, changed the statute, and broken the everlasting covenant.
Zechariah 7:12 (SVD) But they have made their heart a diamond, that they should not hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by his spirit through the former prophets. So great wrath came from the Lord of hosts.
Deuteronomy 29:29 (SVD) The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
Deuteronomy 17:19 (SVD) And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, and to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them.
2 Kings 17:37 (SVD) Keep the statutes, the ordinances, the law, and the commandments which he wrote for you, to do them always, and do not fear other gods.
Is it reasonable that the Lord would reveal a law and then return and curse it and describe it with ugly descriptions on the tongue of Paul — calling it satanic, misleading, and unclean? Should we believe what Paul said about the teachings of the previous prophets, or what is stated in the Old Testament and confirmed by the Holy Qur’an?
Abrogation Within the Same Prophetic Era
Christians sometimes argue that while abrogation between the Old and New Testaments is acceptable because hundreds of years passed, abrogation in Islam occurred in only twenty-three years. The response: abrogation also occurred within the Old Testament itself, in the same book, at the same time, and even in the same era of the prophet himself.
9. The Daughters of Zelophehad — Abrogated in the Same Era
The Lord ordered that Zelophehad’s share be given to his daughters and allowed them to marry from any tribe of Israel. Then the sons of Gilead objected that this would transfer their land share to other tribes. The Lord then changed His command so that the daughters could only marry within their father’s clan:
Numbers 36:2–4 (SVD) The LORD has commanded my lord to give the land by division by lot to the children of Israel; and my lord has commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother to his daughters. (3) And if they become wives to any of the children of the tribes of the children of Israel, then their inheritance shall be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and added to the inheritance of the tribe to which they have been given.
Numbers 36:5–6 (SVD) And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the LORD, saying, The tribe of the children of Joseph has spoken truth. (6) This is what the LORD has commanded: to whomever seems good to them they shall be wives; but to the family of the tribe of their fathers they shall be wives.
The people drew the attention of their Lord to something He had not considered, and He then changed His command.
10. The Decree to Put King Hezekiah to Death — Abrogated by the Same Prophet
2 Kings 20:1 (SVD) In those days Hezekiah fell sick to death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, Set your house in order, for you will die and not live.”
Then:
2 Kings 20:5–6 (SVD) Return and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the Lord: I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you; on the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. (6) And I will add fifteen years to your days.
Both the original decree of death and its abrogation were communicated by the same prophet Isaiah, the son of Amoz.
11–13. Further Examples of Abrogation Within the Same Era
Psalm 106:23 (SVD) So he said to destroy them, had not Moses his chosen one stood in the breach before them, to turn away his anger from destroying them.
Ezekiel 20:13–17 (SVD) And the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness… Then I said, I will pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to destroy them. (14) But I have done for my name’s sake, that it should not be defiled in the eyes of the nations. (17) But my eye spared them, lest I should destroy them.
Zechariah 8:14–15 (SVD) For thus says the Lord of hosts: As I thought to do you evil when your fathers provoked me to anger, says the Lord of hosts, and I did not repent, (15) so I have again thought in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not be afraid.
14. The Eternal Burnt Offering — Perpetual Statute
Ezekiel 46:13–14 (SVD) And you shall prepare a burnt offering every day to the Lord, a lamb a year old without blemish; morning by morning you shall offer it. (14) And you shall prepare a grain offering on it morning by morning — an perpetual statute, perpetual.
15. The Destruction of Sodom — Abrogated Step by Step in the Same Conversation
In Genesis 18:20–33, God told Abraham He would destroy Sodom if the number of righteous found there did not meet a threshold. Abraham negotiated the number down from fifty to forty-five, then to forty, then thirty, then twenty, then ten — all in the same conversation, all in the same place, and all at the same time. This is abrogation of the number, occurring within a single conversation. Is there anyone who can still say there is no abrogating and abrogated at the same time, in the same matter, and in the same place?
16. David Will Always Have a Son on the Throne — Then He Will Not
Jeremiah 33:17 (SVD) For thus says the Lord: David shall never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel.
Jeremiah 33:21 (SVD) For my covenant also with David my servant shall be broken, and he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites the priests my ministers.
The Lord breaks His own covenant with David in the same book of Jeremiah.
Conclusion It is confirmed from all the above that abrogation and the abrogated occurred in the books that preceded the Qur’an — in the Old Testament and the New Testament — that the New Testament abrogated the Old Testament, that some books of the Old Testament abrogated others, and that abrogation occurred in the same book and in the same era of the prophet and at the same time. There is therefore no objection to abrogation occurring in the Qur’an. The real disaster is that Christians describe this issue as if it were a distortion or a deficiency in the Qur’an while their own book contains hundreds of abrogations, abandoned rulings with no abrogators, and — far more seriously — explicit attributions to God of regret, ignorance of outcomes, and changing of mind. None of this applies to Islamic abrogation, which is from the foreknowledge of God and the wisdom of gradual guidance. Jesus himself said: “I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.” Are Christians deceiving themselves?
Surat Al-Baqarah 2:8–16 وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَقُولُ آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَبِالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَمَا هُم بِمُؤْمِنِينَ ﴿8﴾ يُخَادِعُونَ اللَّهَ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَمَا يَخْدَعُونَ إِلَّا أَنفُسَهُمْ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ ﴿9﴾ And among the people are those who say, “We believe in God and the Last Day,” but they are not believers. (8) They seek to deceive God and those who believe, but they deceive not except themselves and perceive it not. (9)