Islam and Scripture: Difference between revisions

The messages of later Medinan Qur'anic revelations changed and contradicted earlier Meccan ones. So the Qur'an, read superficially, in its non-chronological organization, can support any number of views on several subjects. However, in Islam there is a method in sorting through the various verses; this is known as the doctrine of ''abrogation'' (Naskh). Some apologists will say that this doctrine does not exist or is not a part of mainstream Islam. However, when you view the chronological order of the revelations, it is difficult and perhaps impossible to avoid (for instance, some verses in the Qur'an describe wine-vineyards in a noble light, whereas others describe [[alcohol]] as among the works of the devil - this, and numerous other examples, are only comprehensible in light of the doctrine of abrogation).

When discussing the applicability of the commands of the Qur'an in modern times, some argue that less agreeable verses apply only to its original revalational circumstance. However, such ideas regarding the evolution and changing of Islamic law are considered heresy in orthodox Islam. This article reviews those verses which are most frequently dismissed or historicized as only being applicable in the time & place of revelation, and considers the plausibility of these claims in relation to how Islamic law was understood for more than a thousand years (and how it remains understood, in this way, by the overwhelming majority of Islamic scholars today).