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ʾa-lam taʿlam ʾanna llāha lahū mulku s-samāwāti wa-l-ʾarḍi wa-mā lakum min dūni llāhi min waliyyin wa-lā naṣīrin
Do you not know that to Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth? And besides Allah, you do not have any guardian or helper.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Al-Baqarah, Verses 106-107
Whatever We abrogate of a verse or cause it to be forgotten, We bring a better or the like of it. Do you not know that Allah has power over all things? (2:106)
Do you not know that to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and that, besides Allah, you have neither guardian nor helper? (2:107)
Purpose of Abrogation
The central meaning of these verses is again the Jewish evil propaganda against the Muslims. The Jews occasionally said that the true religion was the religion of the Jews and the real Qiblah was the direction that they used for their prayers. The evidence supporting their idea was that the Prophet of Islam (S) used to pray toward their Qiblah (Jerusalem). But when the command for changing the Qiblah from Jerusalem to the Ka’bah came down and, according to verse 144 from this very Surah, Muslims had to pray toward the direction of Mecca (Ka’bah), this pretext was taken away from the Jews.
Therefore, they tried to assert a new pretext and said that if the first Qiblah was right, then what was the second instruction for? And, if the second instruction was correct, then the Muslims’ previous religious actions performed towards Jerusalem would be considered invalid. The Qur’an replies to their objections through these verses and, thereby, enlightens the hearts of the believers. It says:
Whatever We abrogate of a verse or cause it to be forgotten, We bring a better or the like of it. (2:106)
And it is easy for Allah, of course:
…Do you not know that Allah has power over all things? (2:106)
Do you not know that to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and that, besides Allah, you have neither guardian nor helper? (2:107)
Do you not know that to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth… (2:107)
Allah has the right to change His ordinances in any form He pleases, and He is the most knowledgeable of all as to the welfare of His servants.
…and that, besides Allah, you have neither guardian nor helper? (2:107)
In fact, the first part of this verse denotes the absolute sovereignty of Allah in religious ordinances and that He is able to recognize and has the required knowledge to decide what is good for His creatures. Then, believers should not hearken to the vain words of some self-centred fellows who have doubt in the abrogation of the Divine Ordinances. And the second part of the verse is a warning to those who choose refuge and support in other than Allah, because there is no real support in the world save Allah.
It should also be noted that the term / nasx / ‘abrogation’ in philology means: ‘to abolish, destroy’, and from the point of view of religion it means: ‘to nullify a rule and substitute another in its place’. The detailed explanation about this subject will be discussed later.