The naasikh ruling might be a concession from the mansookh, or it might be one that requires more ,effort. with respect to the degree of difficulty of the rulings, the rulings of naasikh and mansookh may be divided into four categories:
1. the naansikh ruling is more difficult or more constrained than the mansookh. An example of this is the rulings pertaining to adultery.
Initially the punishment for both married and unmarried illegal sexual intercourse was Life long imprisonment (Q4: I5) Allaah then revealed the verses of flogging for the unmarried and stoning for the married persons (Q24:2).
2) The naasikh ruling is equivalent to the mansookh ruling in difficulty. For example, the verses that were revealed concerning the change of the qiblah from Jerusalem to Makkah, in this case, the naasikh ruling is equivalent to the mansookh in effort.
3) The naasikh ruling is a concession from the mansookh. In this case, the naasikh ruling was easier for the Muslims than the mansookh.
An example that has already been quoted is with. regards to the waiting period of widows; it was reduced from one year to four months and ten days. Another example that was mentioned is with regards to the prohibition of fleeing from the battlefield when the ratio of Muslims to non-Muslims was I to 10; this was later abrogated and the ratio was reduced to one Muslim for every two non- Muslims.
Another example is the procedure of fasting. Initially, fasting was prescribed "...as it was prescribed for those before you ... " (Q2[Baqarah1: I83) This meant, as per the laws of the previous nations, that a Muslim could note at, drink or have sexual intercourse after he had prayed the evening prayer (lsha), or gone to sleep at night. After this, Allaah revealed, "It is now lawful to you to have sexual relations with your wife on the night of the fast ...A1laah knows that you used to deceive yourselves (by having relations with them), so He has turned to you and accepted (your repentance)." (Q2[Baqarah]:187) Therefore, a Muslim may eat, drink or have sexual relations until dawn.
4) There is no naasikh command in place of the mansookh. In other words, Allaah repealed the law in toto. An example of this is the order to give charity before going to see the Prophet privately, Allaah repealed "0 you who believe! When you want to consult with the Messenger in private, spend something in charity before your private consultation." (Q58[Mujadila]:12) Allaah then repealed this law totally, "Are you afraid of spending in charity before your private consultations? if you do not do it, and Allaah has forgiven you (for not doing it) then (at least) offer prayers perfectly "(Q58[Mujadila]:13)
Therefore Allaah forgave this charity from them, and they were not required to do it. Blessings of Naskh with respect to the Quran, there are two types of naaskh that occurred. there is a general naskh, in which the Quran abrogated the previous scriptures that were revealed to other nations, and there is the specific naskh, in which some verses of the Quran abrogated others. it is the second category that has been the discussion of this piece.
This article was culled from the publications of Deen Communication Limited