al-Nasikh wa al-Mansukh - Abu Ubayd

al-Nasikh wa al-Mansukh (The Abrogating and the Abrogated), titled fully as al-Nasikh wa al-Mansukh fi al-Qur'an al-Aziz wa-ma fihi min al-Fara'id wa al-Sunan, is a foundational treatise on Quranic and prophetic abrogation composed by the scholar and jurist Abu Ubayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam (d. 224 AH / 838 CE) al-Nasikh wa al-Mansukh -…+1.

Scope and Structure

The work is organized according to the order of substantive legal topics (al-abwab al-fiqhiyya), an innovative structural method in abrogation literature that predated subsequent legal exegeses such as al-Tahawi's Ahkam al-Qur'an Durus li al-Shaykh Muhamm…. Beyond its opening introductory section on the virtue of the science of abrogation and its hermeneutical principles, the book comprises twenty-nine topical chapters al-Nasikh wa al-Mansukh -…+1. These chapters encompass core areas of Islamic jurisprudence, including prayer (al-salat), alms (al-zakat), fasting (al-siyam), marriage (al-nikah), divorce (al-talaq), testimony (al-shahadat), pilgrimage rituals (al-manasik), jihad, captives (al-asara), spoils of war (al-maghanim), asking permission for entry (al-isti'dhan), inheritance (al-mawarith), bequests (al-wasiyya), orphans (al-yatama), judging between non-Muslim subjects (al-hukm bayn ahl al-dhimma), lawful and unlawful food, and intoxicating drinks al-Nasikh wa al-Mansukh -…+3.

Methodology

Abu Ubayd followed the broad hermeneutical understanding of abrogation prevalent among early authorities (al-salaf), which subsumed under naskh not only total invalidation or repeal of previous legal rulings, but also particularization of general statements (takhsis), textual exceptions (istithna'), qualification of absolute expressions (taqyid al-mutlaq), and clarification of ambiguous pronouncements (tabyin al-mujmal) al-Nasikh wa al-Mansukh -…+1.

In presenting his material, the author adhered to several key methodological practices:

• Use of Transmissions: He cited virtually every report and Prophetic hadith with continuous chains of narration (asānīd) connecting back to the Companions and Successors al-Nasikh wa al-Mansukh -…+1.
• Legal Analysis and Preference: He presented differing interpretive positions alongside their respective proofs, critiqued counterarguments, and explicitly stated his preferred legal choices (tarjīḥ) using the introductory phrase "Abu Ubayd said" (qāla Abū ʿUbayd), paralleling the exegetical style of al-Tabari Durus li al-Shaykh Muhamm…+1.
• Linguistic and Legal Derivations: He integrated explanations of obscure lexical items (gharīb) and extracted obligatory duties (farāʾiḍ) and prophetic norms (sunan) directly from the verses Durus li al-Shaykh Muhamm…+1.
• Sunnah Abrogation: In addition to Quranic verses, he addressed instances of abrogation occurring within the Hadith and Sunnah al-Nasikh wa al-Mansukh -…+1.

Transmission and Reception

The book was preserved and transmitted through a network of students and traditionists, prominent among whom was Abu Ubayd's direct disciple Ali ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Baghawi al-Iman - Abu Ubayd+1. The transmission chains extended into al-Andalus and North Africa, where traditionists such as Ibn Khayr al-Ishbili documented receiving the work through authoritative chains Fihrisat Ibn Khayr. Later scholars recognized its high standing in the genre; the biographer al-Dhahabi specifically cited holding copies of Abu Ubayd's Kitab al-Amwal and his Kitab al-Nasikh wa al-Mansukh as proof of the author's extensive erudition and legal competence al-Iman - Abu Ubayd.