al-Nasikh wa al-Mansukh - Ibn al-Arabi
- Author died
- 543 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat al-Thaqafa al-Diniyya
al-Nasikh wa al-Mansukh (The Abrogator and the Abrogated) is a treatise on the science of Quranic abrogation by the Andalusian Maliki jurist and scholar Abu Bakr Ibn al-Arabi (d. 543 AH / 1148 CE) . It analyzes verses subject to abrogation (naskh) across the Quran, articulating the hermeneutical principles and legal criteria that govern the identification of abrogating and abrogated rulings .
Purpose and Scope
Ibn al-Arabi composed the book to establish a disciplined legal and exegetical framework for abrogation, focusing primarily on the category of revelation where the legal ruling is abrogated while the text's recitation remains (mā nusikha ḥukmuhu wa baqiya rasmuhu) . He sought to rectify common conflations among commentators who misidentified linguistic exceptions (istithnāʾ) or general specifications (takhṣīṣ) as instances of abrogation .
Structure and Methodology
The work opens with an introductory section examining the theoretical foundations of abrogation, including its definition, conditions, categories, and the chronological distinction between Meccan and Medinan revelations . The author also assesses the earliest revelations and provides an overview of Quranic surahs, noting which contain abrogation and which remain strictly unmitigated (muḥkam) .
Following the introduction, the body of the book is arranged according to the standard order of chapters (surahs) in the Quran . Ibn al-Arabi examines verses individually, applying legal theory (uṣūl al-fiqh) and linguistic analysis to evaluate claims of abrogation . Among the principles articulated in his treatment are:
- Abrogation cannot occur after the lifetime of the Prophet ﷺ, nor can scholarly consensus (ijmāʿ) abrogate the Quran or Sunnah .
- Abrogation applies exclusively to legal obligations and actionable rulings (aḥkām), not to theological reports, promises of reward, or threats of punishment (al-waʿd wa al-waʿīd) .
- Chronological precedence is essential; if the chronology of revelation is unknown, any claim of abrogation is legally void .
- Exceptions (istithnāʾ) and restrictions do not constitute abrogation, as in وَالْعَصْرِ ١ إِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ ٢ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ("By time, indeed, mankind is in loss, except for those who believe"), which is specified rather than abrogated .
- Distinct clauses within a single verse may have different legal statuses; regarding خُذِ الْعَفْوَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْعُرْفِ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنِ الْجَاهِلِينَ ("Take what is given freely, enjoin what is good, and turn away from the ignorant"), he views the opening and closing clauses as abrogated while the middle clause remains binding .
- Ibn al-Arabi identifies over seventy verses containing commands for forbearance or patience as having been abrogated by the verses of fighting .
Reception and Scholarly Impact
al-Nasikh wa al-Mansukh was recognized by later authorities as one of the definitive treatises in its genre. Ibn Juzayy described it in al-Tashil li-Ulum al-Tanzil as the finest book written on the subject . Ibn al-Arabi cross-referenced it across his other writings, including Siraj al-Muridin, ʿAridat al-Aḥwadhi, and Ahkam al-Quran, and it was cited by scholars such as Badr al-Din al-Zarkashi, Ibn Farhun, and Ahmad al-Maqqari .
Manuscripts and Editions
Manuscripts of the text are preserved in Morocco, including a copy in the General Library in Rabat transcribed in Málaga in 686 AH, and another in al-Qarawiyyin Library in Fez . The library of al-Qarawiyyin also preserves an anonymous abridgment of the work . The book was critically edited as a doctoral dissertation by Abd al-Kabir al-Alawi al-Madghari and published in Cairo by Maktabat al-Thaqafah al-Diniyyah in 1413 AH / 1992 CE, featuring an introduction by Dr. Aisha Abd al-Rahman (Bint al-Shatiʾ) .
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