مَا نَنۡسَخۡ مِنۡ اٰيَةٍ اَوۡ نُنۡسِهَا نَاۡتِ بِخَيۡرٍ مِّنۡهَآ اَوۡ مِثۡلِهَا ​ؕ اَلَمۡ تَعۡلَمۡ اَنَّ اللّٰهَ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ قَدِيۡرٌ‏ ﴿2:106﴾ اَلَمۡ تَعۡلَمۡ اَنَّ اللّٰهَ لَهٗ مُلۡكُ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالۡاَرۡضِ​ؕ وَمَا لَـکُمۡ مِّنۡ دُوۡنِ اللّٰهِ مِنۡ وَّلِىٍّ وَّلَا نَصِيۡرٍ‏ ﴿2:107﴾

(2:106) For whatever verse We might abrogate or consign to oblivion, We bring a better one or the like of it.¹⁰⁹ Are you not aware that Allah is All-Powerful? (2:107) Are you not aware that the dominion of the heavens and the earth belongs to Allah, and that none apart from Allah is your protector or helper?

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Notes

109. This is in response to a doubt which the Jews tried to implant in the minds of the Muslims. If both the earlier Scriptures and the Qur’an were revelations from God, why was it – they asked – that the injunctions found in the earlier Scriptures had been replaced by new ones in the Qur’an? How could the same God issue divergent injunctions? Furthermore, they expressed their amazement at the Qur’anic indictment of the Jews and Christians for having allowed part of the revelation to be forgotten and lost, pointing out that it was impossible that Divine revelation should be erased from human memory. In all this, their motive was not to know the truth but to cast doubt on the Divine origin of the Qur’an. In refutation God states that He being the Absolute Sovereign has unlimited authority both to abrogate previous injunctions and to cause people to forget the injunctions He wants them to forget. However, God ensures that whatever He abrogates or causes to be erased from people’s memories is replaced by something equally or even more beneficial.