Routledge Qur'anic Abrogation After Muhammad: The Eternal Flux (Routledge Studies in Islamic Philosophy)

Qur’anic Abrogation After Muhammad: The Eternal Flux presents a bold new interpretive framework for reconciling classical Qur’anic injunctions with the ethical imperatives of the modern world. Challenging the notion of Islamic legal rigidity, this book introduces the paradigm of “Contemporary Abrogation” - a reformist approach that emerges not in opposition to Islamic tradition, but from within its foundational hermeneutics. Drawing on Sunni and Shiʿi jurisprudential sources, the study reveals how the classical understanding of the Qurʾān’s legal audience was historically limited to the Prophet’s contemporaries, making modern application conditional and situational. By tracing the evolution of this legal reasoning and demonstrating its limitations in the contemporary era, the book argues for the ethical and juridical legitimacy of suspending certain scriptural rulings - particularly in areas such as criminal law, gender norms, and interfaith relations - without abandoning the classical tradition. The result is a powerful case for internal reform grounded in centuries of Islamic linguistic and legal scholarship. This book will appeal to scholars and students of Islamic studies, Qur’anic interpretation, legal theory, and ethics, as well as to readers engaged in contemporary debates on religious reform, tradition, and modernity in the Muslim world.