🧨 “Abrogation and Amnesia: When God Forgets His Own Words”

If God’s Words Are Perfect, Why Erase Them?

The Qur’an claims to be eternal and unchanging, yet abrogation (naskh) allows verses to be cancelled, replaced, or forgotten. This means Allah either changed His mind, or the Qur’an was revised posthumously by men—both scenarios contradict divine perfection. Combined with hadiths reporting missing or eaten verses, this proves the Qur’an was not preserved, but edited and redacted over time.

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📉 1. Qur’an Admits Its Own Verses Are Canceled

Surah 2:106 :

“Whatever verse We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring one better or like it.”

This verse is a defense mechanism, not revelation. It presupposes:

• Some verses become obsolete

• God can remove verses from memory

• New verses can replace old ones

❗ This destroys the idea of an eternal, unchanging revelation.
An all-knowing deity should not revoke His own words if they were perfect to begin with.

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🧾 2. Key Verses Were Lost or Forgotten

Multiple hadiths attest to missing Qur’anic content:

“I used to recite a surah equal in length to Surat Bara’ah, but I have forgotten it.”
— Sahih Muslim 2286

“Allah sent down [the verse of stoning], but we used to write it and it was lost.”
— Sunan Ibn Majah 1944

“The verse of stoning and breastfeeding an adult ten times was revealed... it was in the Qur’an but the paper was under my pillow and got eaten by a goat.”
— Sunan Ibn Majah 1944; Musnad Ahmad 5:131

These aren’t fringe reports—they are canonical hadiths from trusted companions.

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🔁 3. Three Types of Abrogation = Controlled Editing

Islamic scholars classify naskh (abrogation) into:

Type	Text	Ruling	Example
Text + Ruling Abrogated	Lost	Cancelled	Stoning verse
Text Abrogated, Ruling Remains	Removed	Still valid	Breastfeeding adult ten times
Ruling Abrogated, Text Remains	Still present	Cancelled	Alcohol prohibition (gradual steps)

❗ This system proves the Qur’an is mutable, not immutable.

More critically, how can God's word be “better replaced” unless:

• God made a mistake

• The Qur’an was altered by editors

• It was never eternal to begin with

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🧨 4. Surah 2:106 Destroys the Idea of Inerrancy

Let’s break it down logically:

Premise 1: God’s word is perfect and eternal.
Premise 2: The Qur’an contains God’s words.
Premise 3: Surah 2:106 says God abrogates and replaces His words.
Conclusion: Therefore, the Qur’an is not eternally fixed and its words are not all perfect.

Either:

• Allah’s word is changeable = not eternal

• Allah erases His own words = not all-knowing

• Humans redacted the text = Qur’an is not divine

Any way you slice it, the result is theological and logical incoherence.

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🧠 5. Theological Implications Are Devastating

If a verse can be:

• Forgotten (mansi)

• Removed from memory

• Replaced by something “better”
  Then the Qur’an:

• Cannot be preserved in total

• Is not fixed in heaven as claimed (Surah 85:21–22)

• Cannot be a final, complete revelation

❗ This is not “mercy” or “wisdom”—it’s editorial management.

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📚 6. Even Muhammad Was Unsure What Was Qur’an

Examples from hadith show uncertainty:

“I do not know whether it was part of the Qur’an or not.”
— Abu Dawud 1400

“I used to recite a verse but now I can't find it.”
— Bukhari 6:61:558

If the Messenger of Allah himself didn’t know what was Qur’an, how can anyone claim:

• Perfect preservation?

• Exact content from the time of revelation?

• Flawless oral transmission?

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🗑️ 7. The Lost Verses That Change Doctrine

Some lost verses had major doctrinal value:

• Stoning verse (rajm) contradicts Qur’an’s existing punishment for adultery (Surah 24:2)

• Breastfeeding verse was legally binding at one point, then vanished

• Mut‘ah marriage was allowed, then revoked, then possibly reinstated

🔍 These aren’t minor edits—they affect law, punishment, and practice.

This shows that Qur’anic law was fluid, contradictory, and subject to human discretion.

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🧩 Conclusion: Abrogation Exposes Qur’anic Incoherence

Abrogation and loss of verses are not signs of divine wisdom. They are:

• Signs of human editing

• Excuses for contradictions and erasures

• Evidence of post-Muhammad redaction

A divine, preserved book:

• Does not contain expired verses

• Does not rely on abrogated rulings

• Does not get eaten by goats

🧨 Abrogation is not revelation—it’s damage control for a man-made text in theological freefall.