5. 58:12: “O you who believe! When you consult the Messenger, offer something in charity before your consultation. That is better for you and purer. But if you have not the means then surely Allāh is Forgiving, Merciful.” This is said to have been abrogated by the verse that follows: “Do you fear that you will not be able to give in charity before your consultation? So when you do it not and Allāh has turned to you mercifully, keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate.” It is not easy to see how one of these injunctions is abrogated by the other, since there is not the slightest difference in what they say. The second verse merely gives further explanation to show that the injunction is only in the nature of recommendation, that is to say, a man may give in charity whatever he can easily spare, the legal alms (zakāt) being the only obligatory charity.

Thus the theory of abrogation falls to the ground on all consideration.

Interpretation of the Holy Qur’ān

The rule as to the interpretation of the Holy Qur’ān is thus given in the Book itself: “He it is Who has revealed the Book to thee; some of its verses are decisive — they are the basis of the Book — and others are allegorical. Then those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part of it which is allegorical, seeking to mislead, and seeking to give it their own interpretation. And none knows its interpretation except Allāh, and those firmly rooted in knowledge. They say: We believe in it, it is all from our Lord. And none do mind except men of understanding” (3:7). In the first place, it is stated here that there are two kinds of verses in the Holy Qur’ān, namely, the decisive and the allegorical — the latter being those which are capable of different interpretations. Next we are told that the decisive verses are the basis of the Book, that is, that they contain the fundamental principles of religion. Hence whatever may be the differences of interpretation, the fundamentals of religion are not affected by them, all such differences relating only to secondary matters. The third point is that some people seek to give their own interpretation to allegorical statements and are thus misled. In other words, serious errors arise only when a wrong interpretation is placed on words