These “later legal scholars” are not some twentieth-century
misfits who decided to reject 1000 years of Islamic thought
and practice. These legal scholars were working out the
order of the Koranic verses (and the theory of abrogation) in
the first few hundred years after Mohammed’s death. Thus
their decisions have shaped Islam and have been followed
by Muslims for over 1000 years and are still considered
relevant today. We would remind you of the commentary on
the Koran by Qurtubi discussed at the start of our
Introduction. In 2003 moderate Muslim scholars in Britain
chose to translate Qurtubiʼs commentary from the 1300s, a
work which states that the command to fight and kill
unbelievers is "an unqualified command" which abrogates
any other commands which contradict it.
dana p.
(Dana P.)
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