Because Allah says so. The nullification theory was not
devised by Muslim theologians; it comes from the Koran. In
Sura 2:106, Allah acknowledges that He cancels verses and
substitutes new revelations for old ones: ‘‘If We [Allah]
abrogate a verse or cause it to be forgotten, We will replace
it by a better one or one similar.’’ Elsewhere He takes note
of Muhammad’s critics: ‘‘When We change one verse for
another (Allah knows best what He reveals), they say, ‘‘You
[Muhammad] are an imposter. Indeed most of them have no
knowledge’’ (Sura 16:101). Ultimately, it is a matter of the
inscrutable divine will: ‘‘Allah abrogates and confirms what
He pleases’’ (Sura 13:39).
Clearly the nullification theory was developed because
of contradictions in Muhammad’s message. Whatever its
original intention, however, this technique has today
become a convenient instrument that Muslims often use to
sidestep Christian apologetic efforts. Nullification makes it
virtually useless for Christians to point out contradictions in
the Koran, and effectively blunts the impact of an appeal to
Deuteronomy 18:22, which directs the Israelites ‘‘not to be
afraid’’ of a prophet whose words are proven false.
A table of some of the Koran’s doctrinal self
contradictions, large and small, appears at the end of this
book. These self contradictions do not carry the weight in
Islam that a Christian might expect, however. A logical
understanding of Allah and His word are not of much
importance to a Muslim. Odd as it may seem, a Muslim is
not nearly as concerned as is a committed Christian with
whether or not his faith makes sense; his primary concern is