Real Revolution — Page 43
43 it to mean that God sometimes sends down a verse but later abrogates it. Non-Muslims have always ridiculed this view, saying:. Why does God abrogate a verse after sending it down? When He sent it down, did He not know that it was not going to suit the needs of the situation? Secondly, the theory of abrogation, if accepted, would indicate a weakness of God, and the expression "Do you not know that Allah has the power to do everything" would become meaningless, for it would have no force when coming after a piece which established a weakness of the Divine being. On the other hand, the meaning which I ascribe to the verse contain a manifestation of Divine power, since it is by no means an easy thing to efface a former p:inciple of conduct well engrooved into the human mind, which people are not inclined to forsake, and to establish a new point of view, altogether a new principle, in its place. Nor is it easy, when a nation has thrown a Divine teaching behind its back and died its own death thereby, that a part of it should be given a new life under the impetus of the revived teaching, and the teaching again made a dominant factor. The doing of these things is undoubtedly most difficult, the accomplishment of these tasks beyond doubt being a great proof of the power of God, which in the verse in question is furth. or emphasised by saying, "Do you not know that for Allah is the sovereignty of the heavens and