Absolute Justice, Kindness and Kinship — Page 327
— Part III 320 verses of the Holy Quran which, in their opinion, abrogated five hundred other verses. Which verses were replaced exactly by the ones abrogated is a question never attempted to be answered. Similarly, the verses which were better than the ones abrogated have not been enumerated with any proof mentioned about their being superior in any way. This verse of the Holy Quran has nothing to do with the abrogation of the verses of the Holy Quran, but refers to the signs of Allah where earlier religions which were permitted to be obliterated were either brought back with the same beauty they once possessed, or better religions were revealed to replace them. The verse applies to a much wider fundamental principle. When we closely observe the history of religions, we always discover that many religions are allowed by God to have been obliterated. Whenever this happened, other religions similar to them were revealed to replace them. However, if the advanced age required some new and better religions, they were brought in their stead. They were better in the sense that they could cope more efficiently with the changing requirements of the time. Thus, religions have evolved until they culminated in the final evolution of Islam. Individual Covenants or Contracts So far we have discussed communal or national covenants. Now we turn to individual ones between