106 Preface ۞ ما نَنسَخ مِن آيَةٍ أَو نُنسِها نَأتِ بِخَيرٍ مِنها أَو مِثلِها ۗ أَلَم تَعلَم أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَلىٰ كُلِّ شَيءٍ قَديرٌYusuf AliNone of Our revelations1 do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, but We substitute something better or similar: Knowest thou not that God Hath power over all things?The word which I have translated by the word “revelations” is Ayat. See C. 42 and n. 15. It is not only used for verses of the Qur-ān, but in a general sense for God’s revelations, as in 2:39 and for other Signs of God in history or nature, or miracles, as in 2:61. It has even been used for human signs and tokens of wonder, as, for example, monuments or landmarks built by the ancient people of 'Ad (26:128). What is the meaning here? If we take it in a general sense, it means that God’s Message from age to age is always the same, but that its form may differ according to the needs and exigencies of the time. That form was different as given to Moses and then to Jesus and then to Muḥammad. Some commentators apply it also to the Ay at of the Qur-ān. There is nothing derogatory in this if we believe in progressive revelation. In 3:7 we are told distinctly about the Qur-ān, that some of its verses are clear (and of established meaning), and others are not entirely clear, and it is mischievous to treat the verses that are not entirely clear and to follow them (literally). On the other hand, it is absurd to treat such a verse as 2:115 as if it were abrogated by 2:144 about Qiblah. There may be express abrogation, or there may be “causing or permitting to forget.” How many good and wise institutions gradually become obsolete by afflux of time? Then there is the gradual process of disuse or forgetting in evolution. This does not mean that eternal principles change. It is only a sign of God’s infinite power that His creation should take so many forms and shapes not only in the material world but in the world of man’s thought and expression.