Command, Prohibitions and Nask

Command (Amr)

• As a verbal demand to do something from a position of superiority to an inferior.

• Use of a simple past tense in Arabic may indicate command to do something [2:178]

• Form of moral condemnation [2:189]

• As a promise of reward or punishment [4:13-14]

• According to the majority, command implies obligation unless there are clues to suggest otherwise.

• Command (Amr) may sometimes mean permissibility [7:31].

• May convey a recommendation in some cases [2:282].

• May indicate threat, i.e., advise to desist from doing a particular thing [24:33].

• May imply supplication or prayer [2:286].

• It mostly means obligation (Farz or Wazib, depending on whether the text and meaning both are Qati or not.)

Prohibition (Nahy)

• Opposite of command.

• A demand to avoid doing of something.

• May occur in the form of

- statement [2:221]

- an order not to do something [62:9; 22:30]

• May convey - Total prohibition (tahrim ) or - Guidance (irshad) or - Reprimand (tadib).

• May imply reprehension [5:87]• Conveys moral guidance [5:104]

Majority hold that Nahy primarily implies Tahrim

• If prohibition is conditional, its applicable where condition is present [60:10]

• When a prohibition succeeds a command, it conveys Tahrim (illegality) 

• Explicit (Sarih) injunctions (whether Amr or Nahy) require total compliance

• Spirit of the Law should also be kept in view, not only letters [62:9]

• Implicit injunctions, unless made explicit elsewhere, can be understood by scholars and they may differ therein

Naskh (Abrogation)

• Defined as the suspension or replacement of one Shariah ruling by another

• Naskh operates only in law, not in beliefs

Naskh operates only when, 

i. two evidences are of equal strength, 

ii. they are present in 2 separate texts, 

iii. there is genuine conflict which can not be reconciled, and 

iv. the two texts are of two timeframe (one is later to the other). 

• Some scholars don’t agree that there is abrogation in the Quran

• For details, study the text book by H. Kamali.