106. " whatever we abrogate of a verse or cause it to be forgotten,
we bring a better or the like of it.
do you not know that allah has power over all things ? "
107. " do you not know that to allah belongs the dominion of the heavens
and the earth and that, besides allah, you have
neither guardian nor helper? "

commentary:

purpose of abrogation

the central meaning of these verses, is again the jewish evil
propaganda against the muslims.

the jews occasionally said that the true religion was the religion
of the jews and the real qiblah was the direction that they used for
their prayers. the evidence supporting their idea was that the prophet
of islam (p.b.u.h.) used to pray toward their qiblah (jerusalem). but
when the command for changing the qiblah from jerusalem to the
ka`bah came down and, according to verse 144 from this very sura,
muslims had to pray toward the direction of mecca (ka`bah), this
pretext was taken away from the jews. therefore, they tried to assert a
new pretext and said that if the first qiblah was right, then what was
the second instruction for ? and, if the second instruction was correct,
then the muslims' previous religious actions performed towards
jerusalem would be considered invalid.

the qur'an replies to their objections through these verses and,
thereby, enlightens the hearts of the believers. it says:

" whatever we abrogate of a verse or cause it to be forgotten,
we bring a better or the like of it. ..."

and it is easy for allah, of course:

"... do you not know that allah has power over all things ? "

" do you not know that to allah belongs the dominion of the heavens
and the earth..."

allah has the right to change his ordinances in any form he
pleases and he is the most knowledgable of all as to the welfare of his
servants.

"... and that, besides allah, you have neither guardian nor helper ? "

in fact, the first part of this verse denotes the absolute
sovereignty of allah in religious ordinances and that he is able to
recognize and has the required knowledge to decide what is good for
his creatures. then, believers should not hearken to the vain words of
some self-centered fellows who have doubt in the abrogations of the
divine ordinances.

and the second part of the verse is a warning to those who
choose refuge and support in other than allah, because there is no
real support in the world save allah.

it should also be noted that the term /nasx/ ` abrogation ' in
philology means: ` to abolish, destroy ', and from the point of view of
religion it means: `to nullify a rule and substitute another in its place'.
the detailed explanation about this subject will be discussed later.