A Question and Its Answer: If someone asks, why is a fixed ruling abrogated?
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The Shaykh : If someone asks: How is a fixed ruling abrogated? If the original fixed ruling was in accordance with the interest of the community, why is it abrogated? And if it was not in accordance with it, why was it established?
Do you understand? Or do you not understand the question?
Let us suppose that a ruling was lawful and then became forbidden; this is abrogation, or is it not?
If someone asks: If the lawful was the best for the community, why was it abrogated? And if the forbidden is the best for the community, why was it made lawful?
The answer to this is: The lawful in its time is the best for the community, and the forbidden in its time is the best for the community.
The parallel to this is what we said regarding the voluntary actions of Allah: If an action is perfection, why was it absent from Allah before He performed it? And if it is a deficiency, why did He perform it?
We said that it is perfection at the time of its performance, and it is not perfection at the time of its absence, because perfection and deficiency are determined according to what the interest requires.
Do you understand? Or do you not understand the question?
Let us suppose that a ruling was lawful and then became forbidden; this is abrogation, or is it not?
If someone asks: If the lawful was the best for the community, why was it abrogated? And if the forbidden is the best for the community, why was it made lawful?
The answer to this is: The lawful in its time is the best for the community, and the forbidden in its time is the best for the community.
The parallel to this is what we said regarding the voluntary actions of Allah: If an action is perfection, why was it absent from Allah before He performed it? And if it is a deficiency, why did He perform it?
We said that it is perfection at the time of its performance, and it is not perfection at the time of its absence, because perfection and deficiency are determined according to what the interest requires.