Meaning
Is "no compulsion in religion" abrogated?
Answer
Imām Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597/1201) summarized the scholars' opinions in his book "Zād al-Masīr" as follows:
- Some maintained that it is operative (muḥkam) and considered it a general statement with specific exceptions, meaning that the People of the Book are not forced to accept Islam but are given a choice between embracing it or paying the levy (jizyah). [Reported from Ibn ʿAbbās, Mujāhid, Qatādah] Ibn al-Anbārī stated: "The meaning of the verse is that religion is not what one outwardly professes under compulsion, without the heart testifying to it or the conscience embracing it; rather, religion is what is firmly established in the heart."
- Another group took the view that the verse is abrogated, stating that it was revealed before the command to engage in combat. According to their view, it is abrogated by the verse of the sword (Ed: usually taken to mean 9:5). [Al-Ḍaḥḥāk, al-Suddī, Ibn Zayd]

