2.106 – Whatever verse We cancel or cause to be forgotten, We bring a better (one) than it

This is one of the most important verses for the Islamic theory of abrogation. The Quran contains different kinds of material – both in style and subject. This sets up contradictions of content in such areas as response to conflict, treatment of non-Muslims, and predestination and freewill. Muslim scholars have traditionally dealt with contradiction by citing verses like 2.106, which seems to suggest that what Allah reveals at one time, in one set of circumstances, he may abrogate or replace at a later time.

For a fuller explanation of the Islamic theory of abrogation and the quranic verses used to support it, see the comments on 16.101.