Toosi (Javad Fakhkhar), Qur’anic Abrogation After Muhammad: The Eternal Flux, London, Routledge, 2026, 208 p. ISBN 978-1041050414

Author

Javad Fakhkhar Toosi is an Islamic scholar and qualified jurist (Mujtahid) trained in the seminary; holder of a distinguished PhD degree, with 35 years of teaching and research experience in Islamic studies; author of 8 books in Arabic and Persian, and dozens of articles in English and Arabic.

Presentation

Challenging the notion of Islamic legal rigidity, this book introduces the paradigm of “Contemporary Abrogation” - a reformist approach that emerges not in opposition to Islamic tradition, but from within its foundational hermeneutics. Drawing on Sunni and Shiʿi jurisprudential sources, the study reveals how the classical understanding of the Qurʾān’s legal audience was historically limited to the Prophet’s contemporaries, making modern application conditional and situational. By tracing the evolution of this legal reasoning and demonstrating its limitations in the contemporary era, the book argues for the ethical and juridical legitimacy of suspending certain scriptural rulings - particularly in areas such as criminal law, gender norms, and interfaith relations - without abandoning the classical tradition. The result is a powerful case for internal reform grounded in centuries of Islamic linguistic and legal scholarship.

This book will appeal to scholars and students of Islamic studies, Qur’anic interpretation, legal theory, and ethics, as well as to readers engaged in contemporary debates on religious reform, tradition, and modernity in the Muslim world.