Dear Farzana Sahiba, 

In your response (post #81) to Tahir Sahib (post #77), you have proposed to discard a verse, 24:2. May I inquire, on whose authority are you suggesting such a drastic step? 

Please correct me if I am wrong, I am under the impression that by definition, a Muslim is required to believe in One God, His Messengers and the last testament (the Quran) revealed through His last messenger, Prophet Mohammad. Does Quran allow you to pick and chose or discard at will whatever portions of Quran you may or may not agree with? 

[Corollary:  Can you be considered a citizen in good standing of any country, if you declare that you accept rules of that country with the exception of a few that you do not like?]  

Of course, there is no compulsion and we have the free will to accept or reject Islam at our own perils. The acceptance, however, does not include the provision of cherry picking.  

Whether or not you believe in Ijtehad, it cannot allow one to go to the extent of modifying, adding, removing or discarding the Quranic verses.  

By the basic definition of being a Muslim, it has to be accepted that the Quran is the basic book of guidance for mankind. As long as the followers believe that it is authored by God himself, only He can revise it. According to the Islamic concepts, the book is final and for ever to come. The question of its being temporal cannot be entertained. You may choose not to be a Muslim, then, of course this discussion is totally irrelevant.  

When we talk of reformation, we talk about reforming the Muslims and their understanding of the religion in the light of Quranic teachings. The reformation does not include changing or re-writing the Quran.  

If we claim to have the wisdom to modify Quran as we see it fit, then it follows that we are wiser than God, the author. In that case, would it sound logical to accept Him as our Lord whose wisdom does not even match our own, the mortals created by Him?  

Let me lighten your burden by saying that if you feel apprehensive about verse 24:2, I suggest you take a look at verses 4:15-16 as an alternative that provides another way out of punishment through repentance. It is a good example of making full use of God’s guidance by accepting it whole heartedly rather than rejecting parts of it. Most likely, this is what Omar bin Khittab did too, rather than suspending Quranic verses. Even the Prophet did not have the authority to suspend or remove any verses that had been revealed to him.  

In case you feel anxiety due to pressure from your Christian and Jewish friends regarding verse 24:2, you can always show them from Bible: Deut. 22:21-24. There are plenty of verses like these in the Bible.  

Javed I. Chaudry