There is no contradiction in the Qur’an about changes in the words of Allah and there being no change in them
Question

                Some of the Christians say that there are verses in the Qur’an that contradict one another – is that true? There are the verses (interpretation of the meaning):
“For them are glad tidings, in the life of the present world (i.e. righteous dream seen by the person himself or shown to others), and in the Hereafter. No change can there be in the Words of Allah, this is indeed the supreme success”

[Yoonus 10:64]

“And recite what has been revealed to you (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) of the Book (the Quran) of your Lord (i.e. recite it, understand and follow its teachings and act on its orders and preach it to men). None can change His Words, and none will you find as a refuge other than Him”

[al-Kahf 18:27].

[They say that] these verses are contradicted by other verses in Soorat an-Nahl, Soorat ar-Ra‘d and Soorat al-Baqarah, in which it says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And when We change a Verse (of the Quran, i.e. cancel (abrogate) its order) in place of another, and Allah knows the best of what He sends down, they (the disbelievers) say: "You (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) are but a Muftari! (forger, liar)." Nay, but most of them know not”

[an-Nahl 16:101]

“Allah blots out what He wills and confirms (what He wills). And with Him is the Mother of the Book (Al-Lawh Al-Mahfooz)”

[ar-Ra‘d 13:39]

“Whatever a Verse (revelation) do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring a better one or similar to it. 
Know you not that Allah is able to do all things?”

[al-Baqarah 2:106].	

They say that the verses quoted above represent contradiction in the Qur’an. Do these verses really contradict one another, or what?
Praise be to Allah.
	The Holy Qur’an is the word of Allah, may He be exalted, and 
	there cannot be any contradiction or discrepancy in it. Rather 
	contradictions arise if the speaker is someone who may make mistakes, but 
	Allah, may He be exalted, is far above that. Allah, may He be glorified, 
	says (interpretation of the meaning):

	“Do they not 
	then consider the Quran carefully? Had it been from other than Allah, they 
	would surely have found therein much contradiction”

	[an-Nisa’ 4:82]. 

	Hence there were discrepancies and contradictions in the 
	Gospels that the Christians have, because they were written by people, who 
	were not infallible. The great Indian scholar Rahmatullah Kairanawi 
	highlighted in his book Izhaar al-Haqq the existence of 125 
	discrepancies and contradictions in their holy Book. 

	The specious argument that you mentioned is an extremely weak 
	argument, which may be answered by noting two points: 

	Firstly: 

	With regard to the verses which say that there is no change 
	in the words of Allah, such as the verses in which He says (interpretation 
	of the meaning):

	“For them are 
	glad tidings, in the life of the present world (i.e. righteous dream seen by 
	the person himself or shown to others), and in the Hereafter. No change can 
	there be in the Words of Allah, this is indeed the supreme success”

	[Yoonus 10:64]

	“And recite 
	what has been revealed to you (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be 
	upon him)) of the Book (the Quran) of your Lord (i.e. recite it, understand 
	and follow its teachings and act on its orders and preach it to men). None 
	can change His Words, and none will you find as a refuge other than Him”

	[al-Kahf 18:27],

	what is meant is that no one can change the words of Allah. 
	As for Allah Himself, may He be exalted, He may replace one verse with 
	another, which is known as naskh (abrogation). Allah, may He be glorified, 
	says (interpretation of the meaning):

	“And when We 
	change a Verse (of the Quran, i.e. cancel (abrogate) its order) in place of 
	another, and Allah knows the best of what He sends down, they (the 
	disbelievers) say: "You (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon 
	him)) are but a Muftari! (forger, liar)." Nay, but most of them know not”

	[an-Nahl 16:101]

	“Whatever a 
	Verse (revelation) do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring a 
	better one or similar to it. Know you not that Allah is able to do all 
	things?”

	[al-Baqarah 2:106]. 

	With regard to the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, 
	says (interpretation of the meaning): “Allah 
	blots out what He wills and confirms (what He wills). And with Him is the 
	Mother of the Book (Al-Lawh Al-Mahfooz)” 
	[ar-Ra‘d 13:39], what is 
	meant is blotting out and confirmation in the records of the angels. Please 
	see the answer to question no. 43021. 

	Secondly:

	What is meant by the words of Allah that cannot be changed is 
	the words of His divine decree, such as His ways of dealing with His 
	creation, and what He has told us about rewarding those who are obedient to 
	Him and punishing those who are disobedient, and the admittance of the 
	people of Paradise to Paradise and of the people of Hell to Hell. No one can 
	change the way in which Allah deals with His creation or change the words of 
	His divine decree. Hence it says at the beginning of the verse 
	(interpretation of the meaning): “For 
	them are glad tidings, in the life of the present world (i.e. righteous 
	dream seen by the person himself or shown to others), and in the Hereafter. 
	No change can there be in the Words of Allah, this is indeed the supreme 
	success” [Yoonus 10:64]. 
	The way of Allah and the word of His divine decree here is that for the 
	pious believers who fear Him, there are glad tidings in this life and after 
	death, and who can change that? 

	With regard to the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, 
	says (interpretation of the meaning): “And 
	recite what has been revealed to you (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of 
	Allah be upon him)) of the Book (the Quran) of your Lord (i.e. recite it, 
	understand and follow its teachings and act on its orders and preach it to 
	men). None can change His Words, and none will you find as a refuge other 
	than Him” [al-Kahf 18:27], 
	if this is understood as referring to the words of the divine decree, then 
	it is like the previous example. If it is understood as referring to His 
	religious decree namely the Holy Qur’an which He revealed to the Prophet 
	(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), then no one can change this 
	Qur’an, for Allah, may He be glorified, has guaranteed to preserve it. 

	Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

	With regard to the words (interpretation of the meaning): 
	“And recite what has 
	been revealed to you (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) 
	of the Book (the Qur’an) of your Lord (i.e. recite it, understand and follow 
	its teachings and act on its orders and preach it to men). None can change 
	His Words” [al-Kahf 18:27],

	the phrase “what 
	has been revealed to you” 
	refers to the Qur’an and the revelation cannot be anything but words, so it 
	is not created.

	“of the 
	Book (the Qur’an) of your Lord” 
	– it is attributed to Him, may He be glorified and exalted, because He is 
	the one who uttered it and sent it down to Muhammad (blessings and peace of 
	Allah be upon him) via Jibreel the Trustworthy.

	“None can 
	change His Words” i.e., 
	no one can change the words of Allah. As for Allah Himself, may He be 
	glorified and exalted, He may replace one verse with another, as He, may He 
	be exalted, says elsewhere (interpretation of the meaning):

	“And when We 
	change a Verse (of the Quran, i.e. cancel (abrogate) its order) in place of 
	another, and Allah knows the best of what He sends down, they (the 
	disbelievers) say: ‘You (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon 
	him)) are but a Muftari! (forger, liar).’ Nay, but most of them know not”

	[an-Nahl 16:101]. 

	The phrase “None 
	can change His Words” 
	includes both the words of His divine decree and the words of His religious 
	decree. 

	·With regard to His divine 
	decree, there is no exception from that at all. It is not possible for 
	anyone to change the words of Allah’s divine decree: 

	If Allah decrees death for a person, no one can change it.

	If Allah decrees poverty for a person, no one can change it.

	If Allah decrees drought for a person, no one can change it.

	All of the things that happen in the universe happen by His 
	word and His decree, as Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of 
	the meaning):

	“Verily, His 
	Command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, ‘Be!’ and it 
	is”

	[Yaa-Seen 36:82].

	With regard to His religious decree, it may be changed by the 
	disbelievers and hypocrites, so they would change the words either in terms 
	of the meaning or in terms of the wording itself, if they could, or they 
	would do both. 

	End quote from 
	Majmoo‘ Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen 
	(8/370)

	Conclusion:

	The words of Allah’s divine will and decree cannot be changed 
	by anybody. The same applies to the words of His religious decree that He 
	guaranteed to protect, namely the Holy Qur’an. This does not contradict the 
	fact that Allah, may He be exalted, may abrogate of it whatever He wills, 
	and may send down one verse to replace another if He so wills, because He 
	says (interpretation of the meaning):

	“Know you 
	not that Allah is able to do all things?”

	[al-Baqarah 2:106].

	And Allah knows best.