Apostasy in Islam

By TheKingOfTheGame

Introduction
Bismillah. Allah says in the Qur’an: “​The words of the believers are, when they call upon
Allah and His Messenger to judge between them [in matters] to say ‘We heard and we obeyed’,
and those are the successful ones.” ​(An-Noor). So from this verse we learn many lessons, the
first of which is very important for a Muslim to understand, and it is that Allah has sent us as the
best of nations who are the witnesses of Allah on this Earth and gave us a Book and a Prophet as

an example to follow, and when they command us, we follow, no matter how unreasonable it is,
or else a punishment will afflict us and we will be of the transgressors. Do you not remember
what happen to the Children of Israel when they disobeyed Allah’s command on the Sabbath?
Allah says: “​And surely you know of those who transgressed on the Sabbath, so We said to them:
‘Become detested Apes’.​” (Al-Baqarah). Allah punished them for not following a simple
commandment, then comes my point: “​And when a community among them said: "Why do you
preach to a people whom Allah is about to destroy or to punish with a severe torment'' (The
preachers) said: ‘In order to be free from guilt before your Lord (Allah), and perhaps they may
fear Allah’.​” (Al-A’raaf). This Ayah shows that once people start diverting from Allah or His
Messenger’s commands, then you shouldn’t stop preaching to them but instead continue and

show them that the ​Haqq​ will never fall, and you will surely be rewarded on the Day of
Judgement for it. It seems that a lot of Muslims seem to love catering to the non-Muslim’s
content instead of making Allah content, and they do not want to cause discontent to the
non-Muslims, even though the Messenger of Allah said in a Hadith, “​Whoever seeks Allah's
pleasure by the people's discontent, Allah will suffice him from the people, and Whoever seeks
the people's content by Allah's discontent, Allaah will entrust him to the people.​” (Jami’
At-Tirmidhi, authenticated by Darussalam). When I am writing this, I ask Allah to purify my
intentions and help me prove my points according to the way of the Sunnah and the path of the
scholars of the Salaf and whoever follows their example until the Day of Judgement.
 The Definition of Apostasy
Bismillah. The word is “​Riddah​”, literally meaning to “regress, return, turn one’s
back, or reject”. In matters of ​Fiqh​, Riddah has been defined by the Four Madhabs differently, so
the Hanafis, the popular opinion of the Malikis, the minority opinion of Shafi’is, and one of the
two narrated opinions from Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal define Apostasy as follows (paraphrased):
Someone who has reached puberty, who is mentally stable, who accepted Islam [or was born
into it], understood its tenants as the correct path, and left Islam, rejecting it and returning to

Kufr willingly [i.e without being forced or saying something accidently].​ However, there is
another definition given by the ​Fuqahaa’​. The minority opinion of the Malikis, and the majority
opinions in the Shafi’i and Hanbali madhab give the same definition as before but they add an
extra clause (paraphrased): ​Riddah punishment also applies for anyone who leaves any Kufr
religion for another Kufr religion.​ Meaning that they believed that for example, if a Jew
converted to Christianity, he would have to be killed for Apostasy. Their belief was that if
someone were to convert to any other religion but Islam he should be killed, and if someone
were to convert from Islam he should be killed. Then there is also the ‘​modern​’ definition people
give to the word that defines the word with something along the lines of ‘treason’ or so. One of
the first recorded distinctions made between minor and major Apostasy was done by the famous
scholar Shaykh Ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah who believed that Apostasy was of two types: minor
and major. Usually people who support their points about Apostasy actually meaning treason try
to make the point that Minor Apostasy and Major Apostasy are different and that Major
Apostasy is to be punished while Minor Apostasy is not, let’s see what Ibn Taymiyyah says:
‫ﻋﻠﻰ ﺧﺼﻮﺻﻬﺎ وﻛﻼﻫﻤﺎ ﻗﺪ ﻗﺎم اﻟﺪﻟﯿﻞ ﻋﻠﻰ وﺟﻮب ﻗﺘﻞ ﺻﺎﺣﺒﻬﺎ واﻻدﻟﺔ اﻟﺪاﻟﺔ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺳﻘﻮط اﻟﻘﺘﻞ ﺑﺎﻟﺘﻮﺑﺔ ﻻ ﺗﻌﻢ اﻟﻘﺴﻤﯿﻦ ﺑﻞ اﻧﻤﺎ ﺗﺪل ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻘﺴﻢ اﻻول ﻛﻤﺎ ﯾﻈﻬﺮ ﻟﻤﻦ ذﻟﻚ‬
‫ﺗﺎﻣﻞ اﻻدﻟﺔ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻗﺒﻮل ﺗﻮﺑﺔ اﻟﻤﺮﺗﺪ ﻓﯿﺒﻘﻰ اﻟﻘﺴﻢ اﻟﺜﺎﻧﻲ وﻗﺪ ﻗﺎم اﻟﺪﻟﯿﻞ ﻋﻠﻰ وﺟﻮب ﻗﺘﻞ ﺻﺎﺣﺒﻪ وﻟﻢ ﯾﺎت ﻧﺺ وﻻ اﺟﻤﺎع ﺑﺴﻘﻮط اﻟﻘﺘﻞ ﻋﻨﻪ واﻟﻘﯿﺎس ﻣﺘﻌﺬر ﻣﻊ وﺟﻮد اﻟﻔﺮق‬
‫اﻟﺠﻠﻲ ﻓﺎﻧﻘﻄﻊ اﻻﻟﺤﺎق واﻟﺬي ﯾﺤﻘﻖ ﻫﺬه اﻟﻄﺮﯾﻘﺔ اﻧﻪ ﻟﻢ ﯾﺎت ﻓﻲ ﻛﺘﺎب وﻻ ﺳﻨﺔ وﻻ اﺟﻤﺎع ان ﻛﻞ ﻣﻦ ارﺗﺪ ﺑﺎي ﻗﻮل او اي ﻓﻌﻞ ﻛﺎن ﻓﺎﻧﻪ ﯾﺴﻘﻂ ﻋﻨﻪ اﻟﻘﺘﻞ اذا ﺗﺎب ﺑﻌﺪ اﻟﻘﺪرة‬
٦٩٦ ‫ ﺻﻔﺤﺔ‬،٣ ‫ اﻟﺠﺰء‬،‫ اﻟﺼﺎرم اﻟﻤﺴﻠﻮل ﻋﻠﻰ ﺷﺎﺗﻢ اﻟﺮﺳﻮل‬- ‫ﻋﻠﯿﻪ ﺑﻞ اﻟﻜﺘﺎب واﻟﺴﻨﺔ واﻻﺟﻤﺎع ﻗﺪ ﻓﺮق ﺑﯿﻦ اﻧﻮاع اﻟﻤﺮﺗﺪﯾﻦ ﻛﻤﺎ ﺳﻨﺬﻛﺮه ﺷﯿﺦ اﻹﺳﻼم اﺑﻦ ﺗﯿﻤﯿﺔ رﺣﻤﻪ اﷲ‬

Translation: “​Apostasy is of two types: minor apostasy and major apostasy, the latter for
which execution is prescribed no matter what. Although ​in both cases there is evidence that it is
obligatory to execute the apostate...​” [Asarim Al-Maslool Vol 3, Pg. 696]
 Barely none of the classical jurists ever made this ​exact​ distinction, and even if they did,
they clearly did not believe the Minor Apostaste was to be spared in every case because the
majority opinion of 2 out of 4 Madhabs is that any non-muslim who converts to any ​other​ Kufr
religion is ​still​ to be killed.

Quotes from the Quran, Hadiths, Sahaba, and ‘Ijmaa

In Shaa’ Allah, I shall bring you clear Quranic verses, Hadiths, sayings of the Sahaba,
and finally, some scholars who even made ‘Ijmaa on the topic of Riddah:

First off, I’ll start off with the Quran. Allah says in the Quran: “​Say to the ones who
stayed behind from the bedouins you will called to fight a group with fierce fighting skills, you
will fight them or they shall become believers [once again]...” ​(Al-Fath). It was narrated in that a
group of Mufassireen said: “...​This Ayah tells us the ruling on those who become Murtad
(Apostates)...​” (Kitab Al-Mabsoot).

Secondly, the Hadith. The Messenger of Allah said in a Hadith in Sahih Al-Bukhari:

“​Whoever changes his [Islamic] religion, then kill him.​” (Bukhari 3/10980), and he also said: “​It
is not lawful for the blood of a Muslim person to be shed except with one of three: The married
adulterer, and the killing of a soul for a soul, and the one who leaves his religion, who separates
from the Jamaa’ah [i.e the Muslims].​” (Bukhari 6/2521). It was also narrated that the Messenger
of Allah said: “​Whoever alters his [Islamic] religion, then execute him.​” [Muwatta Imam Malik].
Hafidh Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani narrated in his book when commenting on these Hadiths about the
Apostate: “​The Messenger of Allah advised Mu`adh before he went on his trip to Yemen, part of
what he said included ‘...and whichever man apostasies, then kill him, and whichever woman
apostasies, the kill her as well…’​” [Fath Al-Bari, graded ​Hasan​ by Hafidh Ibn Hajar]. So as we
can see, the words of the Messenger of Allah are very explicit about the Apostate.
 Thirdly, the Sahaba. It has been authentically narrated from dozens of Sahaba that they
ordered the killing of the Apostate, but I will keep it short with only 2 narrations. It is narrated:
“​There was a fettered man beside Abu Musa. Mu`adh asked, ‘Who is this (man)?’ Abu Muisa
said, ‘He was a Jew and became a Muslim and then reverted back to Judaism.’ Then Abu Musa
requested Mu`adh to sit down but Mu`adh said, ‘I will not sit down till he has been killed. This is
the judgment of Allah and His Apostle (for such cases)!’ and he repeated it thrice. Then Abu
Musa ordered that the man be killed, and he was killed.​” (Bukhari & Muslim) and it is also
narrated: “​Ali burnt some people who apostatized from Islam. This news reached Ibn Abbas, so
he said: “If it were me I would have killed them according to the statement of Messenger of
Allah. The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Whoever changes his religion then kill him.’ And I would
not have burned them because the Messenger of Allah said: 'Do not punish with the punishment
of Allah.'” So this reached Ali, and he said: ‘Ibn 'Abbas has told the truth.’​” (Bukhari, Muslim,
Tirmidhi).

Fourthly, the Scholars of the Sunnah. In fact, many scholars have even made ​Ijmaa’
(consensus) of the punishment. Ibn Qudamah, the famous Hanbali ​Faqeeh​ writes: “​The
consensus of the people of knowledge is that it is required to kill the Apostate and it is confirmed
in reports that Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali, Mu`adh, Abu Musa, Ibn Abbas, Khalid Ibn Walid,
and many more did the same, and there is no denying they did so. So it is a consensus that
whoever leaves Islam, male or woman as long as he was sane and reached puberty, he will be
called to repent for 3 days, and if he refuses, he is to be killed.​” (Al-Mughni). Ibn AbdulBarr, the
great Maliki ​Qadi​ writes: “​And it is taken from this Hadith [he is commenting on the Hadith ‘It is
not lawful for the blood of a Muslim person to be shed…’], that whoever Apostates from the
religion, his blood becomes lawful, his head is to be cut, and the Ummah is in consensus on this
point.​” (Al-Tamaheed). Ibn Munthir, the great ​‘Alamah​, ​Faqeeh​, and ​Mujtahid​ who many
scholars praised said: “​And the punishment for Apostasy is agreed upon between the Muslims,
and there is no disagreement over its details at all, except minor things like how many days
should be given for repentance or the method which Apostaste should be executed with. The
consensus is over the following: If the servant leaves Islam, he is to be asked to repent, if he
refuses, he is executed.​” (Al-Iqna’).

Refutation to Common Claims

- There is no worldly punishment for Apostasy specified in the Quran.
Bismillah. There exist a group of people who claim that since the worldly punishment for Riddah
is not specified in the Quran, it cannot be valid. My response to this is very very simple, there are
tons of times in the Quran where a specific thing is not mentioned, but it’s mentioned in the
Sunnah, and it is still accepted! Take for example, the Quran simply says lashing is the
punishment for ​Zina​. Using the same level of logic as these people, that would mean that
mutawatir​ punishment of​ Rajm​ (stoning) mentioned in the Sunnah would contradict the Quran,
or does it? No, because the Sunnah specified the ruling on lashing to only the unmarried
adulterer, whilst the punishment for ​Rajm​ was for the married or previously married adulterer.
So as we can see here, there are things that are mentioned in the Sunnah that add on to a Quranic
commandment or make a Quranic commandment specific or broaden it. Any slightly
knowledgeable person in the fields of Tafseer and Fiqh will tell you this. Just because Allah does
not mention any worldly punishment for Apostasy and mentions the punishment for him on the
Day of Judgement doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist or it’s invalid. And Allah knows best.
- “No Compulsion in Religion!”
Yes, the famous verse of the Quran that people love to cite when arguing against the punishment.
A very naive statement a lot of these are because you’re assuming that the thousands of scholars
who read this verse never noticed! Or maybe they did, and they understood it better than you?
The famous scholar Ibn Kathir writes: “​You cannot force someone to accept the religion of
Islam.​” [Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Surah Al-Baqarah], But that in no way implies that Apostates don’t
have to be killed, because the Apostate must’ve ​willingly​ accepted Islam before that and
understood​ it. The Apostate must’ve chosen Islam with his mature, sane mind. So no one forced
him to accept Islam, because he did it willingly and from his own nature. As we see in some of
the narrations, ‘Umar ibn Abdulaziz spared an apostate and simply re-imposed ​Jizyah​ (the
Islamic tax on non-Muslim citizens) on him because he found out that he converted to Islam

fleeing the prices of ​Jizyah​ and not for the reason of belief in the religion in itself. ‘Umar showed
that Islam does not force anyone to accept it, but once you accept it, you cannot simply leave; we
see from ‘Umar’s actions that you have to accept Islam for the correct reasons first and then, and
only then, can you be punished for leaving. Lastly, about this Ayah, there is a debate between the
scholars of the Salaf on whether or not this verse of the Quran was abrogated. A great deal of the
scholars of the Salaf believed that it was abrogated. And Allah knows best.
- Abu Al'aa Al-Ma'ari
People cite the life of this man, Abu Al'aa Al-Ma'ari, to try and say “the Punishment isn’t for
Apostasy because Al-Ma'ari left Islam, and critized it, and still didn’t get killed!” They are
wrong. Ibn Kathir writes: “​And when the Jurists set forth to taking him punishing him [for his
Apostasy and Blasphemy], he escaped and returned back to his town, and remained in his home
where he did not use to leave it.​” (Al-Bidayah wa Al-Nihayah 12/91) So that shows that the
Fuqahaa’ would’ve never spared him if it weren’t for his escape and him going into hiding.
- The opinion of Ath-Thawri and his like?
Some cite Sufyan Ath-Thawri view on the punishment. However, sadly, that proves little once
again. Let’s see what Ath-Thawri said: “​The punishment of the apostate is to be deferred so long
as there is a hope that he may return to Islam.​” This, once again, continues to prove my point
that the punishment is for the one who simply leaves Islam, and not only for ‘treason’.
Essentially what Ath-Thawri is saying is that an Apostate should be killed if there is no hope for
him to return to Islam, but if there ​is​, he should be shown mercy and the punishment should not
apply. This narration does not mean Ath-Thawri denies the punishment for Apostasy, but rather
it means that he has a slightly different interpretation because he believes the punishment to be
deferred when there is some hope he may return to Islam. This leniency to defer the punishment
conforms to the principles of this religion because the purpose of Islam is to guide people and
ensure their success, not to kill them when there is a good chance for their repentance. Hence,
what is to be derived from this ruling is that if the people of authority believe deferring the
punishment may bring this person back to Islam, they should do so, and if they found doing so
will cause harm or evil, they should apply the punishment.

Conclusion
Some people might be asking, why is it that I wrote this. The simple reason is that there
are people who attacking me and saying that my views are wrong, or are constantly surprised at
why I use support the punishment for Riddah. This is my response to them, this includes all the
basic evidences for the controversial Fiqh opinion and my defenses to them. And Allah knows
best.

And Allah knows best.

TheKingOfTheGame,​ ​2016.

END