THE PUNISHMENT FOR APOSTASY FROM
ISLAM
ABSTRACT
During Muhammad's lifetime, and the
lifetimes of the next 4 "Rightly Guided Caliphs", a number of Muslims
left the faith of Islam. The punishment
for leaving Islam was death. Those that
had left the faith were either killed outright, or were given a few days to
turn back to Islam. If they persisted in
leaving Islam they were put to death.
This death sentence is in effect whether or not the apostasy occurred in
an Islamic state or not.
INTRODUCTION
One of the more controversial topics for
Muslims in the West is the punishment for apostasy from Islam. Muslims living in the
What exactly was the law during Muhammad's
and the Caliph's time? What were the
requirements for a death sentence to be carried out? Was the sentence only for a short period of
time? Was it only to be administered
under a "true Islamic state", or did it apply to anyone who had left
Islam? A close examination of the Quran, Hadith, and Sirat will show that indeed, the punishment for leaving
Islam, either under an Islamic government, or not, was execution.
To begin with, the Quran
does not come out and explicitly state that apostates should be murdered. However, there are a number of Quranic verses that pertain to apostasy, and they shed some
light on the punishment for apostates.
Starting
with the Quran. Sura 9:73,74
"Prophet, make war on the
unbelievers and the hypocrites and deal rigorously with them. Hell shall be their home: an evil fire.
They swear by God that they said nothing. Yet they uttered the word of unbelief and
renounced Islam after embracing it. They
sought to do what they could not attain.
Yet they had no reason to be spiteful except perhaps because God and His
apostle had enriched them through His bounty.
If they repent, it will indeed be better for them, but if they give no
heed, God will sternly punish them, both in this world and in the world to
come. They shall have none on this earth
to protect or help them." [Dawood]
We see here that Allah urges Muhammad to
"make war" on the people who have left Islam. It also states that "Allah will punish
them in this world and in the world to come".
What exactly Muhammad was to do to the
people in his "making war" on them is not explicitly stated, but it
can be surmised that they will be physically punished, if not outright
killed. Further, Allah Himself is also
going to punish those who leave Islam.
What is His punishment? Whatever
it is, is will be unpleasant.
Sura 47:23-28
"If you renounced the
faith, you would surely do evil in the land, and violate the ties of
blood. Such are those on whom God has
laid His curse, leaving them deaf and sightless.... Those who return to
unbelief after God's guidance has been revealed to them are seduced by Satan
and inspired by him....
Again, God is punishing people, in this
world, but the totality of punishment isn't detailed... other than becoming
"deaf and sightless". No doubt
this is spiritual blindness, because millions have left Islam and have never
become physically blind. Note also
Muhammad’s fear and hatred of and toward those that have left Islam – he claims
that they will “do evil in the land and violate the ties of blood.” Perhaps his mistake assumption is his
justification for ordering the killing of apostates.
Additionally one could review Sura 3:86-91 and Sura
16:106. These verses clearly state that
apostates will be punished in hellfire.
However, though it is implied, the punishment meted out while they live
is unclear. Sura
4:137, similarly shows that God will not forgive the
apostates, but no mention of a earthly punishment is made.
Finally, brief mention is made of
apostates in 3:72, 5:54, 9:107 but none of these shed any penetrating light on
the subject.
QURANIC VERSES SUMMARY
A review of the Quran’s
position on apostates:
Muhammad is to “make war” on
them
Allah is going to punish them in
this world and in the next
Allah curses them
They will be punished in
hellfire
The Dictionary
of Quranic Terms and Concepts - page 16,
(written by M. Mir - a Muslim writer), defines the actual Quranic
information as:
"APOSTASY. Arabic "irtidad". Traditional
Islamic law prescribes the penalty of death for a Muslim who commits
apostasy. The punishment is not stated
in the Quran, but is said to be based on certain Hadith. The
advocates and the opponents of the said penalty have, in their attempt to find Quranic support for their views, appealed to certain Quranic verses, but the fact is that none of the arguments
offered do full justice to the Quranic
context......"
THE TEACHINGS OF THE HADITH ON
APOSTASY
It is from the Hadith
that we draw our understanding and information on the punishment for the
apostate. From the Hadith,
we find no ambiguity on the subject. All
quotes will be from Bukhari's Hadith,
from the 9 volume English set, translated by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin
Khan.
Bukhari, volume 9, #17
"Narrated Abdullah: Allah's Messenger said, "The blood of a
Muslim who confesses that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and
that I am His Messenger, cannot be shed except in three cases: in Qisas (equality
in punishment) for murder, a married person who commits illegal sexual
intercourse and the one who reverts from Islam (Apostate) and leaves the
Muslims."
Bukhari, volume 9, #37
"Narrated Abu Qilaba: Once Umar bin Abdul Aziz sat on his
throne in the courtyard of his house so that the people might gather before
him....He replied "By Allah, Allah's messenger never killed anyone except
in one of the following three situations:
1) A person who killed somebody
unjustly, was killed (in Qisas,) 2) a married person who committed illegal
sexual intercourse and, 3) a man who
fought against Allah and His messenger, and deserted Islam and became an
apostate....
In Chapter 2, from "The Book of
obliging the Reversers from Islam, page 42, (following Hadith
#56) it reads:
"The
legal regulation concerning the male and the female who reverts from Islam
(apostates). Ibn Umar Az-Zuhri
and Ibrahim said, "A female apostate (who
reverts from Islam), should be killed.
And the obliging of the reverts from Islam to repent Allah said -
Following this chapter, a number of Quranic verses are given, among them are some already
mentioned. They are 3:86-89, 3:100,
4:137, 5:54, 16:106-110, 2:217.
Bukhari, volume 9, #57
Narrated
Ikrima, "Some atheists were brought to Ali and
he burnt them. The news of this event, reached Ibn Abbas who said, "If I
had been in his place, I would not have burnt them, as Allah's messenger
forbade it, saying, "Do not punish anybody with Allah's punishment
(fire)." I would have killed them
according to the statement of Allah's Messenger, "Whoever changed his
Islamic religion, then kill him."
Bukhari, volume 9, #58
Narrated Abu Bruda, "Abu Musa
said.....Behold there was a fettered man beside Abu Musa. Muadh asked,
"Who is this (man)?" Abu Musa said, "He was a Jew and became a Muslim and hen
reverted back to Judaism." Then Abu
Musa requested Muadh to sit
down but Muadh said, "I will not sit down till
he has been killed. This is the judgment
of Allah and his messenger," and repeated it thrice. Then Abu Musa
ordered that the man be killed, and he was killed. Abu Musa added,
"Then we discussed the night prayers .....
Bukhari, volume 9, #64
Narrated Ali, "Whenever I
tell you a narration from Allah's messenger, by Allah, I would rather fall down
from the sky, than ascribe a false statement to him, but if I tell you
something between me and you, (not a Hadith), then it
was indeed a trick (i.e., I may say things just to cheat my enemy). No doubt I
heard Allah's messenger saying, ‘During the last days there will appear some
young foolish people, who will say the best words, but their faith will not go
beyond their throats (i.e. they will have no faith) and will go out from
(leave) their religion as an arrow goes out of the game. So, wherever you find
them, kill them, for whoever kills them shall have reward on the Day of
Resurrection.’"
Bukhari, volume 9, #271
[This one is similar to #58]
Narrated Abu Musa: A man embraced
Islam and then reverted back to Judaism.
Muadh Jabal came and
saw the man with Abu Musa. Muadh asked,
"What is wrong with this (man)?"
Abu Musa replied, "He embraced Islam, and
then reverted back to Judaism." Muadh said, "I will not sit down unless you kill him
(as it is) the verdict of Allah and His messenger."
Bukhari, Chapter 26, from the Book of Mutual Consultation, page
339, following Hadith # 461
"The Statement of Allah...
42:32, 3:159, ...The prophet said, "If someone
changes his religion, then kill them....."
OTHER REFERENCES
FROM THE SIRAT RASULALLAH AND THE KITAB
AL-TABAQAT AL-KABIR
After Muhammad took
Muhammad ordered the execution of 10
people when he took
"The apostle of Allah entered through
Adhakhir, [into
THE SIRAT RASULALLAH GIVES SOME DETAILS
BEHIND THE LIST OF NAMES
The information below corresponds to # 3
on the list.
"The apostle had
instructed his commanders when they entered
ANALYSIS
We find that although a severe physical
punishment is mentioned in the Quran, we are not told
what that punishment is. However, we
find in Bukhari's Hadith,
that the punishment is death. There is
no ambiguity about this. Muhammad
clearly taught that apostates are to be put to death.
Further, we find in contrast to what many
Muslim apologists assert, that these apostates are to be killed wherever they
are as per Bukhari, vol. 9, #64.
"So, wherever you find
them, kill them, for whoever kills them shall have reward on the Day of
Resurrection."
We see from this that Muslims are
instructed to kill apostates. Further,
those who commit the murder will get a reward in heaven.
Tying into this, we find from both Ibn Sa'd
and Ibn Hisham, that those
who had apostatized prior to the incorporation of an Islamic state in
DISCUSSION
I am reminded of Jesus words, "In
fact a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a
service to God"... John 16:2.
Indeed, many Muslims who have
converted to Christianity have paid the price with their very lives.
When I lived in a Muslim country, I spoke
with a number of Muslims about the punishment for apostates. Several educated Muslims told me that there
were Muslim death squads operating in Europe, and that they were trying to form
similar death squads in the
This aspect of Islam portrays
one of its most ugly sides - i.e. the murder of those who think for themselves. Look today at the Islamic
world, we see it backwards, regressive, and primitive. The poor people who have grown up into Islam,
who have had to adopt this dark system, are kept in bondage. It is no wonder that their countries continue
to regress since freedom of thought, freedom of creativity, freedom of expression
is stifled. We see the Muslim states falling further behind the rest of the
world in areas like education, science, and the arts. The more Islamic a state becomes, the farther
it regresses.
QUESTION
1) What is to be made of a religion that
forbids a man to think and choose for himself?
In effect, Islam is a type of religious slavery. "Leave Islam, and you die".
2) How does this mental bondage affect
society, and its ability to provide for its people?
3) Leaving Islam doesn't necessarily mean
a person is now at war with his people.
Isn't it possible for a person who is born a Muslim to serve his
country, and do no harm to its people?
CONCLUSION
Muhammad taught that apostates
are to be murdered, wherever they are.
This death sentence can be carried out wherever these Muslims are found,
either in a Muslim country, or in a non-Muslim country. The Quran supports
this notion, and both the Hadith and Sirat establish this portion of Islamic law.