TF-RA | July 4, 2019
Apostasy (ar-riddah - الردة) is not a simple topic to be discussed in few lines. It's a vast topic with abundant details. In fact, I got into an argument with an advocate of terror groups about this topic which lasted for several weeks. As you may know, they are quite interested in this topic because they can exploit it to excommunicate other Muslims and declare them apostate; because that's the surest way to make their blood lawful to be shed.
However, there are guidelines governing the issue of takfeer (i.e. declaring a Muslim apostate; or excommunication) which have fully been discussed by Muslim jurists [and fully neglected by the advocates of terror groups]. For the sake of brevity, I will mention only those guidelines which are related to the current topic.
The first of the guidelines is that takfeer is a legal ruling; therefore, it must be left exclusively to the jurists/scholars. [PREMISE #1:] Another guideline is that there are conditions to be fulfilled before declaring an individual Muslim apostate, conditions like, [1] sanity; [2] maturity; for an insane or immature person is exempt from accountability, [3] free will; the person must be under no coercion, [4] willful intent; the person must intend the action willfully, [5] knowledge; the person must be aware of what he does and the legal ruling on what he does.
[PREMISE #2:] Apostasy is manifested through action, word, belief, or doubt. Those actions, words, beliefs, or doubts that eject a person from Islām are called the nullifiers of Islām because they contradict or run counter to the fundamentals of Islām and that is the common trait among all the categorized nullifiers of Islām.
[PREMISE #3:] And the apostasy is confirmed through either [1] confession; or [2] testimony; of two [credible] witnesses according to the majority of Muslim jurists (or of four [credible] witnesses based on a fringe view). At the final stage, the one whose apostasy has been confirmed will be requested to repent and this request may be repeated for several days (or forever according to some fringe views), all at the discretion of the legal authorities.
Moreover, the punishment for apostasy, like other punishments in Islām, is decided and imposed by the concerned legal authorities and ordinary people are not allowed to take the law into their own hands.
What these summarized details tell us is that apostasy does not necessarily [and quickly] lead to death because it involves going through a legal process.
Note: Please commit these details to your memory because we are going to need them in the rest of our article.
After this short introduction, I would like to remind you of some crucial points which will help you grasp the topic more easily:
However, there are guidelines governing the issue of takfeer (i.e. declaring a Muslim apostate; or excommunication) which have fully been discussed by Muslim jurists [and fully neglected by the advocates of terror groups]. For the sake of brevity, I will mention only those guidelines which are related to the current topic.
The first of the guidelines is that takfeer is a legal ruling; therefore, it must be left exclusively to the jurists/scholars. [PREMISE #1:] Another guideline is that there are conditions to be fulfilled before declaring an individual Muslim apostate, conditions like, [1] sanity; [2] maturity; for an insane or immature person is exempt from accountability, [3] free will; the person must be under no coercion, [4] willful intent; the person must intend the action willfully, [5] knowledge; the person must be aware of what he does and the legal ruling on what he does.
[PREMISE #2:] Apostasy is manifested through action, word, belief, or doubt. Those actions, words, beliefs, or doubts that eject a person from Islām are called the nullifiers of Islām because they contradict or run counter to the fundamentals of Islām and that is the common trait among all the categorized nullifiers of Islām.
[PREMISE #3:] And the apostasy is confirmed through either [1] confession; or [2] testimony; of two [credible] witnesses according to the majority of Muslim jurists (or of four [credible] witnesses based on a fringe view). At the final stage, the one whose apostasy has been confirmed will be requested to repent and this request may be repeated for several days (or forever according to some fringe views), all at the discretion of the legal authorities.
Moreover, the punishment for apostasy, like other punishments in Islām, is decided and imposed by the concerned legal authorities and ordinary people are not allowed to take the law into their own hands.
What these summarized details tell us is that apostasy does not necessarily [and quickly] lead to death because it involves going through a legal process.
Note: Please commit these details to your memory because we are going to need them in the rest of our article.
After this short introduction, I would like to remind you of some crucial points which will help you grasp the topic more easily:
Islām Isn't Just a Religion
Islām is religion and state combined. Yes, the Europeans had a bitter experience with that so they are so glad to be rid of it. But, that was their experience with Christianity and Church. We had a sweet experience with that and in fact we thrived under Islamic Caliphate and it was after the fall of Islamic Caliphate that we were held back. And today we long for the rebirth of an Islamic Caliphate and in spite of all the external pressures we hope that the rebirth of an Islamic Caliphate is drawing near.
In fact, secular states are imbalanced states since they focus solely on the material dimension of life in seclusion from the spiritual dimension of life; while humans have both material and spiritual needs to be satisfied. Progress in one dimension and regress in another dimension. An increase in living standards and an increase in all kinds of debauchery.
In fact, secular states are imbalanced states since they focus solely on the material dimension of life in seclusion from the spiritual dimension of life; while humans have both material and spiritual needs to be satisfied. Progress in one dimension and regress in another dimension. An increase in living standards and an increase in all kinds of debauchery.
Law Gives Rise to the State
In Islām it is the law (ash-sharee'ah) that creates the political authority and the state whereas in other traditions it is the political authority that produces the law. This is a true advantage of an Islamic state over secular democracies and other forms of governance, for law in secular democracies is subject to those in authority whereas authorities in an Islamic state are subject to the law.
Laws in Islām are derived from Qur'ān and sunnah (the actions, sayings and tacit approvals of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ) which are the main sources of Islamic legal system and none has the right to legislate except for Allāh (God) and his Messenger ﷺ.
Apostasy in this sense is viewed as an act of rebellion against the very identity and existence of the state. As discussed, the state is founded by the law and the law has its origin in Islām. Apostasy then is a plain act of rebellion because, as we explained in the introduction (above), it is not the mere act of leaving Islām that makes a person a legally-convicted apostate; rather, it's a willful and overt assault against Islām that turns him into a legally-convicted apostate [Inference based on premise #1, #2, & #3]. Apostasy is therefore viewed as an act of treason.
Laws in Islām are derived from Qur'ān and sunnah (the actions, sayings and tacit approvals of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ) which are the main sources of Islamic legal system and none has the right to legislate except for Allāh (God) and his Messenger ﷺ.
Apostasy in this sense is viewed as an act of rebellion against the very identity and existence of the state. As discussed, the state is founded by the law and the law has its origin in Islām. Apostasy then is a plain act of rebellion because, as we explained in the introduction (above), it is not the mere act of leaving Islām that makes a person a legally-convicted apostate; rather, it's a willful and overt assault against Islām that turns him into a legally-convicted apostate [Inference based on premise #1, #2, & #3]. Apostasy is therefore viewed as an act of treason.
Islamic State Aims at Preserving Both Worldly and Religious Interests
Contrary to secular states, the role of an Islamic state is to preserve the collective interests of its citizens, both in this world and the next. This is because Islām is religion and state combined as mentioned above. The prosperity of citizens in this world is contingent upon the preservation of their worldly interests and the prosperity of citizens in the next world is contingent upon the preservation of their faith. And as categorized by the scholars of Islām, the Islamic law (ash-sharee'ah) which gives rise to the Islamic state has five objectives: [1] Preservation of life; [2] preservation of property; [3] preservation of lineage; [4] preservation of intellect; and [5] preservation of religion. To preserve life, it prescribes the law of retribution. To preserve property, it prescribes the punishment for theft. To preserve lineage, it prescribes the punishment for fornication/adultery/rape. To preserve intellect, it prescribes the punishment for drinking. To preserve religion, it prescribes the punishment for apostasy.
Apostasy, therefore, as a willful and overt assault against Islām, endangers the collective interests of Muslim citizens which the state has a responsibility to protect. Because, Islamic state attempts to preserve the faith of its citizens to ensure their interests in the next world. Moreover, a group of trouble-makers may enter Islām at the beginning of the day and desert it at its end [like what the Jews of Madinah had planned to do], as a trick, in order to create doubts in the minds of laypeople.
Apostasy also affects the system of ownership and inheritance, and family system. The apostate's ownership of properties, the share of apostate's heirs from his properties, and the apostate's marital life are all affected by his apostasy.
Apostasy in this sense is viewed as an act of public disorder.
In fact, reflecting upon the Islamic history, it becomes clear that there have been a few cases of individual apostasies that were treated with a capital punishment. Generally, it is the collective apostasies that have provoked a severe reaction from the Islamic states in the past. Why?
As said, apostasy is viewed as an act of rebellion and public disorder, the more apostasy affects the socio-political order, the greater will be the reaction legal authorities show.
In fact, Islām has always been open to criticism. We have cases like that of imām Abu Hanifah (may Allāh have mercy on him), the founder of the first school of Islamic jurisprudence, who was engaged in an argument with some atheists of his time in an organized public event. A true critic who looks for criticism goes to experts, not laymen. His criticism of laymen is called disorder; not promotion of critical thinking.
Moreover, capital punishment for apostasy is not a barrier against freedom of religion because apostasy in the sense described above is no longer about religion only, it's a socio-political treason. Had it been a mere act of leaving Islām, it wouldn't have gone through a legal process like what we explained in the introduction.
Apostasy, therefore, as a willful and overt assault against Islām, endangers the collective interests of Muslim citizens which the state has a responsibility to protect. Because, Islamic state attempts to preserve the faith of its citizens to ensure their interests in the next world. Moreover, a group of trouble-makers may enter Islām at the beginning of the day and desert it at its end [like what the Jews of Madinah had planned to do], as a trick, in order to create doubts in the minds of laypeople.
Apostasy also affects the system of ownership and inheritance, and family system. The apostate's ownership of properties, the share of apostate's heirs from his properties, and the apostate's marital life are all affected by his apostasy.
Apostasy in this sense is viewed as an act of public disorder.
In fact, reflecting upon the Islamic history, it becomes clear that there have been a few cases of individual apostasies that were treated with a capital punishment. Generally, it is the collective apostasies that have provoked a severe reaction from the Islamic states in the past. Why?
As said, apostasy is viewed as an act of rebellion and public disorder, the more apostasy affects the socio-political order, the greater will be the reaction legal authorities show.
In fact, Islām has always been open to criticism. We have cases like that of imām Abu Hanifah (may Allāh have mercy on him), the founder of the first school of Islamic jurisprudence, who was engaged in an argument with some atheists of his time in an organized public event. A true critic who looks for criticism goes to experts, not laymen. His criticism of laymen is called disorder; not promotion of critical thinking.
Moreover, capital punishment for apostasy is not a barrier against freedom of religion because apostasy in the sense described above is no longer about religion only, it's a socio-political treason. Had it been a mere act of leaving Islām, it wouldn't have gone through a legal process like what we explained in the introduction.
Footnote:
In Islām a hypocrite is treated exactly the same as a Muslim, even though he/she is just a covert apostate. Why?
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