it is of particular importance to me. This question comes from another
person, who says: "I believe in Allah, may He be glorified and
exalted, and I am a Muslim; I know that Islam is the best of
religions. Islam is not a belief like that of the Jews, who think
thatthey are God's chosen people. If they really are God's chosen
people, then why did God createfive billion people who are not Jews?!
Whatever the case, Islam is the bestof religions. But with regard to
compulsion in religion, didn't Allah, may He be glorified and exalted,
say: "There is nocompulsion in religion" [al-Baqarah 2:256]? It may be
that a non-Muslim enters Islam,so why is it not permissible for a
Muslim to change to another religion, especially if he is born in
Islam and doesnot have the choice to choose another religion?I do not
see anything in the Qur'an to indicate the hadd punishment
forapostasy; rather the ideaof this hadd punishment developed at the
hands of ignorant Muslims whodid not know the true religion of Islam.
Is that not so?" Please advise me, may Allah reward you with good.
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
Apostasy (riddah) means turning away from Islamin word, deed or
belief. If a person dies in that state, all his good deeds are
rendered invalid andhis punishment will be Hell, to abide therein for
eternity. Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"And whosoever of you turns back from his religion and dies as a
disbeliever, then his deeds will be lost in this life and in the
Hereafter, and they will be the dwellers of the Fire. Theywill abide
therein forever"
[al-Baqarah 2:217].
The apostate should be asked to repent; if he does so, all well and
good, but if he does not he is to be executed as a kaafir. The ruling
on the apostate is agreed upon,with no difference of opinion among the
scholars concerning it, apart from the view of the Hanafis who say
thatthis does not apply to women, but this is a da'eef (weak) opinion.
For evidence on the hadd punishment for apostasy, please see the
answer to question no. 20060
With regard to hadd punishments, it is not stipulated that they should
be mentioned in the Qur'an. Rather it is sufficient for them to be
proven by a text of the Revelation (wahy), with no differentiation
between a Qur'anic text and a hadeeth text. We are surprised at the
audacity of the man whose words you quoted, when he claims that the
hadd punishment for apostasydeveloped at the hands of ignorant
Muslims. Whatever the case, it seems that the one who said these
things is ignorant of sharee'ah, and we ask Allah to forgive him.
Secondly:
Once it is proven that theruling on the apostate is that he is to be
executedas a kaafir, if he does not come back to Islam, after that we
have to explain that this ruling does not contradict the prohibition
on compelling people to enter Islam, because this prohibition does not
include the one who hasapostatised from Islam. The scholars of Islam
are unanimously agreed that the verse "There is no compulsion in
religion" [al-Baqarah 2:256] is not general in application and it does
not include the apostate,according to scholarly consensus.
Ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy on him) said:With regard to the words
of Allah, may He be exalted, "There is no compulsion in religion"
[al-Baqarah 2:256], that does not constitute evidence for them,
because the entire ummah is agreed that this verse is not to be
understood as it appearsto mean; the ummah is unanimously agreed that
the apostate who has turned away from his religion is to be compelled
(to come back).
End quote from al-Muhalla, 1/188
Thirdly:
With regard to the Muslim who was born to Muslim parents turning away
from the religion of Islam when he grows up, this is an important
matter, the discussion of which will be addressed in the following
points:
1.
Muslim children follow their Muslim parents. Hence the one who has two
Muslim parents is deemed to be a Muslim, so he may inherit or be
inherited from, and if hedies he is to be washed and buried, the
funeral prayer is to be offered for him and he is to be buried in the
Muslim graveyard. And in the Hereafter he will be one of the people of
Paradise, according to scholarly consensus.
The Shaafa'i scholar an-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:The
one whose parents, or one of them, are Muslim is also regarded as a
Muslim with regard to rulings concerning the hereafter and worldly
matters. End quote from Sharh Muslim, 16/208
The Hanbali scholar Ibn Qudaamah (may Allah have mercy on him)
said:The child follows his parents in both realms (i.e., this world
and the hereafter). If the parentsare of different religions, then he
must follow the one who is Muslim, such as the child of a Muslim man
from a kitaabi (i.e., Jewish or Christian) woman. End quote from
al-Mughni, 10/91.
See also the answers to questions no. 139430 , 14392 and 6496
2.
It is not necessary for thechild to reach puberty for his Islam to be
valid; rather Islam is valid fromthe age of discernment. This is the
view of the majority of scholars apart from ash-Shaafa'i and Zufar who
was one of the Hanafis.
The Hanbali scholar Ibn Qudaamah (may Allah have mercy on him)
said:Generally speaking, a child's Islam is valid. This is the view of
Abu Haneefah and his two companions, and also of Ishaaq, Ibn Abi
Shaybah and Abu Ayyoob.
Ash-Shaafa'i and Zufar said: His Islam does not become valid until he
reaches puberty. End quote from al-Mughni, 10/85. There is also a good
argument to show that those few who differed were wrong. See also:
Baadaa'i' as-Sanaa'i' by al-Kaasaani, 7/104.
The correct view is that of the majority, for the following reasons:
(a) The hadeeth of AbuHurayrah who said: The Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: "There is no child
who is not born in a state of fitrah, then his parents make him a Jew
or a Christian or a Magian." Narrated by al-Bukhaari,1292 and Muslim,
2658.
(b) The fact that Sayyiduna 'Ali (may Allahbe pleased with him) and
other Sahaabah became Muslim when they were minors, before they
reached the age of puberty.
(c) It was narrated that Anas (may Allah be pleased with him)
said: There was a Jewish boy who used to serve the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him). He fell sick, and theProphet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) came to visit him. He sat
by his head and said to him: "Become Muslim." (The boy) looked at his
father, who was with him, and he said to him: Obey Abu'l-Qaasim
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). So he became Muslim, and
the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) left, saying:
"Praise be to Allah Who has saved him from the Fire." Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, 1290
3.
The apostasy of a child who has reached the age of discernment counts
as such accordingto the majority of scholars, whether he is Muslim
because his parents are Muslim or hebecame Muslim by himself. This is
different from the view of ash-Shaafa'i and Abu Yoosuf, because they
do not think that his becoming Islam before the age of puberty does
not count in the first place.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: If a person utters
the words of Islamor says that he is a Muslim, then denies any
knowledge of what he said, his denial is not to be accepted and he is
anapostate. This was statedby Ahmad in several places.
If that is proven, then if he – i.e., the child – apostatises, his
apostasy counts as such. This is the view of Abu Haneefah and it is
the view of the madhhab of Maalik.
According to ash-Shaafa'i, neither his becoming Muslim nor hisapostasy
counts as such. It was narrated from Ahmad that his becoming Muslim
countsas such but his apostasy does not. End quote from al-Mughni,
10/88
The Hanafi scholar Ibn 'Aabideen (may Allah have mercy on him)
said:The words "If a child who has reached the age of discernment
apostatises, it counts as such" are applicable whether he became
Muslim by himself or wasMuslims because his parents were Muslim, then
he apostatised before reaching the age of puberty. So his wife becomes
haraam to him,and he can no longer inherit from a Muslim relative. But
he is not to be executed, because execution is a punishment and he is
not one of those who can be punished in this world (because he is a
minor). End quote from Haashiyat Ibn 'Aabideen,4/257
The more correct view – and Allah knows best – isthat in the case of a
childwho has reached the age of discernment, his becoming Muslim
countsas such but his apostasy does not.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him)
said: The one who has passed puberty is the opposite of the minor. If
he apostatises when he is a minor, thenthe apparent meaning of the
words of the author – i.e., al-Hajaawi – is that he does not become a
kaafir, because he is not accountable for his deeds and the Pen has
been lifted from him. So if he were to commit shirk by prostrating to
an idol and the like, we do not describe him as a kaafir; similarly,
if he does not pray, we do notdescribe him as a kaafir. Based on that,
the apostasy of one who hasnot reached puberty does not count as such.
This is the apparent meaning of the author's words, and it is the
correct view.
But our view is that the apostasy of a child who has reached the age
of discernment does count as such, but he is not to be called to Islam
until after he reaches puberty, when he shouldbe asked to repent. If
he repents, all well and good; otherwise he is to be executed.
There is a third opinion regarding the case of the minor, which is
that his apostasy counts as such and he is to be called to Islam. If
he repents, all well and good; otherwise he is to be executed.
So there are three opinions, but the correctview is that his apostasy
does not count as such, because of the general meaning of the
evidencewhich indicates that the minor is not accountable. End quote
from ash-Sharh al-Mumti' 'ala Zaad al-Mustaqni', 14/445, 446
4.
Those who say that his apostasy does count as such do not say that he
is to be executed when he is still a child, apart from an odd opinion
which says that he should be asked to repent and if he repents all
well and good, otherwise he is to be executed.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The child is not to
be executed, regardless of whether we say that his apostasy counts as
such or not, because punishment is not to be carried out on a child.
That is based on the fact that the rulings on zina, stealing and
anyother actions that are subject to hadd punishments do not apply in
his case, and he cannot be killed in legal retaliation (qisaas). End
quote from al-Mughni, 10/62
In al-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 22/181 it says: Those who say that the
apostasy of a child counts as such are of theview that he is not to be
executed before he reaches puberty. End quote.
With regard to the odd view that the apostate child who has reached
the age of discernment is to be executed, the Hanbali scholar
al-Mirdaawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:And it says in
ar-Rawdah:The apostasy of one whohas reached the age of discernment
counts as such, so he should be asked to repent. If he repents all
well and good, otherwise he is to be executed and the rulings on one
who has reached puberty also apply to him. In the case of one who has
not reached the age of discernment, we should wait until he reaches
puberty. If he reaches puberty and is still an apostate, he is to be
executed after asking him to repent.
And it was said that he should not be executed until he reaches the
age of puberty and becomes accountable. End quote from al-Insaaf fi
Ma'rifat ar-Raajih min al-Khilaaf, 10/249
5.
According to the Hanafis,he should be left until hereaches puberty,
then heshould be forced to return to Islam with beatings and threats.
According to the Hanafis,he should be left until hereaches puberty,
then heshould be asked to repent; if he repents all well and good,
otherwise he is to be executed.
Ibn 'Aabideen al-Hanafi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The words
"he should be forced… with beatings" means i.e., he should be
detained.
I say: The apparent meaning is that this should come after he reaches
puberty because, as we have seen above, the child is not subject to
punishments. Moreover, in Kaafi al-Haakim it says: If a prepubescent
child apostatises from Islam, he is not to be executed. If he reaches
puberty as a kaafir, he is to be detained and not executed. End quote
from Haashiyat Ibn 'Aabideen, 4/257
The Hanbali scholar Abu 'Abdullah az-Zarkashi (may Allah have mercy on
him) said: If the child persists in his rejection of Islam, he becomes
an apostate, but he is not tobe executed until he reaches puberty. End
quote from Sharh az-Zarkashi 'ala Mukhtasar al-Khiraqi, 3/93
The Hanbali scholar Abu'l-Hasan al-Mirdaawi (may Allah have mercy on
him) said: With regard to the words "he is not to be executed until he
reaches puberty and three days have passed since the time he reached
puberty", this is our opinion and it is the opinion of most of our
companions; it was stated definitively by themajority of them. End
quote from al-Insaaf fi Ma'rifat ar-Raajih min al-Khilaaf, 10/249
In al-Mawsoo'ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 13/229, it says: The Hanafis and
Hanbalis are of the view that it is valid to describe a child who
hasreached the age of discernment a kaafir if he says or does that
which implies kufr.
From the words of the Maalikis, it may be understood that this is to
be limited only to the prepubescent child who has reached the level of
discernment.
However, they are unanimously agreed that he should not be executed;
rather he should be forced to return to Islam by meansof beatings,
threats and detention.
According to the Hanbalis, he should be left until after he has
reached the age of puberty and has been asked to repent, then if he
persists he should be executed, because of thehadeeth, "The Pen has
been lifted from three: from the one who is asleep until he wakes up,
from the one who is insane until he recovers, and from the child until
he grows up." End quote.
6.
If the child reaches puberty and affirms Islam or continues to be
regarded as a Muslim, then he apostatises, in this case he is an
apostate according to scholarly consensus.
Al-Kaasaani (may Allah have mercy on him) said:If he affirmed Islam
thenapostatised, he is to be executed because of his apostasy. End
quote from Badaa'i' as-Sanaa'i', 7/135
7.
If the child reaches puberty as an apostate and nothing is heard from
him to suggest thathe accepts Islam, then heis an apostate according
to the Hanbalis. He should be asked to repent (and if he does so, all
well and good), otherwise he is to be executed.
Ibn Qudaamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: If he reaches puberty
and remains steadfast in his apostasy,then the ruling of apostasy
applies in this case. So he should be asked to repent three times; if
he repents all well and good, otherwise he is to be executed, whether
or not we said that he was an apostate before he reached puberty, and
regardless of whether he was originally a Muslim then apostatised,or
he was a kaafir who became Muslim when hewas a child then apostatised.
End quote from al-Mughni, 10/62
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him)
said: But what isthe original status of theperson; is it kufr or
Islam?
The answer is that if his parents or one of them were Muslim, then he
is a Muslim. Then if he chose something other than Islam, he is an
apostate. End quote from ash-Sharh al-Mumti' 'ala Zaad al-Mustaqni',
14/452
He also said: Our view – i.e., the Hanbali view – isthat the apostasy
of a minor who has reached the age of discernment counts as such, but
he is not to be called to Islam until after he reaches puberty. Then
he is to beasked to repent; if he repents, all well and good,
otherwise he is to be executed. End quote from ash-Sharh al-Mumti'
'ala Zaad al-Mustaqni', 14/446.
He is not an apostate according to the Hanafis and Shaafa'is. Based on
that, he is not to be executed, but he is to be forced to return to
Islam by means of detention and beatings according to the Hanafis; and
efforts should be made with him according to the Shaafa'is.
Ash-Shaafa'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said:If a person affirms
faith before reaching puberty, if he was of sound mind, then he
apostatises before or after reaching puberty, then does not repent
after reaching puberty, he is not to be executed because he did not
believe when he was an adult. But he should be instructed to believe
andefforts should be made with him, but he is not to be executed, if
he does not come back to Islam. End quote from al-Umm, 6/649
Al-Kaasaani (may Allah have mercy on him) said:If a child's parents
are Muslim and he is deemed to be a Muslim on that basis, then whenhe
reached puberty he was already a kaafir andnothing was heard from him
after reaching the age of puberty to indicate that he was a Muslim, he
is not to be executed, because there is no apostasy on his part. That
is because apostasy means disbelieving after havingbelieved, but there
was no belief in the first place after he reached puberty, because
there is no evidence to indicate that.
Therefore he is not to beexecuted. However he should be detained,
because he was regarded as a Muslim before he reached puberty. End
quote from Badaa'i' as-Sanaa'i', 7/135
Ibn Qudaamah al-Maqdisi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:Ashaab
ar-ra'y said: If one or both of his parents became Muslim, and he
reached the age of understanding but rejected Islam, he is to be
forced to be a Muslim and is not to be executed. End quote from
al-Mughni, 10/91
The words of the Hanafisand Shaafa'is are limitedto cases when the
child, upon reaching puberty, did not remain Muslim either by
affirmation or by doing the rituals of Islam, because in such a case,
if he committed an act of apostasy after that, then he is an apostate.
Rather what they meant by saying that was that when the child reached
puberty hewas following something other than Islam and he was not
Muslim in either word ordeed.
Fourthly:
As the issue of apostasy is controversial and there is a difference of
opinion concerning it among the scholars, the matter should be
referred to the judge; whatever the shar'i judge decides is what
should be applied in the case of one who reachespuberty as an
apostate.
Whatever the case, we should not focus too much on a matter concerning
which there is a difference of scholarly opinion – which is the
question of whether he should be asked to repent or not – or ignore
that on which there is scholarly agreement, which is thathe is a
kaafir whose destiny is the Fire of Hell,to abide therein for
eternity. It is very strange to see those who defend such a person
saying that he is not an apostate and thathe should not be forced to
become Muslim, and that he does not come under the heading of an
apostate. It is as if those say this want to be compassionate and kind
to him, but how do they know that they are not harming him thereby.
Those scholars who say that the hadd punishment for apostasyshould not
be carried out on him did not suggest that he should be left to his
own devices; rather some of them said that efforts should be made
until he comes back to Islam; others said that he should be detained,
threatened and beaten until he becomes Muslim;others said that he
should be asked to repent, and if he repentsall well and good,
otherwise he is to be executed for apostasy. Although this punishment
may appear to be tough and harsh, in fact it is true compassion and
mercy towards him, because it may save him from dying in a state of
kufr, which if he dies in that state he will deserve to spend eternity
in the Fire of Hell.
What is amazing is that it may take some people a lifetime to come to
Islam, and they may giveup all that is precious to them in the
process, whilst this man has beengranted an immense blessing by Allah,
may Hebe exalted, which is that He has caused him to be born to Muslim
parents, then he is ungrateful for this blessing and disbelieves in
the One Who bestowed it upon him, and he chooses to worship a human
being or to venerate a rock or an animal. One should not respond in
such a manner to the smallest of blessings, so how about for the
greatest ofthem?
And Allah knows best.- - http://translate.google.com/m -
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