rulings on apostasy

Asalam Aalaikum

I would like my brothers to present their comments on the reply given by the respected Imam of Islamicity.com to a question asked by a brother on the issue of apostasy.

Following is the question and answer:


Question:
I want to ask about Ridah. There was a question you answered some time ago (I don't remember which) where you said a a muslim can choose to change his religion if he wants to, even if both his parents are muslims. I was very surprised. The reason I ask is that there are some muslims that say ridah (or apostacy) in Islam is a political concept and involves treason and revolt againt the Ummah. I assume that means that is someone leaves peacfully (defection!) then that is okay, but if not he has to be executed. Is this so. I would also like your permission to email your replay to a British professer I know. He is interested in defending Islam against people like Salman Rushdie and he would like to know more about the religion and the meaning of riddah. Explaining and justifying riddah is a problem we all have here since it is hard to explain why we should execute someone for changing his religion, especially since we believe in freedom of religion (there is no compulsion in religion). If what you said before is true, then ridah is political. Your Muslim brother, Emad El-Din Aysha. people like Salman.



Answer:
Dear Br. E. As-salaamu alaykum. Before specifically replying to your question, please allow us to say that a Muslim doesn't have to be apologetic about the stated ruling of his/her religion even if the ruling may not be compatible with a culture that doesn't adapt Islam in its legal system. At the same time, it is very important for the Muslim to portray the comprehensive aspect of rulings regarding any topic, because Islamic law and jurisprudence are not simplistic, but they take into considerations many factors. Now, back to the issue of Riddah. Riddah is apostasy, and by definition, it is the PUBLIC act of leaving one's religion to another belief system (which can be atheism). By the way, "public" includes telling any person of the act and doesn't have to be in a press conference to be public. Therefore, regardless if someone leaves Islam and only tells one other person or a group of people about the act, the judgment for that person would be the same. He/she would have done something damaging to Islam by expressing that he was once a Muslim and no longer believes that the Divine Law is the correct Law. As to the issue of how to apply the judgment on an apostate, the killing is not applied immediately. In an Islamic State, the judge makes the judgment to his discretion, and he may ask the apostate to rethink his decision and to repent; the judge also gives him a period of time after which the final judgment is applied. Thank you for asking and God knows best.
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Please discuss this question and answer in this thread and freely express your opinions on it.

Regards,

Auzubillahi minash shaitan ir rajeem,

Bismillah ir rehman ir rahim,

Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullah wa barkatuhu,

The above post is a desparate attempt to undermine the status and ranks of Ulema in Islam.

To say the least, please ignore such people when you encounter them, as some of us have not understood the seriousness of some hadith clearly.

I repeat, the prophet has said that the Ulema are the inheritors of the prophets.

He(SAW) also warned that a time will come, when knowledge will be taken away from among us, because these ulema will be taken away (ie they will be dead) - dont let that time loom on us in this age. Respect your teachers, and try to learn your deen from those who can transmit valuable knowledge to you.

Allah says, those who wage a war against those I love have waged a war against Me. Allah loves those who have studied His religion and act upon it, these ARE the authentic Ulema of olden times AND our times.

It is true that many have also been misguided after studying the  deen, but sweeping all with the same brush, giving an impression there are NO authentic ulema in today's times is an effort to mislead.

Request:

Please do not make this thread a discussion on authenticity of scholars in Islam today, rather stay within the frames of the first post.

Maa salaama,

Nausheen

 

unity1 wrote: Asalam Aalaikum I would like my brothers to present their comments on the reply given by the respected Imam of Islamicity.com to a question asked by a brother on the issue of apostasy. Following is the question and answer: Question: I want to ask about Ridah. There was a question you answered some time ago (I don't remember which) where you said a a muslim can choose to change his religion if he wants to, even if both his parents are muslims. I was very surprised. The reason I ask is that there are some muslims that say ridah (or apostacy) in Islam is a political concept and involves treason and revolt againt the Ummah. I assume that means that is someone leaves peacfully (defection!) then that is okay, but if not he has to be executed. Is this so. I would also like your permission to email your replay to a British professer I know. He is interested in defending Islam against people like Salman Rushdie and he would like to know more about the religion and the meaning of riddah. Explaining and justifying riddah is a problem we all have here since it is hard to explain why we should execute someone for changing his religion, especially since we believe in freedom of religion (there is no compulsion in religion). If what you said before is true, then ridah is political. Your Muslim brother, Emad El-Din Aysha. people like Salman. Answer: Dear Br. E. As-salaamu alaykum. Before specifically replying to your question, please allow us to say that a Muslim doesn't have to be apologetic about the stated ruling of his/her religion even if the ruling may not be compatible with a culture that doesn't adapt Islam in its legal system. At the same time, it is very important for the Muslim to portray the comprehensive aspect of rulings regarding any topic, because Islamic law and jurisprudence are not simplistic, but they take into considerations many factors. Now, back to the issue of Riddah. Riddah is apostasy, and by definition, it is the PUBLIC act of leaving one's religion to another belief system (which can be atheism). By the way, "public" includes telling any person of the act and doesn't have to be in a press conference to be public. Therefore, regardless if someone leaves Islam and only tells one other person or a group of people about the act, the judgment for that person would be the same. He/she would have done something damaging to Islam by expressing that he was once a Muslim and no longer believes that the Divine Law is the correct Law. As to the issue of how to apply the judgment on an apostate, the killing is not applied immediately. In an Islamic State, the judge makes the judgment to his discretion, and he may ask the apostate to rethink his decision and to repent; the judge also gives him a period of time after which the final judgment is applied. Thank you for asking and God knows best. [/blue] Please discuss this question and answer in this thread and freely express your opinions on it. Regards,

Asalam Aalaikum

Brother Mukhlis,I understand your concern over this matter but if you have any question regarding this matter of apostasy or want to present your own understanding of this matter,then you are most welcome but please donot try to put the position of any of the respected Islamic Scholars and Imams under question.
We are hear to learn as I have already mentioned this before, and inshallah from this discussion we will surely increase our knowledge about Islam and its Laws.

From your post we get the impression that you donot agree with the viewpoint regarding the punishment for apostasy and you have full rights to express your viewpoints and comments. Actually this matter of apostasy is under discussion and due to discrepancies in the opinions of prominent Muslim Scholars regarding apostasy, no ultimate verdict(fatwa)has been passed on this matter.

Some Muslim Scholars claim that an apostate should face death penalty and they base this opinion on the narrative of a Prophetic tradition reported by Bukhari, in his"Kitaab al-Jihaad wal-Siyar", "Kitaab istitabah al-Murtaddeen" and "Kitaab al-ai`tisaam bil-Kitaab wal-Sunnah", in which the Prophet (pbuh) is reported to have said:

Whoever changes his Religion, kill him.


Muslim Scholars also hold the opinion that an apostate should be given a chance to repent and think over the decision he made, but if he still doesnot repent and holds his decision of conversion to a non-Islamic belief as ultimate, then he should be punished according the Islamic Law.

According to my understanding and knowledge when an apostate is given a chance to repent and think over the decision he made, he should be asked politely that what forced him to leave Islam? What bad did he find in Islam which made him change his belief?

If an apostate is asked these questions and is allowed to express explicitly his reason for converting to a non-Islamic faith ,then I think it would help tremendously.

Like me their are several Muslims who donot agree with the viewpoint that an apostate should be killed and also their are Muslim Scholars who donot agree that an apostate should be killed and they justify their viewpoint from authentic sources of Islam.

Regards,