Apostasy in islam arguments for and against the death penalty. Sharia states that the killers of apostates and adulterers are not to be punished as murderers. In islam, a muslim is not allowed to leave and embrace other religions. On the other hand, classical islamic law has prescribed the death penalty for apostasy. To conclude, apostasy is the clear repudiation of a faith by a person who formerly held it. Hanibal goitom, foreign law specialist coordinator, with the staff of the global legal research center. Punishment of apostasy as widely known islamic law it is widely known among the muslims and even the nonmuslims that the punishment for apostasy is mandatory fixed death penalty. In the context of islamic jurisprudence, this islamic legal term describes the action whereby an adult muslim denounces islam as his or her faith. This report examines sources of sharia law, namely the quran, hadith and islamic jurisprudence which form the basis for laws that prohibit apostasy from islam in a large number of countries. Freedom of religion and apostasy are major issues challenging muslims in our times. Before discussing the issue of hadith and apostasy, a number of observations should be noted.
Jul 05, 2017 the only hadith evidence that does not include a specific political dimension for the crime of apostasy is the discussion between the companions abu musa alash. Apostasy ridda, irtidad is an important theological and legal problem in islam. The truth about the alleged punishment for apostasy in islam xi the name of muhammadsa, the holy prophet of islam, has been followed by the symbol sa, which is an abbreviation for the salutation sallallahu alaihi wasallam may peace and blessings of allah be upon him. Islamic scholarship differs on its punishment, ranging from execution based on an interpretation of certain hadiths to no punishment at all as long as they do not work against the muslim society or nation. Islam treats apostasy as a crime to be punished by death. It takes up such matters as the contradiction between apostasy laws and the freedom of belief. This is founded on the following quranic principles. The quran is the primary scripture in islam, while the ahadith are supplementary. This text first explains the view about faith in god and whether or not islam can be forcefully imposed on others. Apostasy in islam project gutenberg selfpublishing. Islam and apostasy an interview with ibn warraq summary.
I wish you could include more hadith in your search engine. Islam promises heavenly rewards to individual muslims who take the law into their own hands. The reports of the prophets sayings and deeds are called ahadith. We discuss apostasy with ibn warraq, critic of islamic fundamentalism and author of a recent book leaving islam. If rejecting one of the pillars of islam is considered to be a crime warranting war against such people, it is only logical for the prescribed punishment for apostasy in islam to be death. Islamic jurisprudence on apostasy is derived from the words of muhammad and the aforementioned actions of the caliph and other companions. As all these facts are vague, so reliance on an ambiguous hadith which is merely based on the inference of a companion in such an important issue and to pass judgment contrary to the manifest verses of the holy quran is extremely unjust. Laws criminalizing apostasy in selected jurisdictions. The duty of any muslim is to convey the message and if somebody turns away, then the matter is between him and god. The only hadith evidence that does not include a specific political dimension for the crime of apostasy is the discussion between the companions abu musa alash. For muslims concerned for this freedom, one of the major difficulties is the punishment for apostasy death for those who desert islam. And these are not just some old religious squabbles which have no impact on folks today.
One does not execute him immediately but repentance is offered to him. In a previous article published in public discourse, i argue that there is no support for a death penalty for apostasy in the quran, which is the most important source for islamic norms and values. People are dying right now for the sin of apostasy just as they have been for the past 1400 years. Second, this hadith is also considered a general amm hadith in that it is in need of specification takhsis. First, i survey the political concepts that are necessary for this paper. Anyone who swears at or commits qazf against the great prophet of islam peace be upon him or any of the great prophets, shall be considered as sab ulnabi a person who swears at the prophet, and shall be sentenced to the. Underlying principles there are four underlying islamic principles that are relevant to understanding the muslim position on apostasy. That is why, for islam to achieve 100% compliance to sharia enforcement, muslim individuals were told they must be allahs enforces of sharia on earth if. It is clear from the quran that there is no punishment for apostasy.
It is those who believe and confuse not their belief with wrong i. Why death is the punishment for apostasy islam question. The punishment for apostasy from islam is a controversial topic for muslims living in the west and for exmuslims everywhere. Conceptualizing the hadith of the prophet muhammad. An apostate in islam is a muslim who rejects islam after being either born into it or after embracing it as a convert from some other religion. No hadith can overrule a principle outlined in the quran. However, as hadith traditions of the prophet muhammad is considered the second most important source for islam, an argument could be made that if hadith strongly supports the death penalty for. This is just one of the many very real differences between christianity and islam. Astonishingly enough, he was not apologizing for the beheading, torture, burning and murder of millions, but. In islam, apostasy is a flagrant sin and guilt for which certain punishments have been specified in fiqh islamic law.
Assalaam alaikum, azak allah khair for all the good work. Islam teaches that a newborn has an innate ability to know and believe in his creator, and to understand good and evil. Doctrinal differences, however grave, cannot be deemed to be apostasy. However, none of them instruct the believers to exercise. This is especially noteworthy considering that the quran describes two episodes that bear on the issue of apostasy. As a legal matter, virtually all classical jurists, and many modern ones, regard death as the mandatory punishment for apostasy, citing a number of authoritative hadith on the question. Next, the discussion on the issue of apostasy and its two categories. Introduction in islamic legal discourse, the term used to describe apostasy is riddah, an arabic term which literally, means defection or backsliding1. In countries such as malaysia, morocco, jordan and oman, punishments for apostasy include fines, imprisonment, flogging and. The hadith of almunkadir about the unpunished apostasy of the bedouin is much stronger than the hadith of ikrimah prescribing the death penalty for apostasy. It includes the act of converting to another religion or nonacceptance of faith to be irreligious, by a person who was born in a muslim family or who had previously accepted islam. Muslims are not keepers over those who go astray to coerce them to accept islam against their will. And punishment by death for apostasy from islam is firmly rooted in the most holy muslim textsboth the koran, and the hadithas well as the sacred islamic law the sharia.
Like the issues of stoning and hand chopping, apostasy in islam can only be. It is not right to deny the punishment of apostasy claiming that it has not been reported in the quran, because it has been recorded in the mutawatir hadith which has been reported by at least four of the companions in different times and places in a way that make a person sure that such hadith is not fabricated and the nonmutawatir sunnah. Meaning shamail tirmizi, musnad ahmad all available english transalation as it comes from darussalaam, please do not mind but due to lack of a search engine it is not useful if one wants to find english of a particular hadith. Freedom of religion and apostasy in islam faith in allah. This report surveys the apostasy laws of twentythree countries in africa, the middle east, south asia, and southaset asia. Apostasy in islam international institute of islamic thought. After the concept of jihad, apostasy is most frequently cited by. Hazrat mirza tahir ahmad, the truth about the alleged punishment for apostasy in islam. Former muslims united a shiite opinion on apostasy.
Islam, apostasy and the death penalty culturewatch. The quran itself does not prescribe any earthly punishment for apostasy. The issue of apostasy in islam yaqeen institute for islamic. According to sharia law, an apostate must be killed because he is considered a rebel against the religion of islam. We know from historic islamic documents that during muhammads lifetime, and the lifetimes of the next four rightly guided caliphs, tens of thousands of. A historical and scriptural analysis, first published in. However, the two hadiths on the punishment of apostasy remain the concrete basis upon which the law pertaining to the legal status of apostates rests, even. First, the quran, the most important text of islam, does not specify any worldly punishment for apostasy, let alone death. Quranic decrees on apostasy and is therefore unislamic, given. An apostate is looked upon as worse than an infidel who has never professed faith in allah and mohammad as his prophet or in any way practiced islam. The current hype1 much has been said in recent months concerning the law of apostasy in islam. In particular, the recent case in afghanistan has highlighted, once again, to many in the western world that the muslim world is neither civilized nor respective of. Traditional treatment of apostates according to sharia law. Apostasy apostasy is the abandonment of a religion.
On one hand, we know that islam strictly prohibits compulsion in religion. No, just leaving islam wont get you death penalty, but after leaving islam, if you go against islam and try to drag more people out of islam by false information and propaganda,yes,then you deserve death. Therefore, where there is a contradiction between the quran and a hadith, it is the hadith. Even though his crime is so great, he is given a last chance, a respite of three days in which to repent. Apostasy and the notion of religious freedom in islam core. Apostasy from islam and conversion to it are topics in which serious research is scanty. In islam, apostasy is sinful, but it would only be punished in the hereafter. The punishment for apostasy lies in the hand of god almighty, against whom the offence has been committed. One of the worlds most respected sunni scholars, yusuf alqaradawi, admitted in 2012 that if muslims had gotten rid of the apostasy punishment, islam wouldnt exist today. Then i define the necessary terms apostasy, blasphemy, hypocrisy with reference to the quran and hadith literature. Abdullah saeed and hassan saeed freedom of religion, apostasy and islam,ashgate publishing, march 30, 2004,isbn. Muslim lived a couple of centuries after the prophets death.
The truth about the alleged punishment for apostasy in. The official penalty for committing apostasy in islam is death by beheading. As a convert from islam, saleeb has spent many years studying islam. During the last decades, several studies have been dedicated to conversion to islam. State laws in kelantan and terengganu make apostasy in islam a crime punishable with death, while state laws of perak, malacca, sabah, and pahang declare apostasy by muslims as a crime punishable with jail terms. Apostasy which is not aggravated by some other crime is not punishable in this world. Where available, weve included a link to purchase the book online, and you might look in your local library for them as well. The quran remains in exactly the perfect form as it was revealed to muhammad sa, whereas the ahadith were collected decades and sometimes centuries later. Apostasy means, to renounce the religion or a religious principle after accepting it. Apostasy in the islamic republic of iran iran human. For muslims, apostasy the renunciation of ones religious faith is a sin punishable by death in many parts of the islamic world. Thats because islam teaches that apostates are to be killed.
If a muslim abandons islam irtidad heshe becomes an apostate murtad. Unlike apostasy, the crime of sabbe nabi, or swearing at the prophet, has been codified in the ipc. But this is only because the report has no real contextual information at all. In these states, apostasy is defined as conversion from islam to another faith, but converting to islam is not a crime. After the concept of jihad, apostasy is most frequently cited by christian missionaries as a negative dimension of islam. Thoughts on apostasy in islam from a series of discussions on new issues in islamic theology apostasy and freedom written by mahdi azizan for the imam assadiq research institute headed by his eminence, ayatullah shaykh mirza jafar subhani translated by saleem bhimji for alfath almubin publications and the islamic publishing house. Books on apostasy the following books discuss the problem of shariah laws requiring violence against people who leave islam, from a variety of perspectives. Others argue that the death penalty is an inappropriate punishment, inconsistent with the quranic injunctions such as quran 88. Hassan saeed debate on freedom of religion as a human right takes place not only in the western world but also in muslim communities throughout the world. Introduction to translation of sahih muslim in the name of allah, the most compassionate, the most merciful sahih muslim is a collection of sayings and deeds of prophet muhammad pbuh also known as the sunnah. Macarthur blvd suite 120237, irving, tx 75063 email protected. Pdf there are various verses from alquran that speak about freedom of beliefs.
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