Bab fi al-Irtidad
Apostasy and Its Ruling
Right side. شِمَالًا: Left side. لَمْ يَرَ: Did not see. إِلَّا: Except. خِوَانًا: A tray. فَعَلَى بِهِ رَأْسَهَا: So he lifted it and struck her head with it. حَتَّى دَمَّغَهَا بِهِ: Until her brains spilled out. كَفَيْتُكَ: I took your revenge. نَطْحٌ: To hit with horns. عَنْزَةٌ: Goat. عَنْزَانِ: Two goats (dual form). عَنْزٌ: Goat, female eagle. (A bird of prey, like a hawk) plural عِنَازٌ ، أَعْنُزٌ ، عُنُوزٌ. لَا يَنْتَطِحُ فِيهَا عَنْزَانِ: In this matter, even two goats will not fight. (After the Prophet's saying, it became an idiom) Translation:- Hazrat Abdullah bin Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that a woman of the Khatma tribe had mocked the Noble Prophet ﷺ. When this news reached the Noble Prophet ﷺ, it passed heavily upon him. Then the Prophet ﷺ said, "Who will take revenge for me from her?" A person who was of her tribe said, "O Messenger of Allah ﷺ! I am present." That woman was a "tammara," meaning a seller of dates. That person reached that woman and asked her, "Do you have ripe dates?" The woman said, "Yes," then she showed him ripe dates. That person said, "I want better dates than these." So she entered the house to show him dates and this person entered behind her and started looking right and left. He did not see anything there except a tray. He lifted it and struck the woman's head with it, and her brains spilled out. Then he came to the Messenger of God ﷺ and submitted, "O Messenger of Allah! I have punished that woman sufficiently on your behalf." Then the Noble Prophet ﷺ said, "In this matter, even two goats did not fight." Then this saying became a proverb. (This hadith is in Ibn Asakir)
Friends! When Muslims give security to an infidel in their country, the foremost condition is that they do not spread unrest. Breaking the law or bad speech is the root of fitna and mischief. If bad speech is used even with an ordinary citizen, it becomes a cause of provocation and leads to bloodshed. Let alone insolence against the elders of the religion! In Islam, unrest and breaking the law is a serious crime. Since this woman herself abused the Prophet of Islam, therefore this person put her to death - *fil-nar wa-saqar*. The Prophet also did not interrogate this act (execution) to close the door to these actions. That is why they say "kill the one causing harm before the harm".
*بَابٌ : فِي الْاِرْتِدَادِ وَحُكْمِهِ* After becoming a disbeliever/apostate, what is the ruling about him? This chapter is regarding that.
قَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالىٰ : وَمَنْ يَرْتَدِدْ مِنْكُمْ عَنْ دِينِهِ فَيَمُتْ وَهُوَ كَافِرٌ فَأُولَئِكَ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمَالُهُمْ
۱۶۲
---
فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ ۖ وَأُولَئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ ۖ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ ۔ (آیت ۲۱۷ - بقرة) Vocabulary:- مَنْ يَرْتَدِدْ: Whoever commits apostasy. If a Muslim commits acts of disbelief or turns away from the religion of Islam, it is called "Irtidad" (apostasy). حَبِطَتْ! Went to waste. *Translation:- Allah the Most High says: "Whoever turns back from his religion (meaning Islam), becomes an apostate, and then dies in a state of disbelief, the deeds of such people are ruined in this world and the Hereafter, and these are the companions of the Fire; they will abide therein eternally."*
وَقَالَ تَعَالَى : إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ثُمَّ كَفَرُوا ثُمَّ آمَنُوا ثُمَّ كَفَرُوا ثُمَّ ازْدَادُوا كُفْرًا لَمْ يَكُنِ اللّٰهُ لِيَغْفِرَ لَهُمْ وَلَا لِيَهْدِيَهُمْ سَبِيلًا ۔ (آیت ۱۳۷ - نساء) Vocabulary:- ازْدَادُوا: Those people increased. سَبِيلًا: Path. *Translation:- And Allah the Most High says:- "Indeed, those who believed, then disbelieved, then believed, then disbelieved, and then increased in disbelief - Allah will not forgive them, nor will He guide them to a path." The path of guidance has been closed for them. For them there is no straight path.*
وَقَالَ اللّٰهُ تَعَالَى : إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بَعْدَ إِيمَانِهِمْ ثُمَّ ازْدَادُوا كُفْرًا لَنْ تُقْبَلَ تَوْبَتُهُمْ وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الضَّالُّونَ ۔ (آیت ۹۰ - ال عمران) Vocabulary:- لَنْ تُقْبَلَ: Will never be accepted. The particle لَنْ coming upon an imperfect (mudari) verb turns its meaning into "never in the future tense" (meaning the present tense meaning is taken out of it). الضَّالُّونَ: Misguided, gone astray. *Translation:- And Allah the Most High says:- Those people who became disbelievers after believing and their disbelief kept on increasing, their repentance will not be accepted. It is they who are the misguided.*
مَنِ ارْتَدَّ عَنْ دِينِهِ فَاقْتُلُوهُ ۔ (طب عن عصمة بن مالك - كنز العمال جلد ا) Vocabulary:- ارْتَدَّ: Turned back, became an apostate. طب - للطبراني في معجمه الكبير: Meaning Tabarani has written in the book Mu'jam al-Kabeer. Translation:- It is narrated from Hazrat Ismah bin Malik (RA) that whoever turns away from his religion, kill him. (This hadith is also in the first volume of Kanz al-'Ummal)
مَنْ بَدَّلَ دِينَهُ فَاقْتُلُوهُ ۔ (دحم - عن ابن عباس) Vocabulary:- بَدَّلَ: Altered, changed. د: Abu Dawud. حم: Musnad Ahmad.
۱۶۳
---
Translation:- It is narrated from Hazrat Abdullah bin Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them both) that whoever changes his religion, kill him. (This hadith is in Abu Dawud and Musnad Ahmad)
لَنْ يَخْرُجَ أَحَدٌ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ إِلَّا بِجُحُودِ مَا دَخَلَ فِيهِ ۔ (طس - عن ابي سعيد - كنز) Vocabulary:- لَنْ يَخْرُجَ: Will never exit. بِجُحُودِ: By denying. طس: In the book Awsat from Tabarani. Translation:- It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Sa'eed that no person will be expelled from Iman (faith) except by denying those things through the acceptance of which he entered Iman. (Narrated by Tabarani from Kitab Awsat - This hadith is also in Kanz al-'Ummal) The meaning of this hadith is that the things upon which it is necessary to bring Iman, for instance Allah, Messenger, Angels, Heavenly Books, Day of Resurrection, destiny of good and evil etc. or the pillars of Islam like Tawhid, prayer, fasting, zakat, hajj etc., completely denying them or rejecting them becomes the cause of apostasy.
أَيُّمَا رَجُلٍ ارْتَدَّ عَنِ الْإِسْلَامِ فَادْعُهُ فَإِنْ تَابَ فَاقْبَلْ مِنْهُ وَ إِنْ لَمْ يَتُبْ فَاضْرِبْ عُنُقَهُ وَأَيُّمَا امْرَأَةٍ ارْتَدَّتْ عَنِ الْإِسْلَامِ فَادْعُهَا فَإِنْ تَابَتْ فَاقْبَلْ مِنْهَا وَإِنْ أَبَتْ فَاسْتَبِهَا ۔ (طب عن معاذ كنز ج۱) Vocabulary:- أَيُّمَا: Whoever. فَادْعُهُ: So invite him, call him again. فَاقْبَلْ مِنْهُ: Accept it from him. إِنْ لَمْ يَتُبْ: If he does not repent, does not refrain, does not return. فَاضْرِبْ عُنُقَهُ: Then strike off his neck. تَابَتْ: That woman repented. أَبَتْ: That woman refused. فَاسْتَبِهَا: Imprison that woman. Translation:- Whichever man becomes an apostate from Islam, then invite him, call him back towards Islam. If he repents then accept his repentance and if he does not repent and denies, then strike his neck and if any woman becomes an apostate from Islam, invite her, call her. If she repents then accept it and if she refuses then imprison that woman. (This hadith is narrated from Hazrat Mu'adh which Tabarani has recorded in "Mu'jam al-Kabeer" and it is also in the first volume of Kanz al-'Ummal)
مَنْ غَيَّرَ دِينَهُ فَاضْرِبُوا عُنُقَهُ ۔ (الشافعي - ق - عن زيد بن ارقم) Vocabulary:- غَيَّرَ: Changes, alters. فَاضْرِبُوا: Then strike. ق: Which hadith Bukhari and Muslim are agreed upon and have recorded in their Sahihs. Translation:- Whoever makes some alteration in his religion, strike his neck. (Hazrat Imam Shafi'i has taken this hadith from Hazrat Zaid bin Arqam)
۱۶۴
---