A Further Discussion on Apostasy

We were fortunate to spend Thursday evening with Dr Jamal Badawi who was an invited speaker at the university following the cartoon incident. The intent on behalf of the Muslim Society of PEI was to use this opportunity to educate the public instead of retaliating. The forum was meant to focus on the Prophet (saw) and Islam in general. However much of the questions directed to brother Jamal were around the apostasy issue. His view is the same as adopted by most renowned scholars here in the west. His message is very clear and easy to understand. On any issue there should first be a collection of entire body of evidence from Quran and Hadeeth and overwhelming direction should then be followed. He reiterated his famous “cut-and-paste method” which he describes as one of the causes behind misquoting the Quran and Hadeeth in order to justify actions.   He asserts “there is no single verse in the Quran that prescribes a worldly punishment for apostasy. The Quran states the punishment is only in the Hereafter. However, numerous verses in the Quran affirm freedom of religion and reject compulsion or coercion in religion; for example, see Chapter 2, verse 256.” (In his talk last night he mentioned that there are over a dozen verses in the Quran which convey this message)Commenting on the position of capital punishment taken by some on the basis of evidence from Hadeeth he explains:

“In hadith, however, there are some texts signifying capital punishment for apostasy. However, scholars differed about the interpretation of these texts. Some made a distinction between apostasy which coupled with fighting against Muslims, committing a capital crime or committing an act of “high treason” against the state. According to this interpretation, capital punishment is because of these crimes, not mere leaving Islam. Other scholars made no such distinction. However, the first interpretation is supported by a number of other sound hadiths which show that when a man in Madinah apostated from Islam, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) neither ordered his execution nor punished him in any other way, and when the man finally left Madinah, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) never sent anyone to arrest him or punish him because of his apostasy.

If indeed the capital punishment for apostasy is a hadd (specified mandatory punishment) one would expect that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would be the first one to implement the law of Allah.

These hadiths are reported in Al-Bukhari, the most authentic collection of hadith, in the book of Al-Ahkaam which is found in the English translation by M. Mohsen Khan, Volume 9, hadith number 316, 318, and 323, pages 241, 242, and 246. They are also reported in Fath Al-Bari, volume 13 under Kitab Al-Ahkam, hadith number 7209, 7211, and 7216.”

But we find some rightly guided scholars in the past having taken this hard line position. Answering to this comment he reminded that scholars couldn’t be placed above Quran and Sunnah. Furthermore there is a basic difference between Ihkamat of Sharia and matters of Fiqh (jurisprudence). While Shari’a remains constant, rulings on affairs of Fiqh may change according to circumstances. He gave the example of Imam Shafi who changed his own ruling on a matter at two different points in time according to changing circumstances.

Details of his live internet dialogue on the issue (march 27) can be found at this link

Dr Badawi said he is in the process of writing a detailed paper on this issue.