What is Apostasy in Islam
Apostasy in Islam (Arabic: ردة riddah or ارتداد irtidād) is commonly defined as the conscious abandonment of Islam by a Muslim in word or through deed. It includes the act of converting to another religion by a person who was born in a Muslim family or who had previously accepted Islam.
Why do people become
apostates
Know, may Allah have mercy on you, Islam is the true religion and the religion of mercy and guidance. Islam teaches us Muslims manners and self-discipline, and it teaches us how to be leaders for the rest of mankind. Since the predominant amount of people in the world are not Muslims. We must try to get as much people in the religion of Islam as possible. One must remember, Islam is spread through proliferation. The more people we get, the stronger we are. When a wolf goes to attack a sheep in the wilderness it does not go for the entire pack, it's far too scared, rather it goes for the lone sheep, in which he knows he will be able to kill definitely.
Verily, Islam is the truth. It is the only religion accepted by God, and God knows best. The only way to gurantee your safety in this life and the Hereafter is to become a Muslim. Allah(SWT) does not want to disappoint you, verily. So if you become a Muslim He wants you to remain steadfast on this path until death arrives. But most people don't always adhere to the warnings and signs of Allah(SWT) and rather they discard everything that they know and believe and thus they become kafirs .
Why does this happen? Well, let's analyze the situation carefully.
Islam teaches us humans praiseworthy characteristics and how to be closer to Allah. And there are many obligations and sins to refrain from. Whether those sins may be stealing, drinking alcohol, fornication, smoking, masterbation and so on and so forth...
And what happens is, most of the time us Muslims fall into these sins, because after all, we are weak creations. And it just doesn't happen once, we tend to fall into these sins time and time again, once you take a single step toward the devil, you will walk the whole way towards him.
So what happens is at the end of the day we just say "screw it man, I'm done", than we apostacize and become kafirs . And these people are the furthest from Allahs' mercy.
And we see other kafirs , like many people in the western civilizations, and they are not Muslims. And they are doing all the sins like drinking alcohol, fornicating, dating, etc...
And we see that their life is not bad and Allah is not punishing them so "why not follow them and do what they do?"
The kafirs have Christmas in which it is a splendid holiday in which people are happy and they give each other gifts. Us Muslims we don't celebrate that, rather we have the month of Ramadan in which we don't eat or drink(rationed) for about 30 days and we must refrain from most of the sins in the day time, like any carnal activity, until the sun goes down(Maghrib time)
So as you can see, the reason why people leave Islam and become apostates is simply because they feel the religion of Islam is too
HARD
But Allah certainly knows best and He is all aware of all that goes on. Life is only a test, this Dunya is nothing more than a creation of Allaah to test us. There are those who fail this test, but there are also those who pass. In the Hereafter once we get to the bridge there are those who cross it as quick as lightning, and there are those who fall underneath it towards Hellfire. May Allaah make us among the ones who cross it.
Punishment forApostasy
Leaving Islam can be notoriously difficult in many Muslim-majority countries. Certain countries, such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, have laws that make apostasy an offense punishable by death. In others where apostasy is not explicitly criminalized, accused individuals can still face charges through religious courts.
The ruling of execution because of a word that somebody utters is what the Muslim scholars call al-riddah (apostasy). What is apostasy and what constitutes apostasy? What is the ruling on the apostate (al-murtadd)?
- Riddah (apostasy) refers to when a Muslim becomes a disbeliever by saying a clear statement to that effect, or by uttering words which imply that (i.e., which imply kufr or disbelief), or he does something that implies that (i.e., an action which implies kufr or disbelief).
- - What constitutes apostasy
The matters which constitute apostasy are divided into four categories:
- Apostasy in beliefs, such as associating others with Allaah, denying Him, or denying an attribute which is proven to be one of His attributes, or by affirming that Allaah has a son. Whoever believes that is an apostate and a disbeliever.
- Apostasy in words, such as insulting Allaah or the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
- Apostasy in actions, such as throwing the Qur’an into a filthy place, because doing that shows disrespect towards the words of Allaah, so it is a sign that one does not believe. Other such actions include prostrating to an idol or to the sun or moon.
- Apostasy by omission, such as not doing any of the rituals of Islam, or turning away from following it altogether.
If a Muslim apostatizes and meets the conditions of apostasy – i.e., he is of sound mind, an adult and does that of his own free will – then his blood may be shed with impunity. He is to be executed by the Muslim ruler or by his deputy – such as the qaadi or judge, and he is not to not be washed (after death, in preparation for burial), the funeral prayer is not to be offered for him and he is not to be buried with the Muslims.
The evidence that the apostate is to be executed is the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Whoever changes his religion, execute him.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2794). What is meant by religion here is Islam (i.e., whoever changes from Islam to another religion).
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “It is not permissible to shed the blood of a Muslim who bears witness that there is no god except Allaah and that I am His Messenger, except in one of three cases: a soul for a soul (i.e., in the case of murder); a married man who commits adultery; and one who leaves his religion and splits form the jamaa’ah (main group of Muslims).” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6878; Muslim, 1676)
Thus it will be clear to you that execution of the apostate is something that is commanded by Allaah, when he commanded us to obey the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), as He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“O you who believe! Obey Allaah and obey the Messenger (Muhammad), and those of you (Muslims) who are in authority”
[al-Nisa’ 4:59]
And the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) has commanded us to execute the apostate as in the hadeeth quoted above: “Whoever changes his religion, execute him.”
It may need some time for one to be convinced about this matter, and for one to think about it. Perhaps one may think that if a person follows the truth and enters into it and embraces the one true religion which Allaah has enjoined, then we allow him to leave it quite easily whenever he wants and to utter the words of kufr (disbelief) that put him outside of Islam, so he can reject Allaah, His Messenger, His Books and His religion, and there is no punishment as deterrent, how will that affect him and others who enter the religion?
Do you see now that this would make the one true religion, that everyone should follow, like a shop or store which a person can enter when he wants and leave when he wants, and it may encourage others to forsake the truth.
In conclusion, the answer is that Allaah is the One Who revealed this religion and enjoined it. He is the One Who ruled that the one who enters it and then leaves it is to be executed. This ruling does not come from the Muslims’ ideas or suggestions. As this is the case, then we must follow the ruling of Allaah so long as we are content to accept Him as our Lord and God.
BACK TO ALLAH