What they said on a man who accepts Islam and then apostatises: what is done with him?

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said that some people of the tribe of Uraynah came to Madinah, and the climate of Madinah did not suit them. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to them: "If you wish, go out to the camels of charity and drink some of their milk and urine." They did so and recovered their health. The narrator said: Then those people turned on the herdsmen, killed them, and drove away some of the livestock of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and they disbelieved after accepting Islam. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent a party after them, and they were caught and brought back. Their hands and feet were cut off, their eyes were seared, and they were left at al-Harrah until they died.

The above statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is also reported through this chain from Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him).

Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever changes his religion, kill him."

Humayd bin Hilal (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) came to Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him), and with him (may Allah be pleased with him) was a Jewish man. He (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: "What is the matter with him?" He replied: "This Jew accepted Islam and then apostatized." Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) had given him two months' respite to repent. At this Sayyiduna Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I will not sit until I strike off his neck. This is the decree of Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)."

Asim bin Damrah (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Alqamah bin Ulathah apostatized from his religion after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the Muslims fought him. The narrator said: He refused to incline towards peace. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: "Nothing will be accepted from you except a humiliating peace or a war of expulsion." He asked: "What is meant by a humiliating peace?" He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "That you testify about our slain that they are in Paradise and that your slain are in Hell, and that you pay the blood money of our slain while we do not pay the blood money of your slain." Then those people chose the humiliating peace.

Tariq bin Shihab (may Allah have mercy on him) said that the delegation of Buzakhah, the tribes of Asad and Ghatafan, came to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) and asked him (may Allah be pleased with him) for peace. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) gave them the choice between a humiliating peace and a war of expulsion. They said: "This war of expulsion we know. What is this humiliating peace?" Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "You will hand over all your weapons and horses, and you will leave people to follow the tails of the camels, until Allah Almighty shows the successor of His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Muslims something for which they consider you excused. You will pay the blood money of our slain, and we will not pay the blood money of your slain. Our slain are in Paradise and your slain are in Hell. You will return what you have taken from us, and what we have taken of your wealth will be spoils of war." At this Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up and said: "This is indeed your opinion, and we shall soon give you some advice. As for their handing over weapons and horses, that is a very good opinion. As for their leaving people to follow the tails of the camels until Allah Almighty shows the successor of His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Muslims something for which they consider them excused, that too is a very good opinion. As for what we have taken of their wealth being spoils of war, and their returning to us what they have taken of ours, that too is a very good opinion. As for their slain being in Hell and our slain being in Paradise, that too is a very good opinion. As for our not paying the blood money of their slain, that too is a very good opinion. But as for their paying the blood money of our slain, that is not right, for our slain were killed in the cause of Allah Almighty, so there will be no blood money for them." The people agreed with him on this.

Ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Alqamah bin Ulathah apostatized. Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) sent a messenger to his wife and son. His wife said: "Even if Alqamah has disbelieved, I have not disbelieved, nor has my son."

That was mentioned to al-Sha'bi, and he said: "This is what was done with them," meaning the people of apostasy.

The above statement is also reported through this chain from Ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him), with this addition: Then Alqamah bin Ulathah inclined towards peace in the time of Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and accepted Islam. Then he returned to his wife as he had been.

Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "If these people withhold from me even a camel's tether that they used to give to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), I will certainly wage jihad against them." Then he (may Allah be pleased with him) recited this verse: "Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is nothing but a messenger, and many messengers have already passed away before him" [Al Imran: 144]. He (may Allah be pleased with him) recited to the end of the verse.

Ibn Abi Mulaykah (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "By the One in whose hand is my soul, if Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) had obeyed us, we would have disbelieved in a single morning." For when the people asked him to reduce the zakah, he refused their request and said: "If they withhold from me even a camel's tether, I will certainly wage jihad against them."

Tawus (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: "The Jews and Christians shall not live with you in your cities. Whoever of them accepts Islam and then apostatizes, strike his neck."

Amir (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: A group from the tribe of Bakr bin Wa'il apostatized from Islam and joined the polytheists, and they were killed in the fighting. When I came to Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) with the news of the conquest of Tustar, he (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "What happened to the people of the tribe of Bakr bin Wa'il?" The narrator said: I began another topic before him (may Allah be pleased with him) to divert him (may Allah be pleased with him) from mentioning them, but he (may Allah be pleased with him) asked again: "What happened to the group from the tribe of Bakr bin Wa'il?" I said: "O Commander of the Faithful, they were killed." He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "If I had taken them peacefully, that would have been dearer to me than all the gold and silver on which the sun rises." The narrator said: I said: "O Commander of the Faithful, if you (may Allah be pleased with him) had caught those people who apostatized from Islam and joined the polytheists, what way could there have been except killing them?" He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I would have put it to them to enter by the same door through which they had left. If they did so, I would have accepted this from them, and if they refused, I would have confined them in prison."

Ammar al-Duhni (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Sayyiduna Abu al-Tufayl (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I was in the army that Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) sent to Banu Najiyah. When we reached them, we found them divided into three groups. Our commander asked one group of them: "What is your case?" They said: "We were Christians. We accepted Islam and have remained firm upon Islam." The commander said: "Stand apart." Then the commander asked the second group: "What is your case?" They said: "We are Christian people. We have not considered any religion better than our own, so we have remained firm upon our religion." The commander said: "You too stand apart." Then the commander asked the last group: "What is your case?" They said: "We were Christians. We accepted Islam and then turned back from Islam, because we did not consider any religion better than our own, and we became Christians." The commander said to them: "Accept Islam." They refused. The commander said to his men: "When I pass my hand over my head three times, attack them." The men did so. They killed their fighters and took their children captive. I brought the captives to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). Masqalah bin Hubayrah came and bought those captives for two hundred thousand. Then he came to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) with one hundred thousand, and he (may Allah be pleased with him) refused to accept it. Masqalah went back with his dirhams, came to those slaves, set them all free, and joined Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) was then asked: "Why do you (may Allah be pleased with him) not take those children?" He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "No." And he (may Allah be pleased with him) did not interfere with them after that.

Abu Alaqah (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) sent out a detachment. They found a man from among the Muslims who had become a Christian after accepting Islam, and they killed him. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) was informed of this, and he (may Allah be pleased with him) asked: "Did you invite him to Islam?" They said: "No." He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Then I indeed declare myself free before Allah of his blood."

Ibn Ubayd bin al-Abras (may Allah have mercy on him) said that a man who had been a Christian, then accepted Islam, then became a Christian again was brought to Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) asked him about this matter, and he told him (may Allah be pleased with him). Then Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) stood up towards him and kicked him with his foot. Then the people also stood up and beat him until they killed him.

Mukhariq (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) sent Muhammad bin Abi Bakr as governor over the people of Egypt. He wrote to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) asking about the zanadiqah (heretics), some of whom worshipped the sun and moon, some worshipped other things, and some claimed Islam. Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to him and ordered him regarding the zanadiqah to kill whoever claimed Islam, and to leave all the rest to worship whatever they wished.

Harithah bin Mudarrib (may Allah have mercy on him) said that a man went out to have his mare covered. He passed by the mosque of the tribe of Banu Hanifah and prayed in it, and their imam recited the words of Musaylimah the Liar. This man came to Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) and informed him (may Allah be pleased with him) of this. He (may Allah be pleased with him) sent a messenger to summon those people, and they were all brought. Then he (may Allah be pleased with him) called on all of them to repent, and they all repented except Abdullah bin al-Nawwahah. He (may Allah be pleased with him) said to him: "O Abdullah, had I not heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: 'Were you not an envoy, I would have struck your neck.' But today you are not an envoy. O Kharashah, stand and strike his neck." So Kharashah stood up and struck his neck.

Qays (may Allah have mercy on him) said that a man came to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: "I passed by the mosque of the people of the tribe of Banu Hanifah, and I heard their imam reciting a recitation that Allah Almighty did not reveal to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Then I heard him reciting these words: 'Al-tahinati tahnan, fal-ajinati ajnan, fal-khabizati khabzan, fal-tharidati thardan, fal-laqimati laqman' (By those that grind a grinding, then those that knead a kneading, then those that bake a baking, then those that crumble bread into broth, then those that take morsels)." The narrator said: Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) sent for them, and those people were brought. There were one hundred and seventy men on the religion of Musaylimah, and their imam was Abdullah bin al-Nawwahah. He (may Allah be pleased with him) gave an order concerning him, and he was killed. Then he (may Allah be pleased with him) looked at the rest of them and said: "We will not please Satan by killing them. Take all these people to Syria. Perhaps Allah Almighty will finish them off through the plague."

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) said that Sayyiduna Amr bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man had taken up disbelief after believing. Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote to him in reply: "Ask him to repent. If he repents of it, accept his repentance; otherwise strike his neck."

Ubayd al-Amiri (may Allah have mercy on him) said that there were some people who used to take stipends and allowances. They would pray with the people, and in secret they would worship idols. Those people were brought to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), and he (may Allah be pleased with him) put them in the mosque or in the prison. Then he said: "O people, what is your opinion about a people who take stipends and allowances along with you and worship these idols?" The people said: "They should be killed." He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "No. Rather, I will treat them as they treated our forefather Ibrahim (peace be upon him)." Then he (may Allah be pleased with him) burned them with fire.

Ubaydullah bin Umar (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Umar bin Abdul Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote concerning some people who were Christians and then apostatized. He (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote: "Ask them to repent. If they repent, well and good; otherwise kill them."

Mughirah (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him) said concerning the apostate: He will be asked to repent. If he repents, he will be let go, and if he refuses, he will be killed.

Ibn Jurayj (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Amr bin Dinar reported to him the saying of Ubayd bin Umayr (may Allah have mercy on him) concerning a person who takes up disbelief after belief: that person will be killed.

Ibn Jurayj (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Ata (may Allah have mercy on him) said concerning a person who takes up disbelief after belief: He will be invited to Islam, and if he refuses, that person will be killed.

Abu Burdah (may Allah have mercy on him) said that Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent me and Sayyiduna Mu'adh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) to Yemen. He (may Allah be pleased with him) said: One day Sayyiduna Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) came to me, and with me was a Jew who had become a Muslim and then gone back from Islam to Judaism. At this he (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I will not dismount at your place until you strike his neck."

Hajjaj said: Qatadah (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated to me that Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him) had invited that Jew for forty days.

Muhammad bin Abd al-Rahman bin Thawban says that in the last sermon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) delivered, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, in this town, meaning Madinah, two religions cannot remain. So any Christian who accepts Islam and then becomes a Christian again, strike his neck."

Amr bin Qays (may Allah have mercy on him) reports from a person who heard Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him) say: "The apostate is to be asked to repent every time he apostatizes."

Mutarrif (may Allah have mercy on him) says that al-Hakam (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The apostate is to be asked to repent every time he apostatizes."

Ubaydullah bin Utbah (may Allah have mercy on him) says: Some people of the tribe of Banu Hanifah who had been with Musaylimah the Liar used to spread his sayings openly and recite them. Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) seized them, then informed Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) about them by letter. Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) wrote back: "Invite these people to Islam. Whoever among them testifies that there is no god worthy of worship but Allah and that Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the Messenger of Allah, and abandons disbelief and chooses faith, accept that faith from them and let them go on their way. And if they refuse, strike their necks." So Sayyiduna Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) asked them to repent. Some of them repented and some of them refused, so he (may Allah be pleased with him) struck the necks of those who refused.