Surah An-Nahl (16) — Ayah 106

(Ayah106) ➊ { مَنْ كَفَرَ بِاللّٰهِ مِنْۢ بَعْدِ اِيْمَانِهٖۤ …:} Tabari has narrated with an authentic chain the statement of Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Allah Almighty said: [ مَنْ كَفَرَ مِنْ بَعْدِ إِيْمَانِهِ فَعَلَيْهِ غَضَبٌ مِّنَ اللّٰهِ وَلَهُ عَذَابٌ عَظِيْمٌ فَأَمَّا مَنْ أُكْرِهَ فَتَكَلَّمَ بِهِ لِسَانُهُ وَ خَالَفَهُ قَلْبُهُ بِالْإِيْمَانِ لِيَنْجُوَ بِذٰلِكَ مِنْ عَدُوِّهِ فَلَا حَرَجَ عَلَيْهِ لِأَنَّ اللّٰهَ تَأْخُذُ الْعِبَادَ بِمَا عَقَدَتْ عَلَيْهِ قُلُوْبُهُمْ ] [ طبری : ۱۷ /۳۰۵ ] "Whoever disbelieves after having believed, upon him is Allah's severe wrath and for him is a great punishment, except for the one who is compelled and utters something with his tongue while his heart is opposed to it due to faith, so that he may save his life from the enemy; there is no sin upon him, because Allah, the Exalted, holds His servants accountable only for what is firmly established in their hearts."

➋ Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) says: [ كَانَ أَوَّلَ مَنْ أَظْهَرَ إِسْلَامَهُ سَبْعَةٌ : رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَأَبُوْ بَكْرٍ، وَعَمَّارٌ، وَأُمُّهُ سُمَيَّةُ، وَصُهَيْبٌ، وَبِلاَلٌ، وَالْمِقْدَادُ، فَأَمَّا رَسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَمَنَعَهُ اللّٰهُ بِعَمِّهِ أَبِيْ طَالِبٍ، وَأَمَّا أَبُوْ بَكْرٍ فَمَنَعَهُ اللّٰهُ بِقَوْمِهِ، وَأَمَّا سَائِرُهُمْ، فَأَخَذَهُمُ الْمُشْرِكُوْنَ وَأَلْبَسُوْهُمْ أَدْرَاعَ الْحَدِيْدِ وَ صَهَرُوْهُمْ فِي الشَّمْسِ، فَمَا مِنْهُمْ مِنْ أَحَدٍ إِلَّا وَقَدْ وَاتَاهُمْ عَلٰی مَا أَرَادُوْا، إِلَّا بِلاَلاً، فَإِنَّهُ هَانَتْ عَلَيْهِ نَفْسُهُ فِي اللّٰهِ، وَهَانَ عَلٰی قَوْمِهِ، فَأَخَذُوْهُ، فَأَعْطَوْهُ الْوِلْدَانَ، فَجَعَلُوْا يَطُوْفُوْنَ بِهِ فِيْ شِعَابِ مَكَّةَ وَهُوَ يَقُوْلُ : أَحَدٌ، أَحَدٌ ] [ابن ماجہ، السنۃ، باب فضل سلمان و أبی ذر والمقداد رضی اللہ عنھم اجمعین : ۱۵۰، قال البوصیري رجالہ ثقات و قال الحاکم صحیح الإسناد و أقرہ الذھبی، وقال الألباني حسن ] "The first people to openly declare their Islam were seven: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Bakr, Ammar, his mother Sumayyah, Suhaib, Bilal, and Miqdad (may Allah be pleased with them all). Allah Almighty protected the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) through his uncle Abu Talib, and Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) was protected by his people. The rest were seized by the polytheists, who made them wear iron armor and threw them out in the sun to burn. So all of them said what the disbelievers wanted, except for Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him). In the matter of Allah, his own life became worthless to him (and he did not care about it), and he became so worthless in their eyes that they handed him over to the children, who would take him around the valleys of Makkah, and he would keep saying, 'Ahad, Ahad' (Allah is One, Allah is One)."

➌ After mentioning the doubts of the disbelievers above, the ruling is stated regarding the person who, being influenced by such doubts, turns away from faith and accepts disbelief with an open heart—that upon him is the severe wrath of his Lord and for him is a great punishment. Regarding the person in {’’ اِلَّا مَنْ اُكْرِهَ ‘‘ } upon whom a tyrant compels and who, to save his life, utters a word of disbelief with his tongue, this is a concession. But if someone chooses to die and does not utter a word of disbelief or anything against Islam, this is resolve, and such a person will be a great martyr, as the prophets of Allah, such as Ibrahim and Isa (peace be upon them), did not utter a word of disbelief out of fear of death and accepted martyrdom, though Allah Almighty saved them. Similarly, there is the incident of the People of the Ditch and the person mentioned in Surah Yasin who was martyred, and in Islam there are countless such examples, as with Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) and other companions and followers.

➍ Some people who harbor enmity against Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and the noble companions (may Allah be pleased with them), when they saw that Ali, Hasan, Husayn, and other Banu Hashim (may Allah be pleased with them) pledged allegiance to the three caliphs, which is proof of their rightful caliphate, these enemies of the companions fabricated the claim that they did so out of compulsion and taqiyyah. However, taqiyyah is a concession for the weak; if the Lion of Allah also practices taqiyyah, then who will declare the truth and act with resolve? Furthermore, in the book "Al-Kafi" of those who make the excuse of taqiyyah, it is written that their Imams know the time of their death and die only when they wish. So according to their statement, when Imam Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) knew that his death would be at the hands of Abdur Rahman bin Muljam, what compulsion did he have to pledge allegiance to the three caliphs or to marry his beloved daughter Umm Kulthum to Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him)?

➎ The scholars have deduced from this verse that any statement or action done under compulsion is not valid; neither does divorce occur, nor marriage, nor the freeing of a slave, nor transferring property in someone's name, nor any confession or denial or statement of disbelief. Yes, whatever is done with an open heart is valid. (Suyuti in Al-Iklil)

➏ { فَعَلَيْهِمْ غَضَبٌ مِّنَ اللّٰهِ : } In this world, Allah's great wrath is that if a man or woman becomes an apostate and does not repent, then their killing is obligatory. It is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ مَنْ بَدَّلَ دِيْنَهُ فَاقْتُلُوْهُ ] [ بخاری، استتابۃ المرتدین والمعاندین و قتالھم، باب حکم المرتد… : ۶۹۲۲ ] "Whoever changes his religion, kill him." And the greatness of the great punishment in the Hereafter is best known to Allah Almighty.

➐ Some people have said on their own accord that if a woman becomes an apostate, she should not be killed; this is not correct, because the Arabic pronoun "man" (مَنْ) includes both men and women, and there is no evidence for the woman being an exception.

16. 1. The scholars are unanimous that if a person is compelled to commit disbelief and, in order to save his life, verbally or practically commits an act of disbelief while his heart remains content with faith, then he will not be considered a disbeliever, nor will his wife be separated from him, nor will other rulings of disbelief apply to him. قالہ الْقُرْطُبِیُّ (Fath al-Qadeer)

16. 2. This is the punishment for becoming an apostate: that they will be deserving of Allah's wrath and a great punishment, and its worldly punishment is death, as mentioned in the hadith. (For further details, see (يَسْــَٔـلُوْنَكَ عَنِ الشَّهْرِ الْحَرَامِ قِتَالٍ فِيْهِ ۭ قُلْ قِتَالٌ فِيْهِ كَبِيْرٌ ۭ وَصَدٌّ عَنْ سَبِيْلِ اللّٰهِ وَكُفْرٌۢ بِهٖ وَالْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ ۤ وَ اِخْرَاجُ اَھْلِهٖ مِنْهُ اَكْبَرُ عِنْدَ اللّٰهِ ۚ وَالْفِتْنَةُ اَكْبَرُ مِنَ الْقَتْلِ ۭ وَلَا يَزَالُوْنَ يُقَاتِلُوْنَكُمْ حَتّٰى يَرُدُّوْكُمْ عَنْ دِيْنِكُمْ اِنِ اسْتَطَاعُوْا ۭ وَمَنْ يَّرْتَدِدْ مِنْكُمْ عَنْ دِيْنِهٖ فَيَمُتْ وَھُوَ كَافِرٌ فَاُولٰۗىِٕكَ حَبِطَتْ اَعْمَالُهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْاٰخِرَةِ ۚ وَاُولٰۗىِٕكَ اَصْحٰبُ النَّارِ ۚ ھُمْ فِيْهَا خٰلِدُوْنَ) 2. Al-Baqarah:217) and the footnote of verse (لَآ اِكْرَاهَ فِي الدِّيْنِ ڐ قَدْ تَّبَيَّنَ الرُّشْدُ مِنَ الْغَيِّ ۚ فَمَنْ يَّكْفُرْ بالطَّاغُوْتِ وَيُؤْمِنْۢ بِاللّٰهِ فَقَدِ اسْتَمْسَكَ بالْعُرْوَةِ الْوُثْقٰى ۤ لَا انْفِصَامَ لَهَا ۭ وَاللّٰهُ سَمِيْعٌ عَلِيْمٌ) 2. Al-Baqarah:256).

Whoever disbelieves in Allah after having believed—except for one who is forced while his heart [111] is secure in faith—(he is excused), but whoever willingly opens his heart to disbelief [112], upon them is the wrath of Allah, and for them is a tremendous punishment.

[111]
Permission to Utter a Word of Disbelief in a State of Compulsion:

If a Muslim, overwhelmed by calamities and hardships or at the time of danger to life, utters a word of disbelief with his tongue, provided that his heart remains steadfast upon faith, then there is permission for this. Otherwise, the original ruling or determination is that even at such a time, his steadfastness should not waver, and he should not take advantage of this concession. Thus, during the Makkan period, the persecutions and hardships inflicted upon the Muslims by the Quraysh of Makkah were such that most of the noble Companions ؓ adhered to determination. They endured the hardships, but their steadfastness did not waver in the slightest. To the extent that some Companions even sacrificed their lives. The only example we find is that of Sayyiduna ‘Ammar bin Yasir ؓ. ‘Ammar ؓ himself, his father Yasir, and his mother Sumayyah were all slaves of Abu Jahl, the chief of Quraysh of Makkah. In front of Sayyiduna ‘Ammar ؓ, his father was martyred, and Abu Jahl, the accursed, struck his mother with a spear in her private part and martyred her. In these circumstances, he was compelled to say whatever the disbelievers wanted him to say. Then, immediately, he ؓ came to the presence of the Prophet ﷺ and said, “O Messenger of Allah ﷺ! In such and such circumstances, I spoke ill of you and praised their deities.” The Prophet ﷺ asked, “Describe the state of your heart.” Sayyiduna ‘Ammar ؓ replied, “My heart is fully content with faith.” The Prophet ﷺ said, “Alright, if they treat you the same way again, then you may again take advantage of this concession.” In this context, these verses were revealed. [بخاری۔ کتاب الا کراہ۔ باب قول اللہ الامن اکرہ وقلبہ مطمئن بالایمان]

[112] That is, those who, after embracing Islam, become overwhelmed by the hardships that befall them and begin to prefer their former life of comfort in disbelief, and are not willing to bear any worldly loss, and for these reasons, willingly and eagerly choose the path of disbelief again—such people are indeed deserving of a great punishment.