excerpt** from Shaykh Mubashar Ahmad Rabbani’s book “Ahkām wa Masā’il – In the Light of the Qur’an and Sunnah”, following your guidelines:
❖ Question:
Who is considered a murtadd (apostate) in Islam, and what is the Sharʿi punishment for apostasy? Please guide us according to the Qur’an and Sunnah.
❖ Answer:
The word “murtadd” (apostate) comes from the root “irtadda, yartaddu, irtidādan” — meaning “to turn back” or “to return.”
Linguistically, it refers to one who turns back or retreats, as seen in the following verses:
﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ ارْتَدُّوْا عَلَىٰ أَدْبَارِهِم﴾
“Indeed, those who turned back on their heels…”
📚 [Muḥammad: 25]
﴿فَارْتَدَّا عَلَىٰ آثَارِهِمَا قَصَصًا﴾
“So they both retraced their footsteps…”
📚 [al-Kahf: 64]
﴿مَن يَرْتَدَّ مِنكُمْ عَنْ دِينِهِ﴾
“Whoever among you turns back from his religion…”
📚 [al-Mā’idah: 54]
All these are grammatical forms from the same root “radda”, meaning “to return.”
❖ Definition of Apostasy (Irtidād):
Technically, murtadd refers to:
“A Muslim who turns away from Islam after accepting it—whether through belief, speech, action, or doubt.”
📚 ʿUqūbat al-Iʿdām, p. 349
Some scholars have defined it as:
“One who reverts from the religion of Islam to disbelief.”
📚 al-Qāmūs al-Fiqhī, p. 147
Thus, a murtadd is one who—after embracing Islam—returns to disbelief, whether:
- through belief,
- speech,
- action,
- mockery,
- or even doubt.
Apostasy can occur deliberately or mockingly, as evidenced by the verse:
﴿قُلْ أَبِاللَّهِ وَآيَاتِهِ وَرَسُولِهِ كُنتُمْ تَسْتَهْزِئُونَ لَا تَعْتَذِرُوا قَدْ كَفَرْتُم بَعْدَ إِيمَانِكُمْ﴾
“Say: Was it Allah, His verses, and His Messenger that you were mocking? Do not make excuses—you have disbelieved after your belief.”
📚 [al-Tawbah: 65–66]
❖ Punishment of the Apostate in the Hereafter:
An apostate is destined for eternal Hellfire, as Allah says:
﴿وَمَن يَرْتَدِدْ مِنكُمْ عَن دِينِهِ فَيَمُتْ وَهُوَ كَافِرٌ فَأُولَٰئِكَ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمَالُهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ ۖ وَأُولَٰئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ ۖ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ﴾
“And whoever among you turns back from his religion and dies as a disbeliever—his deeds will be nullified in this world and the Hereafter, and he will be among the companions of the Fire, abiding therein forever.”
📚 [al-Baqarah: 217]
❖ Worldly Punishment of the Apostate: Execution
① Primary Evidence:
From ʿIkrimah رضي الله عنه, it is reported:
“ʿAlī رضي الله عنه burned some people. When Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما heard of this, he said:
‘Had I been in his place, I would not have burned them, because the Prophet ﷺ said:
“Do not punish with Allah’s punishment (i.e., fire),”
but I would have killed them, as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
“Whoever changes his religion, kill him.””
📚 Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 3017, 6922
📚 al-Tirmidhī: 1458
② Second Evidence:
From ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه, the Prophet ﷺ said:
**“It is not permissible to shed the blood of a Muslim who testifies that there is no deity but Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah—except in three cases:
- A life for a life (qiṣāṣ),
- A married adulterer,
- And the one who leaves his religion and abandons the Muslim community.”**
📚 Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 6878
📚 Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1676
📚 Musnad Aḥmad: 1/465, Ḥadīth 4429
📚 Abū Dāwūd: 4352
📚 al-Tirmidhī: 2014
📚 Ibn Ḥibbān: 5977
③ Third Evidence:
Sayyidunā ʿAlī رضي الله عنه said:
“Every apostate from Islam is to be killed if he does not repent—whether male or female.”
📚 al-Dāraqutnī: 3/93, Ḥadīth 3195
📚 (This narration is ḥasan – sound)
This was also the view of ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd and ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān رضي الله عنهما.
❖ Scholarly Consensus (Ijmāʿ):
Imām Ibn Ḥazm رحمه الله wrote:
“There is consensus among the scholars that the apostate from Islam is to be executed.”
📚 al-Muḥallā: 13/112
Imām Ibn Qudāmah رحمه الله states:
“There is consensus among the scholars on the obligation of executing the apostate. This was reported from Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, ʿAlī, Muʿādh, Abū Mūsā, Ibn ʿAbbās, Khālid ibn al-Walīd, and others—and no one objected, hence it is consensus.”
📚 al-Mughnī: 8/123
The same ijmāʿ is also reported by:
- ʿAllāmah al-Ṣanʿānī
- Ibn Daqīq al-ʿĪd
- al-Kāsānī al-Ḥanafī
📚 Subul al-Salām: 3/263
📚 Aḥkām al-Aḥkām: 3/84
📚 Badāʾiʿ al-Ṣanāʾiʿ: 7/134
📚 See: ʿUqūbat al-Iʿdām, p. 368
❖ Conclusion:
From:
- the Qur’an,
- authentic Sunnah,
- consensus of the Companions,
- and unanimous agreement of Islamic jurists and scholars,
it is clear that:
Apostasy (irtidād) from Islam is a capital offense, and the apostate is liable for execution.
For more detailed study, consult the book “ʿUqūbat al-Iʿdām” by Shaykh Muḥammad ibn Saʿd.
