Irtidad

According to Islamic belief , that apostate who did not return to Islam and did not repent, will forever burn in the deepest levels of hell ^[1] . According to Sharia law, apostasy is one of the most severe forms of unbelief ( kufr ). In some theological and legal schools ( madhhabs ), it is believed that from the moment of apostasy all the good deeds that took place in a person’s life before that turn out to be empty and meaningless ^[2] . The Shariah regards apostasy as falling away from Islam and retreating to kufr regardless of whether it was done intentionally or this action or spoken word led to unbelief. Even a joking statement about apostasy in Sharia is qualified as a denial of Islam and a fall into kufr ^[1] .

Apostasy is the following actions ^[1] :

1. Denial of the existence of God ;
2. Denial of even one of the attributes of God;
3. Non-recognition of at least one of the prophets ;
4. Defamation of a prophet;
5. The recognition of permitted sinful acts, which are considered according to the Ijma of Muslim scholars prohibited ^{[com 1]} ;
6. Recognition of prohibited acts, which according to the Ijma of Muslim scholars are allowed ^{[com 2]} ;
7. Refusal to recognize that sharia is mandatory ( fard ) ^{[com 3]} ;
8. Belief in the obligation that Ijma of Muslims did not recognize as mandatory (fard) ^{[com 4]} ;
9. The presence of an intention to become an infidel (infidel) in the future or to doubt one’s faith ^[1] ;
10. Mockery of religion.

To recognize apostasy as a fait accompli, two conditions must be met: awareness of committing apostasy ( akl ) and ease.

Sanity

A person who has crossed the line must be fully conscious and mentally full. Apostasy committed by a mentally ill person or an unconscious child is considered invalid by Sharia. Hanafites consider the apostasy committed in a state of intoxication and in a dream ^[3] invalid. However, the Shafiites and Hanbalis consider the adoption and refusal of Islam intoxicated and drunk. The drunk person who has committed the irtidad is not killed, but they wait until he is sober, and then give him 3 days to repent ^[1] .

The apostasy of a minor child, according to all schools of Islamic law, is considered to be accomplished, but the imams of Abu Hanif and Muhammad al-Shaibani did not allow heavy punishment for such children ^[4] . Imams Abu Yusuf and al-Shafi'i considered the adoption of Islam and apostasy as a child invalid, as they are not responsible for their actions. They referred to the hadith of the prophet Muhammad, which states that "children will not be asked until they reach adulthood." In the book Fatah al-Qadir and other sources it is reported that Imam Abu Hanifa later also adopted this position. All Sunni madhhabs, except Shafi’s, consider the adoption of Islam and the apostasy of a minor child to be completed ^[1] .

Ease

Islamic theologians do not consider an apostate to be a Muslim who was forced to apostasy by force, while he actually remained a Muslim in his soul. A prerequisite is a statement of apostasy made by the person himself, on the basis of his desire ^[5] .

All Muslim jurists (fakihs) believed that apostates should ultimately be executed. The reason for this is the hadith of the prophet Muhammad: “The shedding of blood of a Muslim is permitted in three cases: if he committed adultery, being married, if he committed murder and if he left his religion” ^[6] . Execution of an apostate is possible only by decision of a Sharia court in an Islamic country . However, if the irtidad is committed in war, then the apostate can be killed without trial right on the battlefield. In all other cases, the assassination of the apostate is prohibited. ^[1]

Islamic jurists are unanimous that a male apostate must be executed. On the question of what to do with a female apostate, their opinions diverged. Hanafites believe that in such cases a woman cannot be killed, she must be kept in custody and forced to accept Islam. However, other madhhabs believe that an apostate woman should be executed. The following hadith is the basis for such an opinion: “If a man has left Islam, then first invite him to Islam. Well, if he returns, but if he refuses, then carry his head. And if any woman leaves Islam, then invite her to Islam. It is good if she returns, but if she refuses, demolish her head as well ” ^[7] .

Hanafites before the execution offer the apostate to return to Islam, and in case of return this person is released from prison. If he refuses, then the apostate is given 3 days so that he thinks again and comes to repentance. In the event of the expiration of the time allotted to him for repentance, he must be executed. Islamic jurists believe that the apostate must first be invited to repentance, and then only executed. In the history of the Righteous Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab there was a case when a man came to the caliph Umar and Umar asked him: “What news did you bring?” That person replied: “One person, after accepting Islam, again renounced Allah. Therefore, we killed him. ” To this, Umar replied: “But if you had kept him first under arrest for 3 days, maybe he would have come to repentance?” And then he said: “Oh, Allah! I have nothing to do with this incident, I did not give orders to it and I didn’t have this in my thoughts ” ^[8] .

After the death of the Prophet Muhammad , a movement began against the rule of the caliph among the Arabian tribes ^[9] . Apostasy was during the life of the Prophet Muhammad, but as a mass phenomenon began after the news of the death of the Prophet Muhammad spread ^[10] .

According to legend, some Arab tribes who converted to Islam during the time of the Prophet Muhammad renounced Islam when Abu Bakr al-Siddiq became a caliph ^[9] . Some tribes did not want to pay taxes ( zakat ) to Muslim governors, while others believed the false prophets who declared themselves envoys of Allah or ar-Rahman .

By suppressing reads, we mean military expeditions sent by Abu Bakr to different areas of the Arabian Peninsula. In Central Arabia, the Assad , Ghatafan , Thayi and other tribes were suppressed ^{[com 5]} . In East Arabia, Banu Hanifa , led by the false prophet Musailima , and Banu Tamim , who followed the false prophetess Sajjah . In Yemen, there are mazhijites with the false prophet Abhala al-Aswad, and in Hadramaut, Kindits.

In the wars of Ridd , Khalid ibn al-Walid became famous as a commander. After the completion of the Ridd Wars, the caliphs were able to direct all their forces to conquest outside of Arabia. In particular, even during the life of the Prophet Muhammad, a detachment was assembled under the command of Osama ibn Zeid ^{[com 6]} for a campaign against Byzantium ^[10] .

in Russian

• Ali-zade A.A. Irtidad // Islamic Encyclopedic Dictionary . - M .: Ansar , 2007. - 400 p. - (Golden Fund of Islamic thought). - ISBN 5-98443-025-8 .
• Piotrovsky M. B. ar-Ridd // Islam: Encyclopedic Dictionary / Otv. ed. S. M. Prozorov . - M .: Science ,GDVL , 1991 - ISBN 5-02-016941-2 .

in other languages

• Griffel F. Apostasy // Encyclopaedia of Islam , THREE. Edited. - Brill Online, 2013.
• Hallaq W. . Apostasy // Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān . - Washington DC: Brill Online, 2013 ..