Can the example of Abu Basir & Abu Jandal be used to justify guerilla warfare & sabotage by Muslims today?

The story of Abu Basir and Abu Jandal is often quoted by extremists and twisted to justify carrying out criminal acts like the murder and theft of civilians in non-Muslim countries. Such acts are recommended in The Declaration of the World Islamic Front for Jihad on Jews and Crusaders (بيان الجبهة الإسلامية العالمية لجهاد اليهود والصليبيين) published in 1998 and attributed to the then leaders of Al-Qaeda. The extremist argument is based on the notion that Muslims living outside of the territory of Islam do not owe a duty of trust to the non-Muslims amongst whom they live.

Abu Jandal was a young Muslim held captive by his father, Suhayl, who, on behalf of the pagan Arabs of Quraysh, negotiated the terms of the Treaty of Hudaybiyah with the Prophet (P) in 6 AH/628 CE. The following excerpt from Musnad Ahmad (no. 18928) includes an account of the negotiations and of the escape of Abu Basir from captivity at the hands of the pagans of Mecca, and of how he was later joined by Abu Jandal (N.B. an English translation follows the Arabic text):

عن المسور بن مخرمة ومروان بن الحكم، يصدق كل واحد منهما حديث صاحبه، قالا: خرج رسول الله صلعم زمان الحديبية في بضع عشرة مائة من أصحابه. [...] فجاء سهيل بن عمرو، فقال: هات اكتب بيننا وبينكم كتابا. فدعا الكاتب، فقال رسول الله صلعم: "اكتب بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم" فقال سهيل: أما الرحمن، فوالله ما أدري ما هو، [...] ولكن اكتب باسمك اللهم كما كنت تكتب. فقال المسلمون: والله ما نكتبها إلا بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم، فقال النبي صلعم: "اكتب باسمك اللهم،" ثم قال: "هذا ما قاضى عليه محمد رسول الله" فقال سهيل: والله لو كنا نعلم أنك رسول الله، ما صددناك عن البيت ولا قاتلناك، ولكن اكتب محمد بن عبد الله، فقال النبي صلعم: "والله إني لرسول الله وإن كذبتموني، اكتب محمد بن عبد الله." [...] فقال النبي صلعم: "على أن تخلوا بيننا وبين البيت فنطوف به" فقال سهيل: والله لا تتحدث العرب أنا أخذنا ضغطة، ولكن لك من العام المقبل. فكتب، فقال سهيل: على أنه لا يأتيك منا رجل، وإن كان على دينك، إلا رددته إلينا. فقال المسلمون: سبحان الله، كيف يرد إلى المشركين وقد جاء مسلما؟ فبينا هم كذلك، إذ جاء أبو جندل بن سهيل بن عمرو يرسف، [...] وقد خرج من أسفل مكة حتى رمى بنفسه بين أظهر المسلمين. فقال سهيل: هذا يا محمد، أول ما أقاضيك عليه أن ترده إلي. فقال رسول الله صلعم: "إنا لم نقض الكتاب بعد" قال: فوالله إذا لا نصالحك على شيء أبدا. فقال النبي صلعم: "فأجزه لي" قال: ما أنا بمجيزه لك. قال: "بلى، فافعل" قال: ما أنا بفاعل. [...] فقال أبو جندل: أي معاشر المسلمين، أرد إلى المشركين وقد جئت مسلما، ألا ترون ما قد لقيت؟ وكان قد عذب عذابا شديدا في الله. فقال عمر رضي الله عنه: فأتيت النبي صلعم فقلت: ألست نبي الله؟ قال: "بلى!" قلت: ألسنا على الحق وعدونا على الباطل؟ قال: "بلى!" قال: قلت: فلم نعطي الدنية في ديننا إذا؟ قال: "إني رسول الله، ولست أعصيه، وهو ناصري." قلت: أولست كنت تحدثنا أنا سنأتي البيت فنطوف به؟ قال: "بلى!" قال: "أفأخبرتك أنك تأتيه العام؟" قلت: لا. قال: "فإنك آتيه، ومتطوف به." [...] ثم رجع إلى المدينة، فجاءه أبو بصير، رجل من قريش، وهو مسلم، [...] فاستأجر الأخنس بن شريق رجلا كافرا من بني عامر بن لؤي ومولى معه، وكتب معهما إلى رسول الله صلعم يسأله الوفاء فأرسلوا في طلبه رجلين، فقالوا: العهد الذي جعلت لنا فيه. فدفعه إلى الرجلين، فخرجا به حتى بلغا به ذا الحليفة، فنزلوا يأكلون من تمر لهم، فقال أبو بصير لأحد الرجلين: والله إني لأرى سيفك يا فلان هذا جيدا. فاستله الآخر، فقال: أجل والله إنه لجيد، لقد جربت به، ثم جربت. فقال أبو بصير: أرني أنظر إليه. فأمكنه منه، فضربه به حتى برد، وفر الآخر حتى أتى المدينة، فدخل المسجد يعدو، فقال رسول الله صلعم: "لقد رأى هذا ذعرا." فلما انتهى إلى النبي صلعم قال: قتل والله صاحبي، وإني لمقتول. فجاء أبو بصير، فقال: يا نبي الله، قد والله أوفى الله ذمتك قد رددتني إليهم، ثم أنجاني الله منهم. فقال النبي صلعم: "ويل أمه مسعر حرب لو كان له أحد." فلما سمع ذلك عرف أنه سيرده إليهم، فخرج حتى أتى سيف البحر، قال: وينفلت أبو جندل بن سهيل، فلحق بأبي بصير، فجعل لا يخرج من قريش رجل قد أسلم إلا لحق بأبي بصير حتى اجتمعت منهم عصابة، قال: فوالله ما يسمعون بعير خرجت لقريش إلى الشام إلا اعترضوا لها، فقتلوهم، وأخذوا أموالهم. فأرسلت قريش إلى النبي صلعم تناشده الله والرحم لما أرسل إليهم، فمن أتاه فهو آمن، فأرسل النبي صلعم إليهم، فأنزل الله عز وجل {وهو الذي كف أيديهم عنكم وأيديكم عنهم} حتى بلغ {حمية الجاهلية}، وكانت حميتهم أنهم لم يقروا أنه نبي الله، ولم يقروا ببسم الله الرحمن الرحيم، وحالوا بينه وبين البيت.

Al-Miswar ibn Makhramah and Marwan ibn al-Hakam, each of them corroborating the statement of his companion, said: God's Messenger (PBUH) went forth at the time of al-Hudaybiyah with some ten hundred of his Companions. [...] Suhayl ibn 'Amr came and said: “Come, write an agreement between us and you.” So he called a scribe, and God's Messenger (PBUH) said: “Write, 'In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful'.” Suhayl said: “As for the 'Merciful', by God, I know not what he is, […] rather write 'In Your name, O God,' as you used to.” The Muslims said: “By God, we will not write except, ' In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful'.” So the Prophet (PBUH) said: “Write 'In Your name, O God'.” Then he said: “This is what has been decided on by Muhammad, the Messenger of God.” So Suhayl said: “By God, if we knew that you were the Messenger of God, we would not block your way to the House, nor would we fight you. Rather write 'Muhammad ibn Abdullah'.” So the Prophet (PBUH) said: “By God, I am certainly God's Messenger, and you treat me as a liar. Write 'Muhammad ibn Abdullah'. […] Then the Prophet (PBUH) said: “that you will vacate [the area] between us and the House that we might perform the circumambulation (tawaf) of it.” So Suhayl said: “By God, don't tell the Arabs that we succumbed to pressure; rather you will have next year.” So it was written. Then Suhayl said: “that no man comes to you from us, even if he be of your religion, except you return him to us.” The Muslims said: “Glory be to God! How should he be returned to the idolaters if he has come as a Muslim?” While they were thus [debating], Abu Jandal ibn Suhayl ibn 'Amr came shackled. […] He had left from the lower part of Makkah until he threw himself before the Muslims. Suhayl said: “This, O Muhammad, is the first thing that I call on you to return to me.” God's Messenger (PBUH) said: “We have yet to complete the agreement.” [Suhayl] said: “By God, then we will not enter into a pact with you over anything ever.” So the Prophet (PBUH) said: “Permit him for my sake.” [Suhayl] said: “I  won't permit him for your sake.” He said: “Surely? Do it.” He said: “I'm not doing [it].” […] So Abu Jandal said: “O gathering of Muslims, shall I be returned to the idolaters when I came as a Muslim? Don't you see how I've been treated?” He had been tortured severely due to [his belief] in God. 'Umar (RA) said: “I came to the Prophet (PBUH) and said: 'Are you not the Prophet of God?' He said: “Of course.” I said: 'Aren't we in the right, and our enemy in the wrong?' He said: “Of course.” I said: “So why do we abase our religion?” He said: “I am God's Messenger, I do not disobey Him; and He is my Help.” I said: “Didn't you tell us that we would approach the House and perform the circumambulation of it?” He said: “Of course.” He [added]: “Did I inform you that you would approach it this year?” I said: “No!” He said: “You will approach, and you will perform the circumambulation of it.” […] Then he returned to Madina. And there came Abu Basir, a man of Quraysh who was a Muslim. […] Al-Akhnas ibn Shurayq hired a man from the disbelievers of Banu 'Amir ibn Lu'ayy, and with him a client [of the tribe], and wrote [sending] with them to God's Messenger (PBUH), asking him to be true [to the treaty]; and they sent the two men to fetch him. They said: “The contract that you made for us regards him.” So he sent him towards the two men, who left with him until they reached Dha al-Halifah, where they stopped to eat some of their dates. Abu Basir said to one of the two men: “By God, O so-and-so, I see you have a fine sword.” So the other unsheathed it, saying: “Yes, by God! It is fine. I have tried it and tried it again.” Abu Basir said: “Let me have a look at it.” Then he grabbed it and struck him with it until he was cold, meanwhile the other fled until he reached Madina, and entered the mosque running. God's Messenger (PBUH) said: “This [man] has seen terror.” When he finally reached the Prophet (P), he said: “By God, he killed my companion; and I'm a dead man.” The Abu Basir came up and said: “O Prophet of God, by God, God caused you to be true to your pledge. You returned me to them, then God rescued me from them.” The Prophet (PBUH) said: “Woe to his mother! A right firebrand of war, if ever there was one.” When [Abu Basir] heard that, he knew that he would be returned to them; so he left until he reached Sayf al-Bahr. [Then] Abu Jandal ibn Suhayl escaped and joined Abu Basir. Thus is was that no man who had become a Muslim left Quraysh except he joined Abu Basir, until they became a gang. He said: “By God, they did not hear of a single camel leaving for Syria on behalf of Quraysh except that they confronted it, killing them and seizing their goods.” So Quraysh sent [word] to the Prophet (PBUH) imploring him by God and the ties of kinship to send to them [his agreement that] whoever came to him [thereafter] would be safe. So the Prophet (PBUH) sent them [his agreement]. Then God (be He exalted) revealed (Q. 48:24-26) {It is He Who held back their hands from you and your from them} up to {the bigotry of ignorance}. Their bigotry was that they did not declare him to be the Prophet of God; that they did not begin with “In the name of God, the Compassion-ate, the Merciful”; and that they barred the way between him and the House.

Concerning account, those who twist the story in order to justify brigandage claim that the words “A right firebrand of war, if ever there was one” can be interpreted to mean that the Prophet (PBUH) was signalling covertly to Abu Basir that he had his blessing to engage in guerilla warfare and sabotage behind enemy lines. And they add to this that the expression “Woe to his mother!” is as much one of joy as of sorrow. Indeed, evidence for this latter claim can be found in the qur'anic story of Ibrahim (PBUH), when the angel came to announce that his wife Sarah would bear a child (Q. 11:71-72):

وَامْرَأَتُهُ قَائِمَةٌ فَضَحِكَتْ فَبَشَّرْنَاهَا بِإِسْحَاقَ وَمِنْ وَرَاءِ إِسْحَاقَ يَعْقُوبَ * قَالَتْ يَا وَيْلَتَى أَأَلِدُ وَأَنَا عَجُوزٌ وَهَذَا بَعْلِي شَيْخًا إِنَّ هَذَا لَشَيْءٌ عَجِيبٌ

And his wife was standing, then she laughed, and We gave her the glad tidings of Ishaq and, after Ishaq, of Ya'qub. * She said: “Woe to me! Will I give birth though I am post-menopausal, and this my spouse is an old man? This is indeed a strange thing.”

Based on this sort of interpretation, there are in our Muslim communities those who, although not extremists themselves, nevertheless out of a sense of grievance find it hard to criticise, let alone to condemn, terrorist acts perpetrated by our co-religionists against the White European descendants of the former colonial powers. The more intellectual amongst them may stretch the rules of Islamic jurisprudence in order to contend that, since the Prophet is not reported explicitly to have disapproved of Abu Basir's guerilla force, which Abu Jandal and others joined to target the economic interests of Quraysh, then he (PBUH) must have tacitly approved of the activities of Abu Basir's band which, if they had been carried out within the borders of Dar al-Islam, would have been deemed brigandage, a crime which carries the sternest of all prescribed punishment in the Qur'an:

إِنَّمَا جَزَاءُ الَّذِينَ يُحَارِبُونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَيَسْعَوْنَ فِي الأَرْضِ فَسَادًا أَنْ يُقَتَّلُوا أَوْ يُصَلَّبُوا أَوْ تُقَطَّعَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَأَرْجُلُهُمْ مِنْ خِلافٍ أَوْ يُنْفَوْا مِنَ الأَرْضِ ذَلِكَ لَهُمْ خِزْيٌ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَلَهُمْ فِي الآخِرَةِ عَذَابٌ عَظِيم

The penalty for those who wage war on God and His Messenger and strive to wreak corruption in the land is to be killed or crucified, or that their hands and feet be cut off on opposite sides, or to be exiled. That is a humiliation for them in this world, and in the Hereafter theirs is a mighty torment.
(Q. 5:33)

However, against this interpretation of the hadith in order to support a desire to use of violence against non-combatants, we have the explicit statement that “When Abu Basir heard that, he knew” that it was the Prophet's (PBUH) intention not to dispatch him to conduct guerilla operations behind enemy lines, but to return him to his captors in Mecca. There is no need to interpret it because the meaning has been made absolutely clear within the text. According to the account, Abu Basir knew the Prophet's (PBUH) mind on this occasion, which was to send him back.

Muslims claim that the Prophet (PBUH) had agreed to one thing in writing whilst implying the opposite through the use of ambiguous words, although they will not admit it, are effectively imputing that he (PBUH) displayed the same tendency to double standards that we criticise in many senior Western politicians. Such people, although they declare that they want peace in the Middle East, continue to offer unflinching support to the Israeli state despite its utter disregard for UN resolutions on the Occupied Territories and its flagrant abuses of military power, which disproportionately harm Palestinian civilians. To demonstrate the fallacy of any suggestion that the Prophet (PBUH) might have said or agreed to one thing whilst meaning another, it is useful to reflect on his parting words in another narration of the same story (Musnad Ahmad, no. 18910):

فبينا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يكتب الكتاب إذ جاءه أبو جندل بن سهيل بن عمرو في الحديد قد انفلت إلى رسول الله صلعم. قال: وقد كان أصحاب رسول الله صلعم خرجوا وهم لا يشكون في الفتح لرؤيا رآها رسول الله صلعم، فلما رأوا ما رأوا من الصلح والرجوع، وما تحمل رسول الله صلعم على نفسه، دخل الناس من ذلك أمر عظيم حتى كادوا أن يهلكوا، فلما رأى سهيل أبا جندل، قام إليه، فضرب وجهه، ثم قال: يا محمد، قد لجت القضية بيني وبينك قبل أن يأتيك هذا. قال: "صدقت." فقام إليه، فأخذ بتلبيبه، قال: وصرخ أبو جندل بأعلى صوته: يا معاشر المسلمين، أتردونني إلى أهل الشرك، فيفتنوني في ديني. قال: فزاد الناس شرا إلى ما بهم. فقال رسول الله صلعم: "يا أبا جندل اصبر واحتسب، فإن الله عز وجل جاعل لك ولمن معك من المستضعفين فرجا ومخرجا، إنا قد عقدنا بيننا وبين القوم صلحا، فأعطيناهم على ذلك، وأعطونا عليه عهدا، وإنا لن نغدر بهم."

While God's Messenger (PBUH) was [overseeing the] writing [of] the agreement, along came Abu Jandal ibn Suhayl ibn 'Amr in irons, having escaped to God's Messenger (PBUH). [The narrator] said that the Companions of God's Messenger (PBUH) had gone forth not complaining over the victory that God's Messenger (PBUH) had seen in a vision. Yet when they saw what they saw regarding the treaty and [their] return [to Madina], and what God's Messenger (PBUH) had taken upon himself, a great question arose among the people because of that, to the extent that they were on the point of perishing. When Suhayl saw [his son] Abu Jandal, he got up, struck his face and then said: “O Muhammad, the decision between you and me was fixed before this came to you.” He said: “You have spoken the truth.” So [Suhayl] arose and grabbed [Abu Jandal] by the collar, whereupon Abu Jandal cried out as loudly as he could: “O gathering of Muslims, will you return me to the people of idolatry so that they can corrupt me in my religion?” This only increased in the people their sense of foreboding at their situation. Then God's Messenger (PBUH) said: “O Abu Jandal, persevere and control yourself. God (be He exalted) has prepared for you and for the powerless ones who are with you a way out. We have concluded a treaty between [those] people and us, in which we granted them that; and they have made us a promise thereon. We will not act treacherously towards them.”

Added to this explicit statement that the Prophet (PBUH) had no intention to break his treaty is what Abu Basir himself understood to be implied by the Prophet's (PBUH) idiomatic reference to a “firebrand of war” in the first excerpt. We are left in no doubt as to this hotheaded young man's enthusiasm for Islam, but what is less obvious is the extent of understanding of the Sharia and the finer points of Islamic ethics: certainly neither he nor Abu Jandal are in the first rank of hadith transmitters. In context, what the Prophet (PBUH) most likely meant by “firebrand of war” was that he could well imagine Abu Basir acting rashly and so putting the treaty in jeopardy, and hence the Ummah in danger.

Despite Abu Basir's attempt to find a loophole in the Prophet's (PBUH) promise to Quraysh (“O Prophet of God, by God, God caused you to be true to your pledge. You returned me to them, then God rescued me from them.”), he realised that the Prophet's (PBUH) words meant that he was to be returned to captivity in Mecca. The narrator says as much quite clearly, not making the least suggestion that Abu Basir thought he was being given “a nod and a wink” to go and wage a guerrilla war behind enemy lines. To maintain otherwise is not only to contradict the evidence but also impute duplicity to the Prophet (PBUH), who had just concluded a peace treaty. Not only the Prophet's (PBUH) name, but the entire message of Islam, rested on his reputation for honesty and trustworthiness. Having seen the provocation over the fate of Abu Jandal, is it reasonable to maintain that the pagans of Mecca would not have leapt at the slightest chance to declare the Prophet (PBUH) in breach of the terms of the Treaty of al-Hudaybiyah?

If the explicit wording quoted above from Musnad Ahmad (“When [Abu Basir] heard that, he knew that he would be returned to them”) is not enough to rebut the argument of those who claim that the Prophet (PBUH) had indirectly sanctioned the raids of Abu Basir and his comrades on caravans along the coastal route, then the single example of Abdallah ibn Sa'd ibn Abi al-Sarh is sufficient. He was one of the handful of people whom the Prophet (PBUH) had ordered be put to death on the conquest of Makkah. However, Abdallah ibn Sa'd asked Uthman ibn 'Affan (RA) to intercede when he went to pledge allegiance. Twice the Prophet (PBUH) refused to take his hand, only accepting it on his third attempt (Sunan al-Nasa'i, no. 4066):

ثم أقبل على أصحابه فقال: أما كان فيكم رجل رشيد يقوم إلى هذا حيث رآني كففت يدي عن بيعته فيقتله؟ فقالوا: وما يدرينا يا رسول الله ما في نفسك، هلا أومأت إلينا بعينك؟ قال: إنه لا ينبغي لنبي أن يكون له خائنة أعين

Then he (PBUH) turned to his Companions and said: “Wasn't there a single right-thinking man amongst you to stand up to him, when you saw me hold back my hand from his pledge, and kill him?” They said: “And how were we to know, O Messenger of God, what was inside you? Why didn't you signal to us with your eye?” He said: “It is not fitting for a prophet to have treacherous eyes.”

As the above-mentioned analysis of the Treaty of al-Hudaybiyah and the anomalous status of Abu Basir and Abu Jandal demonstrates, it is not possible for a truly Islamic state to be simultaneously at peace and at war with the same people. The Medina Constitution states (al-Sirah al-Nabawiyah / Ibn Hisham):

وَإِنَّ سِلْمَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَاحِدَةٌ لَا يُسَالَمُ مُؤْمِنٌ دُونَ مُؤْمِنٍ فِي قِتَالٍ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ إلَّا عَلَى سَوَاءٍ وَعَدْلٍ بَيْنَهُمْ

The peace of the believers is one. A believer may not forge a peace while another believer is fighting in the way of God, except it be fair and just [to all] between them.

Although scholars differ regarding the meaning of the word 'peace' in the following verse (Q. 2:208), with most agreeing that it refers to Islam, it is clear that it urges commitment and warns against the traits of half-heartedness and duplicity, which some - no doubt unwittingly - ascribe to our Prophet (PBUH):

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ادْخُلُوا فِي السِّلْمِ كَافَّةً وَلا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُبِينٌ

O you who believe, enter into peace fully, and do not follow the footsteps of Satan; he is a clear enemy to you.

However, there is no ambiguity about the next verse (Q. 9:36).

وَقَاتِلُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ كَافَّةً كَمَا يُقَاتِلُونَكُمْ كَافَّةً وَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الْمُتَّقِينَ

Engage fully in fighting the polytheists just as they engage fully in fighting you; and know that God is with the pious.

Nor about these (Q. 8:61-62):

وَإِنْ جَنَحُوا لِلسَّلْمِ فَاجْنَحْ لَهَا وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ * وَإِنْ يُرِيدُوا أَنْ يَخْدَعُوكَ فَإِنَّ حَسْبَكَ اللَّهُ هُوَ الَّذِي أَيَّدَكَ بِنَصْرِهِ وَبِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ

And if they embrace peace then you embrace it [also] and put your trust in God; He is indeed All-hearing, All-knowing. * And if they mean to trick you, God is sufficient for you. It is He Who helped you with His victory and with the believers.

For this reason, it does not make sense for groups of individual Muslims to claim to be waging a war against a land with which Dar al-Islam generally is at peace, regardless of the fact that we live today in a post-colonial, post-caliphate era, in which Dar al-Islam comprises a number of separate “nation states”. Like the fighting that arose between the Companions of the Prophet (PBUH) during the caliphate of Ali ibn Abi Talib, the case of Abu Jandal and Abu Basir was special and ought not to be used as a precedent.

من هو "المارق من الدين التارك للجماعة" الذي يحل دمه؟

بسمه تعالى

For a longer version in English: http://islam15.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/hadiths-relating-to-issue-of-apostasy.html

من هو "المارق من الدين التارك للجماعة" الذي يحل دمه؟ هل هو المرتد عن الإسلام أم المسلم المتطرف الذي يستعمل العنف لكي يحقق أهدافه السياسية؟

الحديث الأول من صحيح البخاري (87/17): حدثنا عمر بن حفص، حدثنا أبي، حدثنا الأعمش، عن عبد الله بن مرة، عن مسروق، عن عبد الله، قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: لا يحل دم امرئ مسلم، يشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأني رسول الله، إلا بإحدى ثلاث: النفس بالنفس، والثيب الزاني، والمارق من الدين التارك للجماعة

الحديث الثاني من سنن النسائي (37/83): أخبرنا العباس بن محمد الدوري قال: حدثنا أبو عامر العقدي، عن إبراهيم بن طهمان، عن عبد العزيز بن رفيع، عن عبيد بن عمير، عن عائشة، أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: لا يحل دم امرئ مسلم إلا بإحدى ثلاث خصال: زان محصن يرجم، أو رجل قتل رجلا متعمدا فيقتل، أو رجل يخرج من الإسلام يحارب الله عز وجل ورسوله فيقتل أو يصلب أو ينفى من الأرض

الحديث الثالث من صحيح البخاري (66/82): حدثنا محمد بن كثير، أخبرنا سفيان، حدثنا الأعمش، عن خيثمة، عن سويد بن غفلة، قال علي رضي الله عنه: سمعت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: يأتي في آخر الزمان قوم حدثاء الأسنان، سفهاء الأحلام، يقولون من خير قول البرية، يمرقون من الإسلام كما يمرق السهم من الرمية، لا يجاوز إيمانهم حناجرهم، فأينما لقيتموهم فاقتلوهم، فإن قتلهم أجر لمن قتلهم يوم القيامة

الحديث الرابع من صحيح مسلم (12/207): حدثنا أبو بكر بن أبي شيبة، حدثنا علي بن مسهر، عن الشيباني، عن يسير بن عمرو، قال: سألت سهل بن حنيف، هل سمعت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يذكر الخوارج، فقال: سمعته وأشار بيده نحو المشرق: قوم يقرءون القرآن بألسنتهم لا يعدو تراقيهم يمرقون من الدين، كما يمرق السهم من الرمية

الحديث الخامس من صحيح مسلم (12/195) أيضًا: حدثنا شيبان بن فروخ، حدثنا القاسم وهو ابن الفضل الحداني، حدثنا أبو نضرة، عن أبي سعيد الخدري، قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: تمرق مارقة عند فرقة من المسلمين، يقتلها أولى الطائفتين بالحق

الحديث السادس من صحيح مسلم (12/186): حدثنا محمد بن رمح بن المهاجر، أخبرنا الليث، عن يحيى بن سعيد، عن أبي الزبير، عن جابر بن عبد الله، قال: أتى رجل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بالجعرانة منصرفه من حنين، وفي ثوب بلال فضة، ورسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقبض منها، يعطي الناس، فقال: يا محمد، اعدل، قال: ويلك ومن يعدل إذا لم أكن أعدل؟ لقد خبت وخسرت إن لم أكن أعدل. فقال عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه: دعني، يا رسول الله فأقتل هذا المنافق، فقال: معاذ الله أن يتحدث الناس أني أقتل أصحابي، إن هذا وأصحابه يقرءون القرآن، لا يجاوز حناجرهم، يمرقون منه كما يمرق السهم من الرمية

الحديث السابع من صحيح مسلم (12/204): حدثنا عبد بن حميد، حدثنا عبد الرزاق بن همام، حدثنا عبد الملك بن أبي سليمان، حدثنا سلمة بن كهيل، حدثني زيد بن وهب الجهني، أنه كان في الجيش الذين كانوا مع علي رضي الله عنه، الذين ساروا إلى الخوارج، فقال علي رضي الله عنه: أيها الناس إني سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: يخرج قوم من أمتي يقرءون القرآن، ليس قراءتكم إلى قراءتهم بشيء، ولا صلاتكم إلى صلاتهم بشيء، ولا صيامكم إلى صيامهم بشيء، يقرءون القرآن يحسبون أنه لهم وهو عليهم، لا تجاوز صلاتهم تراقيهم يمرقون من الإسلام كما يمرق السهم من الرمية. لو يعلم الجيش الذين يصيبونهم، ما قضي لهم على لسان نبيهم صلى الله عليه وسلم، لاتكلوا عن العمل، «وآية ذلك أن فيهم رجلا له عضد، وليس له ذراع، على رأس عضده مثل حلمة الثدي، عليه شعرات بيض» فتذهبون إلى معاوية وأهل الشام وتتركون هؤلاء يخلفونكم في ذراريكم وأموالكم، والله، إني لأرجو أن يكونوا هؤلاء القوم، فإنهم قد سفكوا الدم الحرام، وأغاروا في سرح الناس، فسيروا على اسم الله. قال سلمة بن كهيل: فنزلني زيد بن وهب منزلا، حتى قال: مررنا على قنطرة، فلما التقينا وعلى الخوارج يومئذ عبد الله بن وهب الراسبي، فقال: لهم ألقوا الرماح، وسلوا سيوفكم من جفونها، فإني أخاف أن يناشدوكم كما ناشدوكم يوم حروراء، فرجعوا فوحشوا برماحهم، وسلوا السيوف، وشجرهم الناس برماحهم، قال: وقتل بعضهم على بعض، وما أصيب من الناس يومئذ إلا رجلان، فقال علي رضي الله عنه: التمسوا فيهم المخدج، فالتمسوه فلم يجدوه، فقام علي رضي الله عنه بنفسه حتى أتى ناسا قد قتل بعضهم على بعض، قال: أخروهم، فوجدوه مما يلي الأرض، فكبر، ثم قال: صدق الله، وبلغ رسوله، قال: فقام إليه عبيدة السلماني، فقال: يا أمير المؤمنين، ألله الذي لا إله إلا هو، لسمعت هذا الحديث من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم؟ فقال: إي، والله الذي لا إله إلا هو، حتى استحلفه ثلاثا، وهو يحلف له

وهناك عدة أحاديث أخرى مثل هذه، التي تستعمل اشتقاقات لفظ مرق. فمن هو المارق من الدين الذي يحل دمه؟ هل هو المرتد الذي لا يلحق بكفره محاربة الله ورسوله صلى الله عليه وسلم، أم هو عين الذين يمرقون من الإسلام كما يمرق السهم من الرمية، أي الخوارج؟

وكما قال تعالى في كتابه العزيز (49/9): {وَإِنْ طَائِفَتَانِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اقْتَتَلُوا فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَهُمَا فَإِنْ بَغَتْ إِحْدَاهُمَا عَلَى الْأُخْرَى فَقَاتِلُوا الَّتِي تَبْغِي حَتَّى تَفِيءَ إِلَى أَمْرِ اللَّهِ فَإِنْ فَاءَتْ فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَهُمَا بِالْعَدْلِ وَأَقْسِطُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ} إن مقاتلة أهل البغي التي أمرنا الله بها قد تؤدي إلى قتل بعض هؤلاء البغاة قبل فيء الطائفة التي تبغي إلى أمر الله، فلذلك تؤكد السنة أنه يحل دماء الذين يمرقون من الدين ويتركون الجماعة لكي يقاتلوها.

الحديث الثامن من صحيح مسلم (28/34): حدثنا أبو بكر بن أبي شيبة، حدثنا حفص بن غياث، وأبو معاوية، ووكيع، عن الأعمش، عن عبد الله بن مرة، عن مسروق، عن عبد الله، قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: لا يحل دم امرئ مسلم يشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأني رسول الله إلا بإحدى ثلاث الثيب الزان والنفس بالنفس والتارك لدينه المفارق للجماعة

إن افترضنا، بناء على هذه الرواية من الحديث الأول من صحيح البخاري، إنه يتضمن المسلم الباغي ورجلا ارتد من الإسلام إلى الكفر مع الزاني الثيب والنفس بالنفس، أليس هذا معناه أن عدد الخصال أربع؟

والله أعلم

طرح هذا السؤال رودريك فاسي يوم الاثنين، الخامس من ذي الحجة 1435 (الموافق 29 سبتمبر 2014)، بعد قراءة كتاب جمال البنا، أخي الشهيد حسن البنا، بعنوان "تفنيد دعوى حد الردة"

َQuestion posed by Roderic Vassie on 29th September 2014.

The persistent invalid use of "Rule belongs to God alone" in Muslim extremism

This hadith from Sahih Muslim (12/205) gives pause for thought, as it refers to one of the remarkable similarities between this tendency towards extremists that has exists amongst a minority of Muslims from the very first until today:

حدثني أبو الطاهر، ويونس بن عبد الأعلى، قالا: أخبرنا عبد الله بن وهب، أخبرني عمرو بن الحارث، عن بكير بن الأشج، عن بسر بن سعيد، عن عبيد الله بن أبي رافع، مولى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أن الحرورية لما خرجت، وهو مع علي بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه، قالوا: لا حكم إلا لله، قال علي: كلمة حق أريد بها باطل، إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وصف ناسا، إني لأعرف صفتهم في هؤلاء، يقولون الحق بألسنتهم لا يجوز هذا، منهم، - وأشار إلى حلقه - من أبغض خلق الله إليه منهم أسود، إحدى يديه طبي شاة أو حلمة ثدي. فلما قتلهم علي بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه قال: انظروا، فنظروا فلم يجدوا شيئا، فقال: ارجعوا فوالله، ما كذبت ولا كذبت، مرتين أو ثلاثا، ثم وجدوه في خربة، فأتوا به حتى وضعوه بين يديه، قال عبيد الله: وأنا حاضر ذلك من أمرهم، وقول علي فيهم

زاد يونس في روايته: قال بكير: وحدثني رجل عن ابن حنين أنه، قال: رأيت ذلك الأسود

[Narrated] from Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Rafi', the freed slave of God's Messenger (PBUH), [reported] that, when the Haruriyah seceded, he was with Ali ibn Abi Talib (may God be pleased with him). [The rebels] said: "There is no rule except God's." Ali said: "A word of truth, by which falsehood is intended. God's Messenger (PBUH) described people whose traits I recognise in these. They say the truth with their tongues, [but] it does not go beyond this in them" (and he pointed to his throat)...

On top of the entrance of this courthouse, which was set up by the group which was still, when the photograph below was taken, calling itself الدولة الإسلامية في العراق والشام ("The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria"), one can read inscribed almost exactly the same words, but with exactly the same meaning, as those uttered with false intention by the earliest Muslim rebels who deserted the Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib:

إن الحكم إلا لله

Rule belongs to God alone.

(You may need to click on the image to see it all.)

If the proposed interpretation of "the renegade from the religion" to mean "extremist" rather than "apostate" is correct, then the full horror in IS / ISIL / ISIS's ironic use of that phrase becomes apparent.

For an exploration of key hadiths traditionally related to #apostasy and how they may in fact refer to #extremism, see: http://islam15.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/hadiths-relating-to-issue-of-apostasy.html

Hadiths relating to the issue of apostasy

بسمه تعالى

Does apostasy carry a mandatory death penalty in the Sharia? Below is a brief exploration of the authentic hadiths on the topic, which are mentioned in Jamal al-Banna's refutation of the claim that there is in Islam a prescribed punishment (تفنيد دعوى حد الردة). Proceeding beyond al-Banna's cogent argument, it appears that there a good linguistic reasons to conclude for that some of the hadiths traditionally presented as evidence in favour of such a penalty for apostasy ought more logically to be applied to those violent extremists who to this day are the most frequent in demanding the execution of apostates, be they real or supposed. 

This first hadith from Sahih al-Bukhari (93/71) shows the approach of the Prophet (PBUH) towards those who openly chose to leave the fold of Islam as a matter of simple belief not accompanied by any universally recognised criminal behaviour:

حدثنا عبد الله بن يوسف، أخبرنا مالك، عن محمد بن المنكدر، عن جابر بن عبد الله: أن أعرابيا بايع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم على الإسلام، فأصاب الأعرابي وعك بالمدينة، فأتى الأعرابي إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، فقال: يا رسول الله، أقلني بيعتي، فأبى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، ثم جاءه فقال: أقلني بيعتي، فأبى، ثم جاءه فقال: أقلني بيعتي، فأبى، فخرج الأعرابي، فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: «إنما المدينة كالكير، تنفي خبثها، وينصع طيبها

[Narrated] from Jabir ibn Abd Allah that a Bedouin pledged allegiance to Islam at the hand of God's Messenger (PBUH); then the Bedouin was struck by a fever in Medina, so he came to God's Messenger (PBUH) and said, "O Messenger of God, annul my pledge," but God's Messenger (PBUH) refused. Then he came to him [again] and said: "Annul my pledge," but he refused. Then he came to him [again] and said: "Annul my pledge," but he refused. So the Bedouin left. Then God's Messenger (PBUH) said: "Medina is just like [a blacksmith's] bellows: it expels its impurity and makes gleam its good."

Along with the Prophet's (PBUH) agreement with the terms of the Treaty of al-Hudaybiyah, in which all who wished to leave Medina - and, by inference, Islam - to return to Mecca unmolested should be free to do so, the above hadith demonstrates that, in the case of a person like that Bedouin in Medina in the ten years after the Hijrah, there was no worldly penalty merely for abandoning the faith. Although the Prophet (PBUH) refused to accept or to grant an annulment of the pledge, he did not stand in the way of someone who was determined to break his promise. 

The next, very long hadith, also from Sahih al-Bukhari (87/38), raises a number of interesting questions on criminal and penal law in the Sharia, with the specific references to apostasy highlighted in bold:

حدثنا قتيبة بن سعيد، حدثنا أبو بشر إسماعيل بن إبراهيم الأسدي: حدثنا الحجاج بن أبي عثمان، حدثني أبو رجاء، من آل أبي قلابة: حدثني أبو قلابة: أن عمر بن عبد العزيز أبرز سريره يوما للناس، ثم أذن لهم فدخلوا، فقال: ما تقولون في القسامة؟ قال: نقول: القسامة القود بها حق، وقد أقادت بها الخلفاء. قال لي: ما تقول يا أبا قلابة؟ ونصبني للناس، فقلت: يا أمير المؤمنين، عندك رءوس الأجناد وأشراف العرب، أرأيت لو أن خمسين منهم شهدوا على رجل محصن بدمشق أنه قد زنى، لم يروه، أكنت ترجمه؟ قال: لا. قلت: أرأيت لو أن خمسين منهم شهدوا على رجل بحمص أنه سرق، أكنت تقطعه ولم يروه؟ قال: لا، قلت: فوالله ما قتل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أحدا قط إلا في إحدى ثلاث خصال: رجل قتل بجريرة نفسه فقتل، أو رجل زنى بعد إحصان، أو رجل حارب الله ورسوله، وارتد عن الإسلام. فقال القوم: أوليس قد حدث أنس بن مالك: أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قطع في السرق، وسمر الأعين، ثم نبذهم في الشمس؟ فقلت: أنا أحدثكم حديث أنس: حدثني أنس: أن نفرا من عكل ثمانية، قدموا على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فبايعوه على الإسلام، فاستوخموا الأرض فسقمت أجسامهم، فشكوا ذلك إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، قال: أفلا تخرجون مع راعينا في إبله، فتصيبون من ألبانها وأبوالها. قالوا: بلى، فخرجوا فشربوا من ألبانها وأبوالها، فصحوا، فقتلوا راعي رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وأطردوا النعم، فبلغ ذلك رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فأرسل في آثارهم، فأدركوا فجيء بهم، فأمر بهم فقطعت أيديهم وأرجلهم، وسمر أعينهم، ثم نبذهم في الشمس حتى ماتوا، قلت: وأي شيء أشد مما صنع هؤلاء؟ ارتدوا عن الإسلام، وقتلوا وسرقوا. فقال عنبسة بن سعيد: والله إن سمعت كاليوم قط، فقلت: أترد علي حديثي يا عنبسة؟ قال: لا، ولكن جئت بالحديث على وجهه، والله لا يزال هذا الجند بخير ما عاش هذا الشيخ بين أظهرهم، قلت: وقد كان في هذا سنة من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، دخل عليه نفر من الأنصار، فتحدثوا عنده، فخرج رجل منهم بين أيديهم فقتل، فخرجوا بعده، فإذا هم بصاحبهم يتشحط في الدم، فرجعوا إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقالوا: يا رسول الله، صاحبنا كان تحدث معنا، فخرج بين أيدينا، فإذا نحن به يتشحط في الدم، فخرج رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال: بمن تظنون، أو من ترون، قتله؟ قالوا: نرى أن اليهود قتلته، فأرسل إلى اليهود فدعاهم، فقال: آنتم قتلتم هذا؟ قالوا: لا، قال: أترضون نفل خمسين من اليهود ما قتلوه؟ فقالوا: ما يبالون أن يقتلونا أجمعين، ثم ينتفلون، قال: أفتستحقون الدية بأيمان خمسين منكم؟ قالوا: ما كنا لنحلف، فوداه من عنده
قلت: وقد كانت هذيل خلعوا خليعا لهم في الجاهلية، فطرق أهل بيت من اليمن بالبطحاء، فانتبه له رجل منهم، فحذفه بالسيف فقتله، فجاءت هذيل، فأخذوا اليماني فرفعوه إلى عمر بالموسم، وقالوا: قتل صاحبنا، فقال: إنهم قد خلعوه، فقال: يقسم خمسون من هذيل ما خلعوه، قال: فأقسم منهم تسعة وأربعون رجلا، وقدم رجل منهم من الشأم، فسألوه أن يقسم، فافتدى يمينه منهم بألف درهم، فأدخلوا مكانه رجلا آخر، فدفعه إلى أخي المقتول، فقرنت يده بيده، قالوا: فانطلقا والخمسون الذين أقسموا، حتى إذا كانوا بنخلة، أخذتهم السماء، فدخلوا في غار في الجبل، فانهجم الغار على الخمسين الذين أقسموا فماتوا جميعا، وأفلت القرينان، واتبعهما حجر فكسر رجل أخي المقتول، فعاش حولا ثم مات، قلت: وقد كان عبد الملك بن مروان أقاد رجلا بالقسامة، ثم ندم بعد ما صنع، فأمر بالخمسين الذين أقسموا، فمحوا من الديوان، وسيرهم إلى الشأم

Abu Qilabah told me that Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz opened up his throne [room] to the people one day, inviting them to enter, and saying: "What do you say about [the practice of] swearing on oath?" [Someone] said: "We say that, regarding swearing on oath, [issuing rulings of] retaliation on the basis of it is right, as the caliphs issued [rulings of] retaliation based on it." [Umar] said to me: "What do you say, O Abu Qilabah? Help me advise the people." So I said: "O Commander of the Faithful, you have with you the leaders of the army and the noblest of the Arabs. Suppose that fifty of them testified against a married man in Damascus, that he had committed adultery, even though they had not seen him, would you have him stoned?" [Umar] said: "No!" I said: "Suppose that fifty of them testified against a married man in Homs, that he had stolen, would you have him amputated, even though they had not seen him?" He said: "No!" I said: "By God, God's Messenger (PBUH) never killed anyone except for one of three reasons: a man who killed on purpose, so was [in turn] killed; or a man who fornicated after getting married; or a man who waged war on God and His Messenger and reverted from Islam [to disbelief]." So the people said: "Did not Malik ibn Anas relate that God's Messenger (PBUH) amputated in the case of theft, plucked out eyes, then left them in the sun [to die]?" So I said: "I will relate to you the hadith of Anas. Anas told me that eight people of the 'Ukl tribe approached God's Messenger (PBUH) and pledged allegiance to Islam at his hand. The land became unhealthy, and their bodies fell sick; so they complained about that to God's Messenger (PBUH), who said: 'Will you not accompany our herdsman with the camels, taking of their milk and urine?' They said: 'Of course!' So they went off, drank their milk and urine, and were restored to health. Then they killed the herdsman of God's Messenger (PBUH) and made off with the livestock. That [news] reached God's Messenger (PBUH), so he sent [men] to follow their trail, and they were caught, brought back, and an order given regarding them. Their hands and feet were cut off, their eyes plucked out, then they were left in the sun to die." I said: "What thing could be more severe than what these [people] did? They reverted from Islam, killed and stole." Then 'Anbasah ibn Sa'id said: "By God, I never before heard [it] like today." So I said: "Do you reject my hadith, O 'Anbasah?" He said: "No, but you have reproduced the hadith as it should be. By God, this army will remain sound so long as this sheikh lives among them." I said: "In this there was a tradition (sunnah) of God's Messenger (PBUH). Some of the Ansar entered upon him, and they discussed in his presence; then a man among them went out in front of them and was killed. They came out after him, and there they were with their companion left lying in [a pool of] blood. So they returned to God's Messenger (PBUH) and said: "O Messenger of God, our companion was talking with us and went out before us, and there we [found] him, left lying in [his] blood." So God's Messenger (PBUH) went out and said: "Whom do you suspect, or who do you think killed him?" They said: "We think the Jews killed him." So he sent for the Jews and bid them come, then said: "Did you kill this [man]?"  They said: "No!"  He said [to the Ansar]: "Are you content to call on fifty Jews [to swear on oath] they did not kill him?" They said: "They wouldn't mind killing us all and then swearing on oath [to the contrary]." He said: "Do you merit compensation on the strength of the oath of fifty of you [that the Jews killed him]?" They said: "We were not ready to swear [it]." So [the Prophet] paid the compensation.
I said: "The Hudhayl tribe had outlawed a miscreant amongst them during the Jahiliyah. He set out to do harm to a family from Yemen at al-Batha'. A man amongst them noticed him and knocked him down with a sword, killing him. Then the tribe of Hudhayl came, took the Yemeni man, and brought him before Umar during the [Hajj] season, saying: 'He killed our companion.' He said: 'They had outlawed him.' So [Umar] said: 'Let fifty of Hudhayl swear they had not outlawed him.' Forty-nine of their men swore. [Another] man of theirs approached from Syria, and they asked him to swear; but, instead of giving his oath, he paid out a thousand dirhams. So they had another man take his place, [while] he paid [the money] to the brother of the victim, and he shook his hand. They said: 'The two of them set off, and the fifty who had sworn on oath, until they came to Nakhlah, [where rain from] the heavens caught them; so they entered a cave in the mountain, and the cave fell in on the fifty who had sworn, and they all died. [Only] the two who had shaken hands escaped; but a rock tumbled after them, breaking the leg of the victim's brother, who survived a year and then died.'"
I said: "[The caliph] Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan had a man sentenced on the strength of oaths, but later regretted what he had done. So he ordered that the fifty who had swore [be produced], then they struck them off the register, and he banished them to Syria."

In the above authentic tradition, it is clear that the apostasy that is linked to such universally recognised crimes as murder, robbery and theft is punishable. It is interesting to note that the words of the Prophet (PBUH) himself in the hadith put "waging war on God and His Messenger" before reverting from Islam back to disbelief, whereas Abu Qilabah, in commenting on it, reverses the order. Why is this? Is it that, during the lifetime of the Prophet (PBUH), committing major sins was seen as de facto apostasy whereas almost a century later, during the caliphate of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, the mere renouncing one's faith was considered such a heinous crime against society and the state (most of whose citizens were not Muslim) that it surpassed even murder in the public imagination?

The punishment mentioned by Anas ibn Malik, the narrator of the above hadith in relation to the highwaymen of the tribe of 'Ukl is found in the Qur'an (5:33):

{إنما جزاء الذين يحاربون الله ورسوله ويسعون في الأرض فسادًا أن يُقتّلوا أو يصلّبوا أو تقطّع أيديهم وأرجلهم من خلاف أو يُنفَوا من الأرض : ذلك لهم خزي في الدنيا، ولهم في الآخرة عذاب عطيم}

{The only [fitting] recompense for those who wage war on God and His Messenger and roam the land [seeking] to cause corruption is that they be put to death, or crucified, or their hands and feet chopped off from opposite sides, or that they be banished from the land. That is to disgrace them in this world; and in the Hereafter, theirs is a mighty torment.}

As those familiar with the Qur'an come naturally to expect, after mentioning the harshest of punishments, the next verse (5:34) exposes the door to repentance and forgiveness that remains open to the last:

{إلا الذين تابوا من قبل أن تقدروا عليهم، فاعلموا أن الله غفور رحيم}

{Except those who repent before you are able to arrest them: so know that God is All-forgiving, All-merciful.}

By referring to the lawfulness of convicting a person on the strength of even fifty non-eyewitness accounts, the previous hadith raises an important issue in relation to the following, also from Sahih al-Bukhari (56/226):

حدثنا علي بن عبد الله، حدثنا سفيان، عن أيوب، عن عكرمة، أن عليًا رضي الله عنه، حرق قوما، فبلغ ابن عباس فقال: لو كنت أنا لم أحرقهم لأن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: لا تعذبوا بعذاب الله، ولقتلتهم كما قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: من بدل دينه فاقتلوه

[Narrated] from 'Ikrimah that Ali (may God be pleased with him) burned [some] people alive. [This news] reached Ibn Abbas, who said: "Had it been me, I would not have burned them, for the Prophet (PBUH) said: 'Do not torment with the torment of God'; but I would definitely have killed them as the Prophet (PBUH) said: 'Whoever changes his religion, kill him.'"

There are a number different chains of narration for this clear statement preserved in various authoritative collections of hadiths; however, on examination, they are all based on the report of a single witness, Ibn Abbas. On the strength of the evidence, of all the Companions, he - and he alone - was the only person on record to have heard these words from the mouth of the Prophet (PBUH). As such, the jurists down the ages have rightly agreed that it is insufficient on its own to establish a mandatory prescribed punishment (or Hadd حدّ). Furthermore, according to the commentaries, the reported context of the utterance again relates to violence and war, and in particular to the decision of some Jewish allies to switch sides during a battle.

So what evidence remains to support a mandatory prescribed death penalty for all apostates, regardless of any associated crime against a person or society? This fourth hadith, again from Sahih al-Bukhari (87/17), is often cited:

حدثنا عمر بن حفص، حدثنا أبي، حدثنا الأعمش، عن عبد الله بن مرة، عن مسروق، عن عبد الله، قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: لا يحل دم امرئ مسلم، يشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأني رسول الله، إلا بإحدى ثلاث: النفس بالنفس، والثيب الزاني، والمارق من الدين التارك للجماعة

[Narrated] from Abd Allah, who said: God's Messenger (PBUH) said: "[Shedding] the blood of a Muslim man who bears witness that there is no god but God, and that I am the Messenger of God, is not lawful except in one of three: a life for a life; the married fornicator; and the renegade from the religion who leaves the community."

Contrary to the hadith narrated from Ibn Abbas earlier, this one reaches the required standard of proof in terms of the number of different Companions who reported hearing it. However, as Jamal al-Banna notes in his book تفنيد دعوى حد الردة (lit. A refutation of the claim of a prescribed penalty for apostasy), while there is no doubt that it is authentic, its wording is such that the meaning is incomplete. He argues that, in order to correctly understand the hadith, as in many other instances, it is necessary to turn to that fuller version of it narrated from Aishah, as recorded in Sunan al-Nasa'i (37/83):

أخبرنا العباس بن محمد الدوري قال: حدثنا أبو عامر العقدي، عن إبراهيم بن طهمان، عن عبد العزيز بن رفيع، عن عبيد بن عمير، عن عائشة، أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: لا يحل دم امرئ مسلم إلا بإحدى ثلاث خصال: زان محصن يرجم، أو رجل قتل رجلا متعمدا فيقتل، أو رجل يخرج من الإسلام يحارب الله عز وجل ورسوله فيقتل أو يصلب أو ينفى من الأرض

[Narrated] from Aishah that God's Messenger (PBUH) said: "[Shedding] the blood of a Muslim man who bears witness that there is no god but God, and that I am the Messenger of God, is not lawful except in one of three instances: a married fornicator, who should be stoned; or a man who kills another man deliberately, who should be slain; or a man who leaves [the fold of] Islam to wage war on God (may He be extolled) and His Messenger, who should slain or crucified or exiled from the land."

Here the link to "waging war on God and His Messenger" is once again made explicit, as it was in the account of the men of the  'Ukl tribe who, having regained their health, conspired to murder the Prophet's (PBUH) herdsman and make off with the camels. To maintain that proven apostasy always carries a death sentence is untenable, Jamal al-Banna cogently argues, because it does not fit with what we know of the Prophet's (PBUH) practice either from the first hadith mentioned above or from the second of the principal terms of the Treaty of al-Hudaybiyah, which today's supporters of restoring a global caliphate cite ("If anyone from the Quraysh embraced Islam and came to Muhammad (saw) without the permission of his guardian, he would return him to them, and if anyone from those with Muhammad came to the Quraysh, they need not return him to Muhammad.") but from which they fail to draw lessons. If a mandatory death penalty is prescribed for all apostates, an explanation is required for why the Prophet (PBUH) sometimes applied it and sometimes didn't.

There are, however, another possible arguments in favour of restricting the application of the death penalty to what is explicitly stated in the hadith as recorded in Sunan al-Nasa'i from Aishah. First, to hold that the words "a Muslim man who bears witness that there is no god but God, and that I am the Messenger of God" mean an apostate requires a tortured interpretation since, by definition, an apostate from Islam is bound to reject the Prophet's (PBUH) status as a messenger of God, even if he or she continues to assert a belief in the existence and oneness of God. Second, what exactly is meant by "the renegade from the religion who leaves the community", sometimes translated as 'apostate'? The Arabic word translated as 'renegade' in the phrase is maariq (مارق). To refine our understanding of the word, it helps to look at uses of the word in the context of other hadiths.

Keeping with Sahih al-Bukhari (66/82), we find the following use of the verb yamruqoon (يمرقون) in bold, of which maariq (مارق) in the hadith above is the active participle:

حدثنا محمد بن كثير، أخبرنا سفيان، حدثنا الأعمش، عن خيثمة، عن سويد بن غفلة، قال علي رضي الله عنه: سمعت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: يأتي في آخر الزمان قوم حدثاء الأسنان، سفهاء الأحلام، يقولون من خير قول البرية، يمرقون من الإسلام كما يمرق السهم من الرمية، لا يجاوز إيمانهم حناجرهم، فأينما لقيتموهم فاقتلوهم، فإن قتلهم أجر لمن قتلهم يوم القيامة

[Narrated] from Suwayd ibn Ghaflah that Ali (may God be pleased with him) said: "I heard the Prophet (PBUH) say: 'There will come at the end of time a people young of tooth, foolish regarding their ideas; they will talk the talk of the best of mankind, passing through Islam as an arrow passes through prey. Their faith will not pass beyond their throats [to their hearts]. So, wherever you find them, slay them; for slaying them [carries] a reward on the Day of Resurrection for whoever slays them.'"

If one were to choose a single word in English to convey the meaning of the Prophet's (PBUH) description of those who pass through the religion of Islam, the most obvious choice would be "extremist". By comparing this with the earlier hadith, we again find no difficulty in applying the term "extremist" to "a Muslim man who bears witness that there is no god but God, and that I am the Messenger of God."

There are numerous other hadiths of this kind, for example, in Sahih Muslim (12/207):

حدثنا أبو بكر بن أبي شيبة، حدثنا علي بن مسهر، عن الشيباني، عن يسير بن عمرو، قال: سألت سهل بن حنيف، هل سمعت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يذكر الخوارج، فقال: سمعته وأشار بيده نحو المشرق: قوم يقرءون القرآن بألسنتهم لا يعدو تراقيهم يمرقون من الدين، كما يمرق السهم من الرمية

[Narrated] from Yasir ibn 'Amr, who said: I asked Sahl ibn Hanif: "Did you hear the Prophet (PBUH) mention the Kharawij [i.e. rebels]?" So he said: "I heard him [describe them as] (and he pointed towards the East with his hand): 'A people who recite the Qur'an with their tongues, [but] it does not go beyond their throats, they pass through the religion as an arrow passes through prey.'"

Or again from Sahih Muslim (12/195), using the root word twice while clearly associating it with Muslims, not apostates:

حدثنا شيبان بن فروخ، حدثنا القاسم وهو ابن الفضل الحداني، حدثنا أبو نضرة، عن أبي سعيد الخدري، قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: تمرق مارقة عند فرقة من المسلمين، يقتلها أولى الطائفتين بالحق

[Narrated] from Abu Sa'id al-Hudhri, who said: "God's Messenger (PBUH) said: 'A group of renegades will secede when there is disunity among the Muslims; and the first of the two groups will justly slay them.'"

Of course, this cannot mean that Muslims should turn their attention from exposing peaceful apostates to hunting down and killing all those with extremist views. If this had been the case, the Prophet (PBUH) would surely have done it in the case of those whom he identified as being of an extremist bent. However, the opposite is true, as the following hadith from Sahih Muslim (12/186) makes abundantly clear:

حدثنا محمد بن رمح بن المهاجر، أخبرنا الليث، عن يحيى بن سعيد، عن أبي الزبير، عن جابر بن عبد الله، قال: أتى رجل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بالجعرانة منصرفه من حنين، وفي ثوب بلال فضة، ورسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقبض منها، يعطي الناس، فقال: يا محمد، اعدل، قال: ويلك ومن يعدل إذا لم أكن أعدل؟ لقد خبت وخسرت إن لم أكن أعدل. فقال عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه: دعني، يا رسول الله فأقتل هذا المنافق، فقال: معاذ الله، أن يتحدث الناس أني أقتل أصحابي، إن هذا وأصحابه يقرءون القرآن، لا يجاوز حناجرهم، يمرقون منه كما يمرق السهم من الرمية

[Narrated] from Jabir ibn Abd Allah, who said: "A man came to God's Messenger (PBUH) at al-Jir'anah, on his return from [the battle of] Hunayn; and in Bilal's clothes was some silver, which God's Messenger (PBUH) was taking handfuls of and giving to the people. So [the man] said: 'O Muhammad, be just.' [The Prophet] said: 'Woe to you! And who will be just if I am not just? You have surely failed and lost if I have not been just.' Then Umar ibn al-Khattab (may God be pleased with him) said: 'O Messenger of God, shall I kill this hypocrite?' [The Prophet] said: 'God forbid that people say that I kill my companions. This [man] and his companions recite the Qur'an, [but] it does not go beyond their throats. They pass through it as an arrow passes through prey.'"

Here the Prophet (PBUH), at the same time as exposing the true nature of this individual and others like him, nonetheless honours him by including him among his Companions. Would he (PBUH) have done so, had the man been an apostate or, as Umar labelled him, a hypocrite? God knows best.

Finally, from the hadiths recorded in Sahih Muslim (12/204), and again referring explicitly not to apostates but to the violent extremist Muslims known as the Khawarij:

حدثنا عبد بن حميد، حدثنا عبد الرزاق بن همام، حدثنا عبد الملك بن أبي سليمان، حدثنا سلمة بن كهيل، حدثني زيد بن وهب الجهني، أنه كان في الجيش الذين كانوا مع علي رضي الله عنه، الذين ساروا إلى الخوارج، فقال علي رضي الله عنه: أيها الناس إني سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: يخرج قوم من أمتي يقرءون القرآن، ليس قراءتكم إلى قراءتهم بشيء، ولا صلاتكم إلى صلاتهم بشيء، ولا صيامكم إلى صيامهم بشيء، يقرءون القرآن يحسبون أنه لهم وهو عليهم، لا تجاوز صلاتهم تراقيهم يمرقون من الإسلام كما يمرق السهم من الرمية. لو يعلم الجيش الذين يصيبونهم، ما قضي لهم على لسان نبيهم صلى الله عليه وسلم، لاتكلوا عن العمل، «وآية ذلك أن فيهم رجلا له عضد، وليس له ذراع، على رأس عضده مثل حلمة الثدي، عليه شعرات بيض» فتذهبون إلى معاوية وأهل الشام وتتركون هؤلاء يخلفونكم في ذراريكم وأموالكم، والله، إني لأرجو أن يكونوا هؤلاء القوم، فإنهم قد سفكوا الدم الحرام، وأغاروا في سرح الناس، فسيروا على اسم الله. قال سلمة بن كهيل: فنزلني زيد بن وهب منزلا، حتى قال: مررنا على قنطرة، فلما التقينا وعلى الخوارج يومئذ عبد الله بن وهب الراسبي، فقال: لهم ألقوا الرماح، وسلوا سيوفكم من جفونها، فإني أخاف أن يناشدوكم كما ناشدوكم يوم حروراء، فرجعوا فوحشوا برماحهم، وسلوا السيوف، وشجرهم الناس برماحهم، قال: وقتل بعضهم على بعض، وما أصيب من الناس يومئذ إلا رجلان، فقال علي رضي الله عنه: التمسوا فيهم المخدج، فالتمسوه فلم يجدوه، فقام علي رضي الله عنه بنفسه حتى أتى ناسا قد قتل بعضهم على بعض، قال: أخروهم، فوجدوه مما يلي الأرض، فكبر، ثم قال: صدق الله، وبلغ رسوله، قال: فقام إليه عبيدة السلماني، فقال: يا أمير المؤمنين، ألله الذي لا إله إلا هو، لسمعت هذا الحديث من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم؟ فقال: إي، والله الذي لا إله إلا هو، حتى استحلفه ثلاثا، وهو يحلف له

Zayd ibn Wahb al-Juhani told me that he was in the army who were with Ali (may God be pleased with him), who marched out against the Khawarij. Ali (may God be pleased with him) said: "O people, I heard God's Messenger (PBUH) say: 'A people will come out of my Ummah who recite the Qur'an [in such a way that] your recitiation is as nothing next to their recitation, your prayer is as nothing next to their prayer, and your fasting is as nothing next to their fasting. They recite the Qur'an thinking that it supports them, while it is against them. Their prayer does not go beyond their throats. They pass through Islam as an arrow passes through prey." ...

Given that all those described by the Prophet (PBUH) "passing through" the religion, or Islam, in the above hadiths quoted from Sahih Muslim relate to Muslims, not apostates, does it not make sense that the hadith from Sahih al-Bukhari concerning the three categories of Muslim who warrant the death penalty may have been wrongly applied to apostates?

As it says in the Qur'an (49/9):

{وَإِنْ طَائِفَتَانِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اقْتَتَلُوا فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَهُمَا فَإِنْ بَغَتْ إِحْدَاهُمَا عَلَى الْأُخْرَى فَقَاتِلُوا الَّتِي تَبْغِي حَتَّى تَفِيءَ إِلَى أَمْرِ اللَّهِ فَإِنْ فَاءَتْ فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَهُمَا بِالْعَدْلِ وَأَقْسِطُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ}

{And if two parties of the believers should fight, reconcile the two of them; but if one of the two [parties] should [continue to] oppress the other, fight the one which is oppressing until it submits to God's command. Then, if it submits, reconcile the two of them with justice, and be fair; indeed, God loves those who are fair.}

The Qur'an orders those in power to take up arms and fight against any group of Muslims that prefers to harm and oppress others rather than to negotiate a reconciliation. Obviously, such fighting by the ruling authority may lead to bloodshed before the rebellious group agrees to submit to God's command and to be reconciled. Seen in this light, what the above hadiths indicate is that the killing of rebels in battle is deemed lawful homicide. And a rebel is by definition a "renegade from the religion who leaves the community" (i.e. among those who "recite the Qur'an thinking that it supports them, while it is against them" and so "pass through Islam as an arrow passes through prey") because they put their quarrel above the lives of others thus ignoring, as the original Kharawij did, the above qur'anic injunction to submit to God's command to accept a negotiated settlement as well as acting contrary to the Prophet's (PBUH) description of the true Muslim, recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari (81/73):

حدثنا آدم بن أبي إياس، قال: حدثنا شعبة، عن عبد الله بن أبي السفر، وإسماعيل بن أبي خالد، عن الشعبي، عن عبد الله بن عمرو رضي الله عنهما، عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: المسلم من سلم المسلمون من لسانه ويده، والمهاجر من هجر ما نهى الله عنه

[Narrated] from Abd Allah ibn 'Amr (may God be pleased with him), from the Prophet (PBUH), who said: "A Muslim is the one from whose tongue and hand the Muslims are safe..."

God knows best.

Finally, on the strength of the above, those referred to in the earlier hadith from Sahih al-Bukhari as"renegade from the religion" appear to be Muslim rebels against a Muslim-led government and not apostates from Islam; and this is supported by the hadith reported on the authority of Aishah. If this conclusion is correct, then it follows logically that all the narrations must also refer to such people, regardless of their wording, as in Sahih Muslim (28/34) for example:

حدثنا أبو بكر بن أبي شيبة، حدثنا حفص بن غياث، وأبو معاوية، ووكيع، عن الأعمش، عن عبد الله بن مرة، عن مسروق، عن عبد الله، قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: لا يحل دم امرئ مسلم يشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وأني رسول الله إلا بإحدى ثلاث الثيب الزان والنفس بالنفس والتارك لدينه المفارق للجماعة

[Narrated] from ِAbd Allah [Ibn Mas'ud], who said that God's Messenger (PBUH) said: "It is not lawful to shed the blood of a Muslim who bears witness that there is no god but God and that I am the Messenger of God except for one of three [reasons]: the married person who performs unlawful sex; a life for a life; and the one who abandons his religion and cuts himself off from the community."

See also the Qur'anic verses cited by Jamal al-Banna (جمال البنا) on the topic of freedom of conscience and belief. For a full exposition of his views on the penalty for apostasy in Islam, see تفنيد دعوى حد الردة (lit. A refutation of the claim of a prescribed penalty for apostasy)

Permalink to bibliographic record in Library of Congress catalogue: http://lccn.loc.gov/2006320872

This article was composed by Roderic Vassie on 28th September 2014.