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Thoughts on Apostasy in Islam - Al-Shia The Scientific and Cultural Website of Shia belief Thoughts on Apostasy in Islam 2021-06-21 814 Views Apostasy , Apostate , Islam and Apostasy Literally, the word al-Irtidad means to return back (from something) and the word al-Murtad comes from this same root meaning ‘the person who returns back’. However, when we look at this word from the Qur`anic and the Islamic understanding, it means to go from belief to disbelief (Islam to Kufr).

The Qur’an says: يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَن يَرْتَدَّ مِنكُمْ عَن دِينِهِ فَسَوْفَ يَأْتِي اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ يُحِبُّهُمْ وَيُحِبُّونَهُ أَذِلَّةٍ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَعِزَّةٍ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ يُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَلَا يَخَافُونَ لَوْمَةَ لَائِمٍ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ فَضْلُ اللَّهِ يُؤْتِيهِ مَن يَشَاءُ ۚ وَاللَّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ “O you who have faith!

Should any of you desert his religion, God will soon bring a people whom He loves and who love Him, [who will be] humble towards the faithful, stern towards the faithless, wage jihad in the way of God, not fearing the blame of any blamer.

That is God’s grace which He grants to whomever He wishes, and God is all-bounteous, all-knowing.” (1) The late Imam Khumayni has noted that this word means; المرتد هو من خرج عن الاسلام واختار الكفر “The Murtad (apostate) is the person who has left (the faith of) Islam and has chosen disbelief (Kufr).” (2) Ibne Qudamah, one of the well-known Jurists of the Ahlus Sunnah writes: المرتد هو الراجع عن دين الاسلام الى الكفر “The Murtad (apostate) is the one who gone from the faith of Islam towards disbelief (Kufr).” (3) The Jurists of the Shia faith have divided the apostate into two categories – Milli and Fitri.

The ‘Murtad-e- Fitri’ is the one who is born into a family in which either one or both parents are Muslims and after he/she reaches the age of maturity and willfully accepts Islam, then leaves the faith. However, the ‘Murtad-e-Milli’ is the person who was born into a family in which neither of his parents was Muslim and after reaching the age of maturity and willfully accepting Islam then leaves Islam for another tradition.

In regards to the ruling for being an apostate, the Jurists of the Shia differentiate between male and female apostates. As for the woman who apostates – whether of the ‘Fitri’ or ‘Milli’ – if she repents, her repentance will be accepted and the penalty for apostasy will be removed from her.

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