Can a person commit apostasy in Islam
Leaving Islam is one of the most serious actions a believer can commit and in traditional circles, can even warrant the death penalty. Others believe in complete freedom of religion. But how does the Qur'an actually address this and does it provide a clear answer on the matter.
Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) never coerced anybody into following Islam. The is because Allah said to him "there is no compulsion in the system..." (2:256). Those who accepted Islam were those who had recognised "...the proper way has been clarified from the wrong way..." (2:256). This establishes the concept that belief must be a conscious choice made from the heart. If a person was forced into belief, then it ceases to be belief. They become like the hypocrites who believe in fear of everything but the fear of Allah.
The Qur'an states that people from among other religions like the Jews and Christians will not be punished as long as they believe "...in Allah and the Last Day and does good works..." (2:62). However, this does not cover apostasy in Islam. We address this in detail in our article here.
Once a person has believed and accepted Islam, then it is not permitted for them leave Islam without incurring divine punishment, should they die in that state. While the concept of no compulsion in religion protects a person from human punishments in the world, a person who dies in the state of apostasy will be subject to severe punishment from Allah.
The principle of no compulsion
Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) never coerced anybody into following Islam. The is because Allah said to him "there is no compulsion in the system..." (2:256). Those who accepted Islam were those who had recognised "...the proper way has been clarified from the wrong way..." (2:256). This establishes the concept that belief must be a conscious choice made from the heart. If a person was forced into belief, then it ceases to be belief. They become like the hypocrites who believe in fear of everything but the fear of Allah.
The Qur'an instructs Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) to declare "...the truth is from your Lord, so let whoever desires believe,
and whoever desires reject..." (18:29). This shows humans have a right to believe as well as disbelieve implying humans have free will when it comes to their religion.
Forcing belief upon a person is akin to tyranny. Allah addresses Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) by saying to him "... you are not a tyrant over
them..." (50:45). Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) simply presented the evidence and left it to the individuals to accept the message.
If Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) did not have authority to compel a person to accepting Islam, then mandatory religious practices like the face coverings in Saudi Arabia, the head scarf in Iran or the beard in Afghanistan, do not originate from Islam, but from cultural practices intertwined with a distorted version of Islam.
All of this clearly show that the Qur'an fiercely defends an individual person's religious freedoms in the world, even if that person continued with persistent disbelief.
Punishments for apostasy
The Qur'an does not support the concept a proscribed death penalty for any Muslim who leaves Islam. Allah said to Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) "you have no power over them" (88:22). Any subsequent punishment "...for he who turns away and rejects" (88:23) will solely be from Allah, Who "...will punish him with the great retribution" (88:24) because "...Allah was not to forgive them..." (4:137) for apostasy.
The greatest proof against a worldly punishment for apostasy is when Allah says "those who believed, then rejected, then believed, then rejected,
then they increased in rejection..." (4:137). By mentioning multiple counts of belief and disbelief in a single lifetime, the Qur'an makes the worldly death penalty scripturally impossible. If an apostate was executed after their first instance of apostasy, then that person cannot believe again. The Qur'an leaves the door open for apostates to return to Islam, and the path to Allah's forgiveness will always be available to them until death.
In addition, the Qur'an states that "...whoever of you turns back from his
system, and he dies while disbelieving..." (2:217). This clearly implies the apostate is allowed a natural life span with opportunities for repentance prior to death without having it cut short through execution. However, without repentance, the Qur'an warns such people that they "... have nullified their
works in this world and the next; these are the people of the Fire..." (2:217).
When discussing the mortality of Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him), the Qur'an states that "...whoever turns back on his heels, he will not harm Allah in the least..." (3:144) clearly showing that apostasy is not to be punished by humans, as this is an issue between a person and Allah. Rather, "...whoever from among you turns away from His system..." (5:54), then Allah will simply "...bring a people whom He loves and they love Him..." (5:54) to replace those who have committed apostasy. The apostate is never to be killed because Allah will ensure they become irrelevant by being replaced by better believers.
As already mentioned, divine punishment for apostasy will only be for the person who "...dies while disbelieving..." (2:217).
Conversion to other religions
The Qur'an states that people from among other religions like the Jews and Christians will not be punished as long as they believe "...in Allah and the Last Day and does good works..." (2:62). However, this does not cover apostasy in Islam. We address this in detail in our article here.
On the other hand, when a Muslim has recognised the truth and accepted Islam, they would have understood that Allah had "... perfected your system for you..." (5:3). When a person then subsequently leaves Islam, they are trading a perfect system for an inferior one. The Qur'an says "... whoever follows other than submission as a system, it will
not be accepted from him..." (3:85) and the consequences of this will be severe for such a person because "...in the hereafter he is of the losers" (3:85).
Conclusion
Once a person has believed and accepted Islam, then it is not permitted for them leave Islam without incurring divine punishment, should they die in that state. While the concept of no compulsion in religion protects a person from human punishments in the world, a person who dies in the state of apostasy will be subject to severe punishment from Allah.