Apostacy in Islam - the Bad, the Ugly, and Gruesome Death

I have heard often by liberal / moderate Muslims and liberal Islamic apologists non-Muslims that the punishment for apostacy is not in the Quran. So, this is just a mere interpretation of some extremists.

Tell that to every person who leaves Islam that is attacked or killed. "Oh no, but your murder is not in Quran. So I guess, it didn't happen". If you claim to be a Muslim then you need more understanding of your religion, if you are not a Muslim then you need to stop and think how much you know before being an apologist.

Islamic Laws are not just derived from Quran itself - they are derived from Quran, Hadiths, Sunnah, Fatwas which are the rulings of Islamic scholars, and when something cannot be determined from all of it then Ijma which is consensus of scholars and Qiyas which is Analogy. To simplify - the 4 main sources of Islamic Law are Quran, Sunnah, Ijma, and Qiyas. That is how Sharia / Islamic Law is developed.

In the case of apostacy, there is a clear hadith that is verified by the majority of scholars:

“Whoever changes his religion, execute him.” (Narrated by al-Bukhari, 2794)

And as Allah says in the Quran - or rather commands in the Quran for people to follow the Prophet - this becomes law:

“O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger (Muhammad), and those of you (Muslims) who are in authority.” [al-Nisa 4:59]

Blasphemy and apostasy are included in Hudud crimes, which are the most serious crimes under Islamic law and are considered as transgressions against God. So, it falls very much under Hudud crime, and Allah does not need to be specific then:

"O believers! Do not forbid the good things which Allah has made lawful for you, and do not transgress. Indeed, Allah does not like transgressors." Surah Al-Ma'idah 5:87

So, in summary, I would say that if you don't know what you are talking about, it is best to not make a fool of yourself openly and try to learn more.

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Now. This is not to say that you should not want to be a better person, and try to reform Islam from within to let go of its extremist tendencies. But you can’t do that without knowing what Islam is and how its teachings and laws are developed. And once you know about it fully, you will realise, that you actually cannot reform it for the better you can only reform it to be even more extremist.

There are some Islamic countries like UAE who are trying to move away from death being the punishment for apostacy. But even they cannot get around the whole thing. See. It is not just the leaving Islam that is the case here. If they say, okay let’s change the Ijma, come to a new consensus, that leaving Islam does not mean you will be punished by death or ex communicated or exiled. But then when you speak against the teachings of Allah, and criticise Mohammad, what then? Then they will want to deal with you for those reasons. Do you think an Ex-Muslim in that sense can ever be an equal member of such a society then and not be ostracised from their own family and community and not face mob “justice” if not legal punishment for their transgressions against Allah?

This is the problem that we have with the liberal mindset of the modern times. They do not want to spend any effort in researching and learning and understanding about the causes they speak about - no - their brand of activism is easy virtue signalling. If it sounds nice then it must be good, and you must be a Nazi for defying it. Many liberal Muslims in the West fall prey to it as well, as they are trying to fit into two worlds while being pulled apart by both.

It is time for many to come to terms with this simple message in the West: If you do not deal with Islam, then Islam will deal with you. And your liberal tendencies will not come to your aid. In fact. They will be the reason for your demise.

And to the liberal Muslims: Grow a pair and leave Islam. There is no goodness there, just corruption of the soul.

Watch my conversation with Liam Tuffs on his podcast, going live on 8th of May 2025 at 6pm GMT:

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