Punishment of Apostacy in Islam — Page 31
31 that through his voluntary efforts he should become a manifestation of divine attributes and thus become a true servant of God. It would be contrary to the purport of this verse to designate as God’s servants those who by their very nature are bound to carry out whatever they are commanded. For instance, angels carry out all God’s commands and yet they are not in any way rewarded for doing so. It is their nature to obey, and, therefore, there is no occasion for reward or punishment for them. Reward and punishment are related to perfect freedom of conscience and freedom of belief.