The Truth about the Alleged Punishment for Apostasy in Islam — Page 117
117 Hadrat Ibni ‘Abb a s ra. In the Abbasid period, ‘Ikrama attained the esteem and renown of a pious and God-fearing scholar. It is quite clear that the reason for his renown was his opposition to Hadrat ‘Al i ra and his support for the Abbasids, on the basis of politics. The Abbasids opposed each person and everything that had anything to do with the progeny of ‘Al i ra. It is generally noted that in fact the traditions regarding death as punishment of apostasy were born out of the events that took place in Basra, Kufa and Yemen. For the real authorities on A ha d i th who resided in Mecca and Medina seem totally oblivious of this tradition. Indeed one cannot overlook the fact that the narrators of this tradition of ‘Ikrama are Iraqis. The reader should not forget the saying of Imam Ta ’ u s bin Qais a n in this respect: "If an Iraqi relates a hundred A hadith to you, utterly dismiss ninety-nine of these and be suspicious of the remainder. " (Sunnan Ab u D a ’ u d) As far as ‘Ikrama being a Kh a rj i , unauthentic and a liar is concerned, you are presented with the following testimonies from eminent compilers of books about the narrators: 1. Adh-Dhahab i states: a) Al- S alt Ab u Shu‘aib told us that he asked Muhammad bin S i r i n about ‘Ikrama, Ibni S i r i n replied: 'I have no trouble that he be