The Truth about the Alleged Punishment for Apostasy in Islam — Page 114
114 ‘Ikrmah narrates that some zind i qs (The one who conceals unbelief and makes an outward show of belief) were brought to Hadrat ‘Al i ra. Hadrat ‘Al i ra ordered to have them burnt alive. Upon hearing this Hadrat Ibni ‘Abb a s ra said that if it were him he would have never done that because the Holy Prophet sa has clearly prohibited us from inflicting a torment on others that is the sole prerogative of Allah, the Exalted, that is to say, the torment of fire. I would have had him killed, because the Holy Prophet sa had said: 'Kill him who changes his faith. ' 110 INVESTIGATION OF THE TRADITION: Prima facie, the above Hadith contains a strong argument in support of killing an apostate. It is found in the authentic books of A ha d i th e. g. Bukh a r i , Tirmadh i , Ab u D au d, Nasa’ i and Ibni M a ja. Because all these books mention it, it could be argued that the Hadith must be reliable and sound. However, the authenticity of a Hadith cannot only be inferred from the fact that it is documented in authentic books of 110 S a hih Bukh a r i , Kit a bu Istit a batil Murtadd i na wal Mu‘ a nid i na wa Qit a lihim, Babu H ukmil Murtaddi wal Murtaddati Wastit a batihim, Hadith No. 6922. [Publisher]