The Truth about the Alleged Punishment for Apostasy in Islam — Page 132
132 may also actively engage in war against the Holy Prophet sa and his Companions ra. If that be the case, such a person should either be killed or crucified, or he should be expelled from the country. Now, all these three positions are contradictory to each other. If the punishment of apostasy was nothing but death, then the Holy Prophet sa was obliged to order his killing. As for crucifixion, there is no evidence at all that the Holy Prophet sa ever ordered anyone to be crucified. If the Holy Qur’an had a clear injunction of death penalty for apostasy, then how could the Holy Prophet sa order to expel such an apostate? Therefore, keeping in mind all these factors, this Hadith needs further consideration. Its wording may be correct, but its meaning needs in-depth analysis so that no action or saying attributed to the Holy Prophet sa may be deemed to contradict the Holy Qur’an. The Holy Prophet sa was always praying for forgiveness of those who were well-known apostates, and to attribute to him that he advocated death penalty is a clear-cut insult to him sa. After this incidental but important discussion, let us revert to Hadrat Umar’s ra statement. It clearly indicates that "killing" does not mean "physical killing", but it is "killing of a thought. " Otherwise, anyone who aspired to become "Amir"—a leader—should have been killed! The fact is that not a single person was killed by Hadrat ‘Umar ra who wished for leadership. A demand for leadership was to be completely repudiated, and