The Truth about the Alleged Punishment for Apostasy in Islam — Page 61
61 to Arabic grammar, tuq a til u na is of the measure " F a ‘ala/Yufa‘ilu/Muf a ‘alatun ". If only slaying was the intent of this commandment, then the appropriate verb would have been " al a taqtul u na ", instead of " al a tuq a til u na ". Anyone, who has even a nodding acquaintance with the Arabic language, cannot overlook the fact that the Holy Qur’an has not used the expression, " al a taqtul u na "; rather, it has used the expression, " al a tuq a til u na ". And, the statement, i. e. , "and they were the first to commence hostilities against you" has made it abundantly clear that the people referred to here are those who have first drawn their sword against you; those who are recalcitrant, who have reneged their covenant, those who are given to intrigues, i. e. , they are conspiring to force Prophet Muhammad sa out of Medina. Since their covenant is reduced to total insignificance—and because they have committed the aforesaid crimes—do not be afraid of [fighting] them, for they have taken the initiative in fighting against you. This is the genuine Quranic context of Maul a n a Maud u d i' s argument that apostasy is punishable by death. Like Shabb i r Ahmad ‘Uthm a n i , who had a single [alleged] argument from the Holy Qur’an, the aforesaid argument is the one and only Maud u dian argument [allegedly] based on the Holy Qur’an. Maud u d i Sahib could find no other argument in the entire Holy Qur’an to support his claim.