The Truth about the Alleged Punishment for Apostasy in Islam — Page 121
121 Holy Prophet sa ' that do not inflict on any one a torment which is the prerogative of God alone how then can ‘Al i ra do so? Therefore it is an absolute fabrication to be associated with Hadrat ‘Al i ra in that he had the man burnt alive, because this is recounted via a great enemy of his who wished to calumniate him. Another Tradition verifies this. Here ‘Ikrama relates: When the news of this reaction of Hadrat ‘Abb a s ra reached Hadrat ‘Al i ra he said most indignantly 'Woe be on Ibni ‘Abb a s'. 116 2. Then again, the phrase: connotes generality. It can be construed in many ways. The word ' man ' is applicable to man, woman, child and all. However, there are many theologians who have declared death penalty for a female apostate impermissible. 3. Moreover, by the word ' d i n ' [which means faith] any faith, and not just Islam, can be denoted. The Holy Qur’an has also pronounced the faith of the idol worshippers as ' d i n ' 117. With these doubts and uncertainties, how is it possible to deem a Hadith like this applying exclusively only to a Muslim who changes his/her faith? In the light of the perceptive and subtle phraseology of law, by virtue of this Tradition each individual who changes his or her faith should be 116 Sunan Ab u D a’u d, Awwalu Kit a bil H ud u di, B a bul H ukmi F i Manirtadda, Hadith No. 4351. [Publisher] 117 S u rah Al-K a fir u n. [Publisher]