The Truth about the Alleged Punishment for Apostasy in Islam — Page 146
146 contempt. But still, the Prophet sa did not order his death nor tried to take Zakat forcefully from him. Later, Tha‘labah himself repented and wanted to pay the Zakat but the Prophet sa refused to accept it. Similarly, Ab u Bakr ra , Umar ra and ‘Uthm a n ra , in their respective eras of Khilafat, did not accept his Zakat. This incident proves that neither at the time of the Holy Prophet sa nor in the era of Ab u Bakr Zakat was considered a compulsory tax to be forcefully collected, and none was attacked because he had refused to pay the Zakat. The Muslims used to pay the Zakat most willingly to purify their souls in obedience to their God. Obviously, Hadrat Ab u Bakr followed the footsteps of the Holy Prophet sa and adhered to his noble manner of conduct. Thus, it appears impossible that he would have compelled anyone to return to the faith of Islam by the dint of sword! We fear Allah and do not attribute any action to him that might be against the Sunna of the Holy Prophet sa. The fact remains that he fought with those apostates only to secure the budding Islamic society from the threats of their mischief and armed attacks. In the light of these facts all such pernicious opinions prove false that the orientalists and opponents of Islam propagate