The Truth about the Alleged Punishment for Apostasy in Islam — Page 159
159 Abraham!'" 154 Thus, they got encouraged on listening to what his father had told him. If the father could prescribe stoning as a punishment for apostasy, they took a step further and, according to the Qur’an, declared that he should be burned alive. Thus it was that they wanted to help their gods. To safeguard their religion it was imperative for them to do so. They feared that otherwise their religion would get perverted. But the command of those who pronounced punishment for apostasy did not work. God says it is His command to the fire that works, fire being His creation. He commanded to the fire ‘O Fire, be thou cold and means of safety for Abraham!’ We should learn a lesson from this. Man is created from dust which has the potential for growth. But Satan is created from fire as opposed to dust. Fire has the tendency to burn the products of the earth. So those who try to sow the seeds of mutual hatred they possess the nature of Satan. H A D RAT SA LI H AS WAS CALLED AN APOSTATE: Hadrat Sa li h ’s as people also treated him in this way, as the argument was carried on among them whether one who turns away from one’s society and apostatises 154 The Holy Qur’an 21:69-70. [Publisher]