106 H~adīth warrants the death penalty for every Muslim who, out of his own free will, becomes a disbeliever. In this matter, the only point in which there is a disagreement among the jurists is whether an apostate should be granted time for repentance before executing him, and if so what should be the extent of this period. The Hanafite jurists, however, exempt women from this punishment. Apart from them, there is a general consensus among the jurists that every apostate, man or woman, should be punished by death.
Common Misconceptions about Islam
om i.c id am rg g h d .o ad wri hm a da l-m ve .a .j a w w ww w w
It needs to be realized that this view of our jurists is not correct. The verdict pronounced in this H~adīth has a specific application and not a general one: it is only confined to people towards whom the Prophet (sws) had been directly assigned. The Qur’ān uses the words mushrikīn and ummiyyīn for these people. An elaboration of this view follows.
In this world, we are well aware of the fact that life has been given to us not because it is our right but because it is a trial and a test for us. Death puts an end to it whenever the duration of this test is over, as deemed by the Almighty. Commonly, He fixes the length of this period on the basis of His knowledge and wisdom. However, in case of the direct and foremost addressees of a rasūl (messenger of Allah), once the truth is communicated to them in its ultimate form after which they have no excuse but stubbornness and enmity to deny it, they lose their "All rights of this book are reserved for the publisher and the author. This copy is for reading purpose only. This copy cannot be uploaded on any website except those of the publisher and the author."