Of the Prescribed Punishments of Islam: Penalty of apostasy

Islam gives complete freedom to people to embrace Islam or not. Islam declared it explicitly: "There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the Right Path has become distinct from the wrong path. Whoever disbelieves in Tâghût and believes in Allâh, then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that will never break." [Surat Al Baqarah: 256].

However, if man embraces Islam, he has no right to revert because he has committed himself to obligations before Allah (may He be Exalted) and before the society in which he lives.

In modern times, man who undertakes to do something then breaks his commitments toward the state shall have penalties that may reach execution. In modern atheistic countries, they consider the one who reverts to a religion he had believed in before or even those who leave the party a traitor to the party and rejecting to its philosophy. Then he tastes different kinds of torment and is sentenced with penalties that may reach execution. Nevertheless, these countries blame a religious society for desiring to protect itself from the mess of evil people and those who transgress its laws from one side.

On the other hand, an apostate has done another crime which is mocking at the religion of the state, belittling the creed of its people, and outlining the way for other hypocrites to show their hypocrisy and cast doubts in peoples' creed. All these are crimes, and the Glorious Qur'an narrated to us some situations from the People of the Scripture which confirm these meanings: "And a party of the people of the Scripture say: Believe in the morning in that which is revealed to the believers (Muslims), and reject (it) at the end of the day, so that they may turn back." [Surat Al `Imran: 72].

The Penalty of apostasy closes the door before those who want to corrupt Islam from inside or spy on it. Islam has suffered a lot from those who hid their disbelief and showed faith.