Mufti Abu Layth Archive: fiqh/public-law-and-governance/apostasy-and-blasphemy

Is someone who says something wrong about the Prophet guilty of blasphemy?

Sun, 29 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Is someone who says something wrong about the Prophet guilty of blasphemy?

Not when there was no such intention: Mufti Abu Layth says Mufti Tariq Masood was clearly wrong, but he meant to praise the Prophet, so calling him a blasphemer is unacceptable. Mufti Abu Layth says that when people make mistakes it does not mean they are blaspheming, even if the mistake is horrendous.

Answer from 29 September 2024 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Deen of Hope NOT Hate - Mufti Tariq Masood | Mufti Abu Layth (at 5:12)

Watch on YouTube at 5:12 · Open the segment

Why did Abdullah ibn Abi Sarh leave Islam for a time?

Tue, 02 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Why did Abdullah ibn Abi Sarh leave Islam for a time?

Not doubt about the Quran: he feels the man was incentivised by the Makkans and rewarded for intelligence about Madinah, and he later returned to Islam and governed in Egypt. Mufti Abu Layth says he feels the apostasy asked about was not a theological crisis but a case of being incentivised by the Makkans.

Answer from 2 March 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #204 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 59:58)

A more recent answer on fiqh/public-law-and-governance/apostasy-and-blasphemy exists (29 September 2024): Is someone who says something wrong about the Prophet guilty of blasphemy?

Watch on YouTube at 1:00:37 · Open the segment

Did the Prophet order a scribe killed for leaving Islam?

Tue, 16 Feb 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Did the Prophet order a scribe killed for leaving Islam?

Not for apostasy, he says: the scribe was not executed, and the issue was treason, since he exposed Madinah's weak points to its enemies; apostasy laws were treason laws. Mufti Abu Layth says the apostasy laws of that time were in essence treason laws.

Answer from 16 February 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #202| Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:11:59)

A more recent answer on fiqh/public-law-and-governance/apostasy-and-blasphemy exists (29 September 2024): Is someone who says something wrong about the Prophet guilty of blasphemy?

Watch on YouTube at 1:11:59 · Open the segment

Did the early Hanafis hold that apostates should be killed?

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Did the early Hanafis hold that apostates should be killed?

The guest says the early Hanafi view, from Abu Hanifa and Zufar, is that apostasy itself carries no punishment and only an actual threat is punished; Mufti Abu Layth calls today's Hanafi blasphemy laws upside down.

Answer from 29 January 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Shaykh Atabek Shukurov | Mortgages, Madhabs & Molvi-ism | MindTrap 48 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:11:04)

A more recent answer on fiqh/public-law-and-governance/apostasy-and-blasphemy exists (29 September 2024): Is someone who says something wrong about the Prophet guilty of blasphemy?

Watch on YouTube at 1:11:43 · Open the segment

What is wijada, and why does it matter for the hadith on killing apostates?

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

What is wijada, and why does it matter for the hadith on killing apostates?

The guest says the apostasy hadith cannot justify killing, since its own wording is not followed and it reaches us only by wijada; Mufti Abu Layth blames the Salafi call for putting raw hadith in place of the madhhabs.

Answer from 29 January 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Shaykh Atabek Shukurov | Mortgages, Madhabs & Molvi-ism | MindTrap 48 | Mufti Abu Layth (at 1:06:26)

A more recent answer on hadith/hadith-in-legal-reasoning exists (18 October 2025): Is there a middle way between rejecting all hadith and accepting every hadith?

Watch on YouTube at 1:06:26 · Open the segment

Why was Ibn Taymiyya put in prison?

Tue, 12 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Why was Ibn Taymiyya put in prison?

Ibn Taymiyya made powerful enemies by declaring Muslims kafir, and Maliki judges finally jailed him over his fatwa, voiced by his student in Jerusalem, that one may not travel to visit the Prophet's grave. Mufti Abu Layth calls the view foolish but says no one should be punished for an opinion. Mufti Abu Layth says Ibn Taymiyya was imprisoned over his fatwa that one may not travel to visit the Prophet, an opinion he calls foolish but says should not be punished, since people should not be persecuted over religious differences.

Answer from 12 January 2021 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Why Ibn Taymiyyah was in jail? | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on fiqh/public-law-and-governance/apostasy-and-blasphemy exists (29 September 2024): Is someone who says something wrong about the Prophet guilty of blasphemy?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment

Does Abu Bakr's war on Musaylima justify killing someone who claims prophethood?

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Does Abu Bakr's war on Musaylima justify killing someone who claims prophethood?

Mufti Abu Layth says Abu Bakr's wars were political and the Prophet never ordered Musaylima killed, so they cannot justify killing a claimant. Mufti Abu Layth says Abu Bakr's campaign against the tribes was a political decision.

Answer from 4 August 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth #176 *Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted!* 🤣 (at 1:47:49)

A more recent answer on fiqh/public-law-and-governance/apostasy-and-blasphemy exists (29 September 2024): Is someone who says something wrong about the Prophet guilty of blasphemy?

Watch on YouTube at 1:47:49 · Open the segment

The Peshawar courtroom killing of an Ahmadi accused of blasphemy

Tue, 04 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

The Peshawar courtroom killing of an Ahmadi accused of blasphemy

Mufti Abu Layth condemns the Peshawar courtroom killing, says a claim to prophethood is not an insult to the Prophet, and blames the authorities for failing to prevent it. Mufti Abu Layth says that, although Muslims generally do not accept such beliefs, a person claiming to be a prophet is not automatically insulting the Prophet.

Answer from 4 August 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth #176 *Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted!* 🤣 (at 1:36:23)

A more recent answer on fiqh/public-law-and-governance/apostasy-and-blasphemy exists (29 September 2024): Is someone who says something wrong about the Prophet guilty of blasphemy?

Watch on YouTube at 1:36:23 · Open the segment

Was Sudan right to drop its alcohol and apostasy laws and end flogging?

Tue, 14 Jul 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Was Sudan right to drop its alcohol and apostasy laws and end flogging?

Mufti Abu Layth welcomes Sudan's reforms: flogging today only damages Islam's message, FGM should be outlawed, and alcohol was never prohibited for non-Muslims. Mufti Abu Layth says flogging in this day and age is nothing but damaging to Allah, His Messenger and their message.

Answer from 14 July 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti Abu Layth 173 (at 2:08:00)

A more recent answer on fiqh/public-law-and-governance/apostasy-and-blasphemy exists (29 September 2024): Is someone who says something wrong about the Prophet guilty of blasphemy?

Watch on YouTube at 2:08:00 · Open the segment

Does the Quran prescribe a punishment for apostasy?

Wed, 22 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Does the Quran prescribe a punishment for apostasy?

The Quran prescribes no worldly penalty for apostasy, only punishment in the hereafter, and 'there is no compulsion in religion' is stated as emphatically as the testimony of faith. Rightly representing the Quran is about pleasing Allah, not the kuffar.

Answer from 22 April 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: quoted view (stated in order to be discussed, not necessarily held)

Recording: Shaykh Dr. Shabir Ally | Juxtaposing the Quran, Jumbling Aisha's age & Jinn Possession | MindTrap#16 (at 11:34)

A more recent answer on dialogue/guest-conversations exists (18 October 2025): How should Muslims engage people with very different views of the religion?

Watch on YouTube at 11:34 · Open the segment

Were the people who refused zakah after the Prophet's death apostates?

Sun, 19 Apr 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Were the people who refused zakah after the Prophet's death apostates?

The guest says taxes that fund welfare can count as zakah, and that the refusers fought by Abu Bakr were rebels against the state rather than apostates; Mufti Abu Layth says he is inclined to that view.

Answer from 19 April 2020 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Shaykh Kashif Khan | Policing thought, Pornography & Pandora's box | MindTrap with Mufti #15 (at 47:29)

A more recent answer on fiqh/public-law-and-governance/apostasy-and-blasphemy exists (29 September 2024): Is someone who says something wrong about the Prophet guilty of blasphemy?

Watch on YouTube at 47:29 · Open the segment

Closing: build bridges, talk to everyone, and an invitation to Daniel Haqiqatjou

Wed, 21 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Closing: build bridges, talk to everyone, and an invitation to Daniel Haqiqatjou

Talk to everyone, including ex-Muslims, and hold dialogue where ideas differ. Mufti Abu Layth has invited Daniel Haqiqatjou to a dialogue on apostasy.

Answer from 21 August 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Recording: Don't let people bully you into beliefs | Mufti Abu Layth (at 18:17)

A more recent answer on society/dawah-and-debate-culture exists (18 October 2025): How should Muslims engage people with very different views of the religion?

Watch on YouTube at 18:17 · Open the segment

Is capital punishment, including for apostasy, justified?

Sun, 04 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Is capital punishment, including for apostasy, justified?

Mufti Abu Layth opposes capital punishment as absurd, killing to stop killing, and calls justifying death for apostasy as treason a stupid argument. He welcomes Mohammed Hijab's apparent move away from the classical ruling to kill apostates. Mufti Abu Layth says he finds it ironic and absurd that, to stop people from killing, the state kills people.

Answer from 4 August 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Thoughts on Muhammad Hijab's talk on Liberalism & Islam | Mufti Abu Layth (at 29:52)

A more recent answer on fiqh/public-law-and-governance/apostasy-and-blasphemy exists (29 September 2024): Is someone who says something wrong about the Prophet guilty of blasphemy?

Watch on YouTube at 29:52 · Open the segment

Who transmitted the hadith 'whoever changes his religion, kill him', and does the Quran punish apostasy?

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Who transmitted the hadith 'whoever changes his religion, kill him', and does the Quran punish apostasy?

Mufti Abu Layth says the Quran is ambivalent about those who leave Islam and that the call to kill apostates is nonsense; the report 'whoever changes his religion, kill him' in Bukhari rests solely on Ikrima, a Khariji whom Imam Malik and Ibn Umar distrusted. He introduces Abdullah Sameer's post as the subject he will answer. Mufti Abu Layth holds that the Quran is ambivalent towards those who leave Islam and prescribes no killing of apostates, and that the report 'whoever changes his religion, kill him' rests solely on Ikrima, a Khariji whom Imam Malik and companions distrusted.

Answer from 25 July 2019 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: A Reply to Abdullah Sameer's Allegation: The Quran Teaches Paedophilia | Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on fiqh/public-law-and-governance/apostasy-and-blasphemy exists (29 September 2024): Is someone who says something wrong about the Prophet guilty of blasphemy?

Watch on YouTube at 1:18 · Open the segment

The first problem: Bukhari's semi-divine status above the Quran in practice

Thu, 30 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

The first problem: Bukhari's semi-divine status above the Quran in practice

Sahih al-Bukhari has been given a semi-divine status that in practice places it on par with or above the Quran, which he rejects outright. The Quran always takes precedence, and Bukhari is a book like the other hadith collections. Mufti Abu Layth says Sahih al-Bukhari has been given a de facto status on par with or above the Quran, which he rejects entirely: it is a book like the other hadith collections and the Quran always takes precedence over it.

Answer from 30 August 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: BukhariGate Part 1: Sahih Bukhari is NOT so Sahih -Mufti Abu Layth (at 6:33)

A more recent answer on hadith/bukhari exists (18 October 2025): Why did Mufti Abu Layth challenge hadith in BukhariGate, and can the Prophet be called the most beloved of creation?

Watch on YouTube at 6:33 · Open the segment

How should Muslims treat people who leave Islam?

Thu, 10 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

How should Muslims treat people who leave Islam?

People who leave Islam should be left alone, since that is between them and God; those who misrepresent the Prophet bear blame for people's hatred, and the Prophet's way was gentleness, not coercion or a state. Mufti Abu Layth says that whether a person leaves Islam is between them and God and they should be left alone, and that those who have given a distorted image of the Prophet bear the blame for people's hatred of him.

Answer from 10 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Apostasy has NO punishment in Islam: A Qur'an & Sunnah Analysis by Mufti Abu Layth (at 53:42)

A more recent answer on fiqh/public-law-and-governance/apostasy-and-blasphemy exists (29 September 2024): Is someone who says something wrong about the Prophet guilty of blasphemy?

Watch on YouTube at 53:42 · Open the segment

Can a life be taken on the basis of a doubtful hadith?

Thu, 10 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Can a life be taken on the basis of a doubtful hadith?

There is no verse and no conclusively established hadith for killing apostates, and a life, whose sanctity is conclusive, cannot be taken on isolated reports that carry doubt; defending it while demanding religious freedom in the West is a double standard. Mufti Abu Layth says there is no verse and no conclusively established hadith for killing apostates, and that life, whose sanctity is conclusive, cannot be taken on the basis of isolated reports that carry doubt.

Answer from 10 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Apostasy has NO punishment in Islam: A Qur'an & Sunnah Analysis by Mufti Abu Layth (at 48:25)

A more recent answer on hadith/mutawatir-and-epistemology exists (18 October 2025): Is the Quran-only position an argument from epistemology or from principle?

Watch on YouTube at 48:25 · Open the segment

Why would an apostate deserve death, and what about the three days to repent?

Thu, 10 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Why would an apostate deserve death, and what about the three days to repent?

An apostate cannot be killed for disbelief, since that would condemn every disbeliever, and the 'three days to return to Islam' is absurd: it coerces people into hypocrisy and belittles the Prophet's thirteen years of preaching. Mufti Abu Layth says an apostate cannot be killed for disbelief, since that would make every disbeliever deserving of death, and that giving an apostate three days to return on pain of death is absurd, coerces hypocrisy and belittles the Prophet's thirteen years of preaching in Makkah.

Answer from 10 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Apostasy has NO punishment in Islam: A Qur'an & Sunnah Analysis by Mufti Abu Layth (at 43:11)

A more recent answer on society/dawah-and-debate-culture exists (18 October 2025): How should Muslims engage people with very different views of the religion?

Watch on YouTube at 43:11 · Open the segment

Are the Abu Hurayra and Hamza al-Aslami narrations on apostasy authentic?

Thu, 10 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Are the Abu Hurayra and Hamza al-Aslami narrations on apostasy authentic?

The other narrations used for killing apostates, from Abu Hurayra and Hamza al-Aslami, also have problems in their chains: rejected or unknown narrators and a known mudallis.

Answer from 10 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Apostasy has NO punishment in Islam: A Qur'an & Sunnah Analysis by Mufti Abu Layth (at 39:14)

A more recent answer on fiqh/public-law-and-governance/apostasy-and-blasphemy exists (29 September 2024): Is someone who says something wrong about the Prophet guilty of blasphemy?

Watch on YouTube at 39:14 · Open the segment

Is the chain of the apostasy hadith through Anas reliable?

Thu, 10 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is the chain of the apostasy hadith through Anas reliable?

The alternative chain of the apostasy hadith through Anas is also weak: it includes a narrator with Mu'tazili tendencies and Qatada, who is known for tadlis, and the report clashes with reason, the Quran and the Prophet's life. Mufti Abu Layth says the chain of the apostasy report through Anas is also problematic, because of a narrator with Mu'tazili tendencies and Qatada's known tadlis, and that the report clashes with reason, the Quran, the Prophet's life and the principles of Islam.

Answer from 10 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Apostasy has NO punishment in Islam: A Qur'an & Sunnah Analysis by Mufti Abu Layth (at 35:16)

A more recent answer on fiqh/public-law-and-governance/apostasy-and-blasphemy exists (29 September 2024): Is someone who says something wrong about the Prophet guilty of blasphemy?

Watch on YouTube at 35:16 · Open the segment

Is Ikrima, the narrator of the apostasy hadith, reliable?

Thu, 10 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is Ikrima, the narrator of the apostasy hadith, reliable?

The main chains of 'whoever changes his religion, kill him' run through Ikrima, whom he describes as a Khariji, and whom Imam Malik and many early authorities rejected or called a liar.

Answer from 10 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Apostasy has NO punishment in Islam: A Qur'an & Sunnah Analysis by Mufti Abu Layth (at 28:42)

A more recent answer on fiqh/public-law-and-governance/apostasy-and-blasphemy exists (29 September 2024): Is someone who says something wrong about the Prophet guilty of blasphemy?

Watch on YouTube at 28:42 · Open the segment

What is the context of the hadith 'whoever changes his religion, kill him'?

Thu, 10 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

What is the context of the hadith 'whoever changes his religion, kill him'?

The report 'whoever changes his religion, kill him' clashes with the Quran, and in full it is Ikrima's account of Ali burning people alive and Ibn Abbas objecting that he should have executed them instead. Mufti Abu Layth says the report 'whoever changes his religion, kill him' clashes with the absolute verse of the Quran on freedom of belief and must be read in its full context of Ali burning people alive and Ibn Abbas objecting.

Answer from 10 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Apostasy has NO punishment in Islam: A Qur'an & Sunnah Analysis by Mufti Abu Layth (at 26:06)

A more recent answer on fiqh/public-law-and-governance/apostasy-and-blasphemy exists (29 September 2024): Is someone who says something wrong about the Prophet guilty of blasphemy?

Watch on YouTube at 26:06 · Open the segment

Which hadith are used to justify killing apostates, and were the scholars who used them right?

Thu, 10 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Which hadith are used to justify killing apostates, and were the scholars who used them right?

Some scholars did rule that apostates be killed, and he says they were clearly wrong, products of a ruthless age; the time given to apostates in the reports makes sense only as time to withdraw from rebellion. Mufti Abu Layth says that scholars who ruled that apostates be executed unless they returned to Islam were clearly and categorically wrong, being products of an age that placed little value on human life.

Answer from 10 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Apostasy has NO punishment in Islam: A Qur'an & Sunnah Analysis by Mufti Abu Layth (at 23:28)

A more recent answer on hadith/hadith-in-legal-reasoning exists (18 October 2025): Is there a middle way between rejecting all hadith and accepting every hadith?

Watch on YouTube at 23:28 · Open the segment

Were apostates punished for disbelief or for fighting against Muslims?

Thu, 10 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Were apostates punished for disbelief or for fighting against Muslims?

The classical punishment targeted apostates who took up arms against the community, not disbelief itself: Umar preferred to restrain and persuade, al-Tahawi tied it to waging war, and the Hanafis exempted women because they were not combatants. Mufti Abu Layth argues that the practice of giving an apostate the chance to return, and the Hanafi exemption of the female apostate, show that the classical punishment was aimed at armed rebellion against the community rather than at disbelief.

Answer from 10 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Apostasy has NO punishment in Islam: A Qur'an & Sunnah Analysis by Mufti Abu Layth (at 15:42)

A more recent answer on hadith/hadith-in-legal-reasoning exists (18 October 2025): Is there a middle way between rejecting all hadith and accepting every hadith?

Watch on YouTube at 15:42 · Open the segment

Did the Prophet ever execute anyone for leaving Islam?

Thu, 10 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Did the Prophet ever execute anyone for leaving Islam?

The Prophet never executed anyone for disbelief or apostasy: he spared the hypocrite Abdullah ibn Ubayy, traded with Jews until his death, did not act against Ibn Sayyad and pardoned Abdullah ibn Abi Sarh. Mufti Abu Layth says the Prophet never executed anyone for disbelief or apostasy, pointing to his treatment of Abdullah ibn Ubayy, his dealings with Jews until his death, Ibn Sayyad and his pardon of Abdullah ibn Abi Sarh.

Answer from 10 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Apostasy has NO punishment in Islam: A Qur'an & Sunnah Analysis by Mufti Abu Layth (at 11:49)

A more recent answer on fiqh/public-law-and-governance/apostasy-and-blasphemy exists (29 September 2024): Is someone who says something wrong about the Prophet guilty of blasphemy?

Watch on YouTube at 11:49 · Open the segment

Why did some classical scholars rule that apostates be executed?

Thu, 10 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Why did some classical scholars rule that apostates be executed?

Where classical scholars ruled that apostates be executed, they were dealing with what would now be treason or armed rebellion in a very different world; those rulings do not apply today, and their prevalence then did not make them right. Mufti Abu Layth says that where classical scholars prescribed capital punishment they were addressing what would today be treason or rebellion in a very different world, that those rulings do not apply today, and that the whole world doing the same then does not make them right.

Answer from 10 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Apostasy has NO punishment in Islam: A Qur'an & Sunnah Analysis by Mufti Abu Layth (at 7:52)

A more recent answer on fiqh/public-law-and-governance/apostasy-and-blasphemy exists (29 September 2024): Is someone who says something wrong about the Prophet guilty of blasphemy?

Watch on YouTube at 7:52 · Open the segment

Does the sanctity of life in Islam rule out killing apostates?

Thu, 10 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Does the sanctity of life in Islam rule out killing apostates?

Life has conclusive sanctity in Islam, and preserving life and freedom of religion for everyone are among the aims of the shari'ah. Mufti Abu Layth says the sanctity of life is conclusive in Islam and that the preservation of life and freedom of religion for everyone are among the aims of the shari'ah.

Answer from 10 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Apostasy has NO punishment in Islam: A Qur'an & Sunnah Analysis by Mufti Abu Layth (at 5:16)

A more recent answer on fiqh/legal-theory exists (18 October 2025): If reason helps us understand the Quran, does the reasoning of earlier scholars matter too?

Watch on YouTube at 5:16 · Open the segment

Does Islam punish someone for leaving the faith?

Thu, 10 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Does Islam punish someone for leaving the faith?

Islam gives freedom of belief: the Quran says there is no compulsion in religion and leaves belief to choice, and neither the Quran nor the established Sunnah says an apostate must be killed. Mufti Abu Layth says Islam gives freedom of faith and condemns coercion, and that neither the Quran nor the established Sunnah says an apostate must be killed.

Answer from 10 May 2018 · auto-transcribed, may contain errors

Kind: general teaching

Recording: Apostasy has NO punishment in Islam: A Qur'an & Sunnah Analysis by Mufti Abu Layth (at 0:00)

A more recent answer on quran/tafsir exists (18 October 2025): Why are two of the daily prayers recited silently when 17:110 says not to be silent?

Watch on YouTube at 0:00 · Open the segment