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

*The sanctity of life and the aims of the shari'ah*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/vyawdwthpa4/s/2/
- Date: 2018-05-10 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Apostasy has NO punishment in Islam: A Qur'an & Sunnah Analysis by Mufti Abu Layth (5:16–7:52)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyAwDWTHPa4&t=316s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/vyawdwthpa4/

**Topics:** Apostasy and blasphemy; Legal theory and method

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Life has conclusive sanctity in Islam, and preserving life and freedom of religion for everyone are among the aims of the shari'ah.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** 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.

**Evidence, his words at 5:44:** “so these things we understand that the sanctity of life is cotton it is cut i ok the sanctity of life is conclusive” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyAwDWTHPa4&t=344s)

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth cites 5:32, that whoever kills a single soul is as though he has killed all mankind and whoever saves one life is as though he has saved mankind, and says the sanctity of life is conclusive (qat'i) in Islam. He reports that Imam al-Shatibi writes in al-Muwafaqat that Islam and all religions came to preserve five matters, beginning with life, and that forbidden things may even be made permissible to preserve life. He lists the others as he puts them: freedom of religion for everyone, not only Muslims, progeny, reason and wealth, which are known as the maqasid al-shari'ah. He then turns to the objection that there were rulings in Islam taken by scholars on the basis of certain hadith, saying he will show that some of those hadith are deeply problematic, and introduces Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah's discussion of the matter.

## Sources and names cited

- Quran 5:32 (whoever kills a soul, it is as if he has killed all mankind): https://quran.com/5/32
- al-Shatibi
- al-Muwafaqat (al-Shatibi)
- maqasid al-shari'a
- qat'i (conclusive)

## Transcript (machine tier, 5:16–7:52)

[5:05] attack but once matters were slightly stable for Islam to have some security that from now on in the world Islam would could could go wherever it wanted to go these things any such measures were abrogated and it mentions like gravity okay so this is from the the clear verses of the Quran okay the other verses we know in from the Quran is where Allah is speaking about taking a life Mottola whosoever kills for animal cattle and nasa jimmy on whoever takes a

[5:44] single soul is as though he has killed everybody woman i hear her and whosoever brings one life saves one life it is as though he has saved mankind so these things we understand that the sanctity of life is cotton it is cut i ok the sanctity of life is conclusive in fact imam shot to be clearly writes in his morphic art and other people right that islam came and all religions came for the preservation of these five matters and beginning with

[6:22] enough save the nerves okay saving life that this was conclusive the haram martyrs would even be made halal to preserve life and and the freedom of religion at the for anybody in everybody not just for Muslims okay unnecessary people to have progeny and offspring a local reason promote reason and wealth surprisingly to me this is what religion actually came for these this is known as Maha siddhis Sharia so when people speak these are the

[7:02] methoxy so just to kind of I wanted to kind of just open that up now yes people will say that they were rulings in Islam but would you not say there are certain rulings in Islam that scholars had taken based on certain hadith now I will come to some hadith and show how they are massively problematic but there are other hadith and teachings now yes we've got to understand something in

[7:39] the past in the past so great scholars today by the way people like cher Abdullah bin ve a great Maliki scholar one of the teachers of share Hamza Yusuf in his sonata for tower in his machine he'd in his other articles as well in in his conference there was a conference which is which is available online as well or the transcript to it he discussed in depth these kind of situations saying that look in the past yes it is true that certain many scholars did go with certain rulings but you've got to look in they day and age

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment VyAwDWTHPa4/s/2. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/vyawdwthpa4/s/2/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.