# Why did some classical scholars rule that apostates be executed?

*Why some classical scholars ruled for execution: treason in a different world*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/vyawdwthpa4/s/3/
- 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 (7:52–11:49)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyAwDWTHPa4&t=472s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/vyawdwthpa4/

**Topics:** Apostasy and blasphemy; Hudud and punishments; Islam and modernity

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** 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.

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

**Evidence, his words at 8:56:** “any of these rulings today clearly do not apply many of these scholars have said today” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyAwDWTHPa4&t=536s)

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth reports that Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah, a Maliki scholar and a teacher of Hamza Yusuf, discusses in Sina'at al-Fatwa [?], other articles and a conference that many earlier scholars did rule for capital punishment, but that they were addressing what would today be called treason: betraying the community, breaking a covenant, rebelling with the sword or passing state secrets. He says such rulings clearly do not apply today, naming Bin Bayyah, Mahmud Shaltut and al-Buti [?] among modern scholars who say so. He suggests Muslims did not object at the time because the world was segregated into Christian and Muslim lands with little migration, and every dynasty, Christian or Muslim, executed traitors without anyone seeing an issue. He says this does not make those rulings accurate, and at the end of the passage turns to the Sunnah.

## Sources and names cited

- Shaykh Abdullah bin Bayyah
- Hamza Yusuf
- Sina'at al-Fatwa [?] (Abdullah bin Bayyah)
- Mahmud Shaltut
- Sa'id Ramadan al-Buti [?]
- Maliki school

## Transcript (machine tier, 7:52–11:49)

[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

[8:18] what were they looking at there was two things to understand here certain scholars first of all they when they spoke about any kind of ruling and they were speaking of what would today we looked at as treason in the past because in the past the world was a different place so they said anybody who committed an act of betrayal to the community and and on her that he was under ahoo that he made it up he kind of made apparent what many of them be safe he raised his sword and rebelled

[8:56] and created a rebellion and may have been part of state secrets or what would today be seen as espionage and treason that yes in the past they may have ruled they did rule many scholars that that could have had capital punishment any of these rulings today clearly do not apply many of these scholars have said today Sher Abdullah bin baya whether it's been chef shall tooth share from a bond or booty all these all Imam clearly of this day and age have highlighted that does not apply at all but many centuries ago yes many scholars may have looked at the world because the world was a very

[9:36] different place in the medieval times so they may have ruled like that okay what they rule was may have but but the whole world was doing it then you've got to understand something why didn't much limbs object to this why didn't some Muslims gonna say wait wait a minute we want to object because I suppose maybe they didn't I know this is gonna sound weird but maybe they saw it as is this really a battle worth fighting because in the past the worlds were incredibly segregated right they were incredibly segregated there wasn't this kind of cosmopolitan worlds that we

[10:15] see today this kind of migration didn't happen on this scale that we have today so people in the past you know mainly these were let's say Christian countries these were mainly old Muslim countries you may have had some tiny kind of migrants here and there but that's how the worlds were and nobody had a problem in oh this person is a traitor this person is this execute them the Christians have no problem doing it anybody you know in in all these dynasties of the past and Muslims who I suppose from that perspective were no different and the scholars didn't really see this as much of an issue does that

[10:54] make it in that sense does that make it accurate no it doesn't okay so that's just to highlight okay another interesting thing now let's go to the Sun now okay the prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam spent an entire lifetime okay the Prophet Muhammad SAW spent an entire lifetime doing Dawa preaching teaching the people when people argue that apostasy deserves to be killed the question here is why does it deserve to

[11:33] be killed why sorry why does the person deserve to be killed why and they would say well because he's disbelieved and he said well that's interesting because that would mean them disbelief deserves to be killed that anybody that Co far deserved to be killed because they also disbelieve does it not does that logic not follow so by that logic you would argue that all Co far deserve to be killed because what is the reason that you say that the ill our we call a no solution

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment VyAwDWTHPa4/s/3. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/vyawdwthpa4/s/3/

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