If a Muslim comes to a conclusion, after profuse research, that the religion of Jesus Christ is a more comprehensive and complete religion as compared to Islam and he renounces Islam, considering that such a person is described as a fitri apostate, is he sentenced to death?

Although the religion of Islam calls upon all mankind to accept divine unity, it does not coerce them into accepting it because faith and belief cannot be based on force and compulsion. Indeed, this does not become a license to create an atmosphere of antagonism against Islam because Islam is based on monotheism and rejection of polytheism. According to Islam, one who has accepted Islam and grown up in a faithful Muslim family must remain adherent to it and if he denies one of the fundamentals of Islam and embarks openly on opposing it spreading sedition and disturbing public mind about right and wrong, he has committed a crime for which he must also undergo punishment. An apostate is liable to punishment because of his social crime and sin not because of his personal belief. Hence, if a person becomes an apostate but he does not declare his apostasy to others, he will not be entitled to punishment. In other words, if such a person has put all his efforts into knowing the truth, he will be justified in his apostasy, so God, the Almighty, will not punish him as he is not really a criminal within the realm of the individual rules pertaining to him. However, if he has been guilty of knowing the truth, he is considered to be also a criminal within the realm of individual rules. In fact, apostasy is not an individual crime since the apostate not only violates the right of general public to maintaining their religious spirit but he also undermines the faithfulness of those who are not experts in the religion. In the early period of Islam also, a number of the enemies of Islam conspired against it by first accepting Islam and then turning away from it so as to weaken Muslims' faith. In order to prevent this threat, Islam prescribed capital punishment for apostasy, though it made also difficult to prove it so much so that only a limited number of people in the early period of Islam were sentenced to this punishment. Therefore, the psychological impact of this punishment rather than the punishment itself has brought about a healthy atmosphere for the general public. Obviously, the punishment of an apostate persuades non-Muslims to accept Islam with more caution, exactitude and precision, thus it will prevent from a shallow and shaky faith. .

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Created in 1400/12/21

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