Question:
What is the proof that mere apostasy equals waging “war against Allah and His Messenger”(5:33) ? Jalalyn explains it as “fighting against Muslims”. This verse was revealed for those who not merely apostated but killed the shepard & stole the camels. Then how can this & related hadith :
Narrated Aisha: The Prophet (pbuh) said: The blood of a Muslim man who testifies that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah’s Apostle should not lawfully be shed except only for one of three reasons: a man who committed fornication after marriage, in which case he should be stoned; one who goes forth to fight with Allah and His Apostle, in which case he should be killed or crucified or exiled from the land; or one who commits murder for which he is killed. (Abu Dawud)
be used as evidence as for mere apostasy ?
Answer:
First of all the translation is not “one who goes forth to fight with Allah and His Apostle” but rather “one who goes forth to fight against Allah and His Apostle.”
The answer is that mere apostasy is not equal to waging war in the sense of that verse and that hadith. According to the scholars, there has to be active hostility and enmity [hiraba] on top of apostasy [kufr/ridda] for the latter to amount to waging war. And Allah knows best.
Hajj Gibril Haddad
