Chapter Two: The Consequences of Apostasy by Abandoning the Prayer or Otherwise

Apostasy entails rulings that pertain both to this world and to the Hereafter.

First: Worldly rulings

1. Loss of guardianship. The apostate may not be appointed to any position of guardianship that requires Islam. Accordingly, he cannot act as guardian over his own minor children or any other minors, nor may he contract the marriage of any woman under his charge—be she his daughter or someone else.

   Our jurists—may Allah have mercy on them—state explicitly, in both their abridged and detailed works, that Islam is a prerequisite for the guardian who marries off a Muslim woman. They say, “A non-Muslim has no guardianship over a Muslim woman.”

   Ibn ʿAbbās (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “No marriage is valid without a rightly guided guardian.” The highest and noblest form of right guidance is the religion of Islam, while the lowest and most contemptible form of folly is unbelief and apostasy from Islam. Allah the Exalted says, “Who would turn away from the religion of Abraham except one who has made a fool of himself?” (Q 2:130).

2. Forfeiture of his share of inheritance from his relatives, because a disbeliever does not inherit from a Muslim, and a Muslim does not inherit from a disbeliever. Usāmah ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said, “A Muslim does not inherit from a disbeliever, nor does the disbeliever…"