done in earnest, in jest, or in mockery. Allah the Exalted says: “If you ask them, they will surely say, ‘We were only chatting and playing.’ Say, ‘Was it Allah, His revelations, and His Messenger that you were mocking? Make no excuse; you have disbelieved after your belief’” (9:65–66).

As for the one who utters words of unbelief under coercion, he is not deemed an apostate, for Allah the Exalted states: “Whoever disbelieves in Allah after his belief—except for one who is compelled while his heart is firm in faith…” (16:106).

The nullifiers of Islam that bring about apostasy are many. Foremost among them is shirk (associating partners with Allah): anyone who commits shirk by calling upon the dead, saints, or the righteous; slaughtering animals for their graves; vowing offerings to them; or seeking relief and aid from the dead—as the grave-worshippers do today—has apostatized from Islam. Allah the Exalted says: “Indeed, Allah does not forgive that partners be associated with Him, but He forgives whatever is less than that for whom He wills” (4:48).

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) said: “Whoever places intermediaries between himself and Allah—invoking them, asking them, and relying upon them—has disbelieved by unanimous agreement.”

Likewise, whoever denies any of the messengers or any of the divine scriptures has apostasized, for he is rejecting Allah by denying one of His messengers or one of His books. The same applies to denying the angels or the resurrection after death, for such denial contradicts the Quran, the Sunnah, and scholarly consensus. Equally, reviling Allah the Exalted or reviling any of His prophets constitutes unbelief.