al-Moulakhas al-Fiqhi - Salih Al-Fawzan - (2/571)

—nor from any disbeliever, even if that disbeliever now shares the very religion to which he defected, for his apostasy is not legally acknowledged. Nor may he inherit from a Muslim, for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “A Muslim does not inherit from a disbeliever, nor a disbeliever from a Muslim.” 1

The jurists, may Allah have mercy on them, have disagreed over whether the repentance of a person who reviles Allah Most High or His Messenger ﷺ is to be accepted.

Some maintained that his repentance is not accepted with respect to worldly rulings: he is neither spared execution nor permitted to inherit or be inherited from. He must be put to death in every case, owing to the enormity of his sin, the corruption of his creed, and his flagrant disrespect for Allah Almighty.

The second opinion is that his repentance is accepted, in light of the Almighty’s words: “Say to those who disbelieve: if they desist, they will be forgiven for what has passed” (Quran 8:38).

The scholars have likewise differed concerning one who apostasises repeatedly.

Some said that his repentance is not accepted in this life; the prescribed ruling for apostasy must be carried out against him even if he repents, citing the verse: “Indeed, those who believed, then disbelieved, then believed, then disbelieved, and thereafter increased in disbelief—Allah will never forgive them nor guide them to a path” (Quran 4:137).

Others held that his repentance is accepted, arguing from the same verse quoted earlier: “Say to those who disbelieve: if they desist, they will be forgiven for what has passed,” for its wording is general and therefore includes even the person whose apostasy has occurred repeatedly.

(1) One of the legal consequences for the murtadd (apostate) is separation from his wife: if he repents before her ‘idda (waiting period) ends, the marriage is reinstated; but if the ‘idda finishes before his repentance, the contract is considered annulled from the moment of his apostasy—this ruling also applies when the apostasy occurs before consummation.

مسلم؛ لقوله ﷺ: "لا يرث المسلم الكافر ولا الكافر المسلم" ١. وقد اختلف العلماء ﵏ في حكم قبول توبة من سب الله تعالى أو سب رسوله ﷺ: فقال بعضهم: لا تقبل توبته في أحكام الدنيا كترك قتله وتوريثه والتوريث منه، وإنما يقتل على كل حال؛ لعظم ذنبه وفساد عقيدته واستخفافه بالله تعالى. والقول الثاني: أنه تقبل توبته؛ لقوله تعالى: ﴿قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِنْ يَنْتَهُوا يُغْفَرْ لَهُمْ مَا قَدْ سَلَفَ﴾ . وكذلك اختلف العلماء ﵏ في قبول توبة من تكررت ردته: فقال بعضهم: إنها لا تقبل في الدنيا؛ فلا بد من تنفيذ حكم المرتد فيه، ولو تاب؛ لقوله تعالى: ﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ثُمَّ كَفَرُوا ثُمَّ آمَنُوا ثُمَّ كَفَرُوا ثُمَّ ازْدَادُوا كُفْراً لَمْ يَكُنِ اللَّهُ لِيَغْفِرَ لَهُمْ وَلا لِيَهْدِيَهُمْ سَبِيلاً﴾ . وقيل: تقبل توبته؛ لقوله تعالى: ﴿قُلْ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِنْ يَنْتَهُوا يُغْفَرْ لَهُمْ مَا قَدْ سَلَفَ﴾ ؛ فالآية عامة، تتناول بعمومها من تكررت ردته.

١ ومن الأحكام المتعلقة بالمرتد أنه يفرق بينه وبين زوجته، فإن تاب قبل انقضاء عدتها؛ رجعت إليه، وإن انقضت عدتها قبل أن يتوب؛ تبين فسخ النكاح منذ ارتد، وكذا لو كانت الردة قبل الدخول.