1008 – ʿĀʾisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “It is not lawful to kill a Muslim except in one of three cases: a previously married adulterer—he is to be stoned; a man who deliberately kills a Muslim—he is to be killed; and a man who leaves Islam and fights against Allah and His Messenger—he is to be killed, or crucified, or banished from the land.” Reported by Abū Dāwūd and al-Nasāʾī, and al-Ḥākim declared it sound. (1)

Grade of the ḥadith: Authentic.

This ḥadith reaches us from ʿĀʾisha (may Allah be pleased with her) through three chains:

1. The first was collected by Aḥmad, Muslim, and al-Dāraquṭnī.
2. The second was collected by Aḥmad, al-Nasāʾī, Ibn Abī Shaybah, and al-Ṭayālisī; all the transmitters in this chain are trustworthy.
3. The third was collected by Abū Dāwūd, al-Nasāʾī, and al-Dāraquṭnī; its isnād is sound according to the criteria of the two Shaykhs, a judgment with which al-Dhahabī agreed, and which al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar also affirmed in al-Dirāyah.

Glossary of the ḥadith
– khisāl (traits): a khislah is a disposition found in a person; it may be virtuous or blameworthy.
– muḥṣan: voiced with a kasrah on the ṣād it is the active participle; with a fatḥah it is the passive participle. The muḥṣan is someone who has had lawful intercourse with his Muslim wife—or a dhimmī wife—in a valid marriage,