horses, and you shall be left to tend camels until Allah makes a course of action clear to the successor of His Messenger and the believers following your apostasy.”
The Companions agreed with him on this, except for requiring blood money for the Muslims who had been killed. For ʿUmar ibn al-Khattāb—may Allah be pleased with him—said to him: “These men were killed in Allah’s cause, and their reward rests with Allah.” That is, they were martyrs, so no blood money was due for them. They therefore agreed upon ʿUmar’s position on this matter.
What the Companions agreed upon is the position of the leading scholars, while the matter over which they differed is likewise disputed among the scholars. The majority hold that no blood money is due for anyone killed by apostates fighting as an organized force, in accordance with the Companions’ eventual agreement. This is the position of Abū Hanīfa and of Ahmad according to one of the two reports from him. The position of al-Shāfiʿī and of Ahmad according to the other report is the initial view.
The measures the Companions applied to those apostates after their return to Islam should likewise be applied to anyone who professes Islam but remains manifestly suspect. Such a person is to be prevented from serving as a horseman, bearing weapons or wearing the armour worn by combatants. Nor is anyone who is a Jew or a Christian to be retained in the army. They must be required to observe the prescribed practices of Islam until the good or evil they do becomes apparent.
Any of their leaders in misguidance who professes repentance is to be removed from their midst and sent to Muslim lands where they have no prominence. Then either Allah Most High will guide him, or he will die in his hypocrisy without harming the Muslims.
There is no doubt that jihad against these people and enforcing the prescribed punishments upon them are among the greatest acts of obedience and the most important obligations. This is superior to jihad against those polytheists and People of the Book who do not fight the Muslims, for jihad against these people is akin to jihad against the apostates, and al-Siddīq