when they stand before Him.

For every Muslim who apostasies from Islam must first be called back to it; if he repents, all well and good, but if he refuses he is to be executed. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Whoever changes his religion, kill him.”

Secondly: if such a man seeks a woman’s hand in marriage, he may not be married off, and should a marriage contract nevertheless be concluded, it is invalid. The woman is not lawful for him to approach; any intimacy with her would be fornication with a stranger—Allah forbid—because the contract itself is void. Allah the Exalted says: “If you ascertain that they are believers, then do not return them to the disbelievers; they are not lawful for them, nor are such men lawful for them.” (Al-Mumtahanah 60:10)

Thirdly: he has no legal guardianship over his children, his sisters, or anyone else, for a disbeliever can never act as a guardian for a Muslim. He cannot even marry off his own daughter. Suppose a man marries, grows older, and has daughters but—Allah protect us—abandons the prayer; in that state he cannot give his daughter in marriage.

Someone might object: “This is difficult. There are men who have daughters yet do not pray—what should we do?” We say: in such circumstances, if the daughters cannot avoid needing a marriage contract, the prospective husband should appoint the girl’s brother, her paternal uncle, or the next closest male relative—according to the established order of guardianship—to conclude the contract for her, doing so secretly without her father’s knowledge until