Islamic Cleric Endorses Death Penalty for Whoever Changes Religion

• An influential Nigerian Islamic cleric has publicly backed the death penalty for Muslims who renounce their faith, citing both Hadith and Qur’anic verses
• Dr Ibrahim Jalingo, Chairman of the Council of Ulama, made the declaration in a Facebook post that has sparked widespread debate
• He labelled critics of Hadith literature as ignorant and accused them of distorting Islamic teachings

An influential Nigerian Islamic cleric has publicly backed the death penalty for Muslims who renounce their faith, citing both Hadith and Qur’anic verses.

An Islamic cleric and the National Chairman of the Council of Ulama, Dr Ibrahim Jalingo, publicly endorsed the death penalty for religious faithful who renounce their religion.

In a strongly worded statement posted to his official Facebook page on 10 April, Jalingo defended a Hadith prescribing capital punishment for apostates and labelled critics of Hadith literature as suffering from “compound ignorance.”

His remarks came in response to challenges regarding the authenticity of the Hadith, with some alleging that it contradicts the Qur’an.

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A Hadith is a documented account of the sayings, actions, or approvals of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and is regarded in Islam as a major source of guidance, second only to the Qur’an.

Jalingo, wrote:

“Today, I came across the first Hadith among the supposed ‘100 Hadiths’ which the fabricators claim contradict the Qur’an. They assert that Muslims who believe in both the divine revelation of the Hadith and the Qur’an cannot respond to them! The Hadith in question is: ‘Whoever changes his religion, kill him.’ The person who presented this statement by the fabricators to me is someone named Issiyaku Abdulkadir.

“Here is what I wrote in response to the claims of these fabricators: First, I thank you for starting to bring me what this compound ignoramus refers to as ‘100 Hadiths that contradict the verses of the Qur’an.’ This will, God willing, give me the opportunity to expose his ignorance to the world”, Jalingo’s statement partly read.

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He went on to reinforce the divine origin of Hadith, placing it on equal footing with the Qur’an:

“Secondly, it should be made clear to everyone that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) never said: ‘The role of Hadith is to interpret the Qur’an.’ However, the Prophet said: ‘Indeed, I was given the Qur’an and something like it alongside it.’ What is true is that the Qur’an is a revelation from Allah, and so is the Hadith a revelation from Allah. Often, the Qur’an addresses a matter in a summarised or brief way, and then the revelation of Hadith comes to elaborate on that matter.”

Jalingo defended the Hadith prescribing the execution of apostates, backing his stance with references to Qur’anic verses.

“Third: The Hadith you cited—’Whoever changes his religion, kill him’—is authentic and does not contradict the Qur’anic revelation. This is because Allah says in Surah At-Tawbah, verse 5: ‘Then, when the sacred months have passed, kill the polytheists wherever you find them.’

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He supported his claims with another Quranic citation in Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 193, saying, “Fight them until there is no more fitnah (disbelief and oppression) and religion is for Allah alone.’ Meaning: fight them until they accept Islam.

And in Surah An-Nisa’, verse 89: ‘Kill them wherever you find them.’ And again in Surah An-Nisa’, verse 91: ‘Kill them wherever you confront them.'”

He further declared that the widely quoted verse advocating freedom of religion had been abrogated:

“You see, unless someone is completely ignorant like the fabricators, no one would claim that the Hadith which says ‘Whoever changes his religion, kill him’ contradicts the Qur’an—because the Qur’an itself goes even further. It does not only permit the killing of apostates, but all polytheists in certain contexts.

“Fourth: You should also know that the verse ‘There is no compulsion in religion’ (La ikrah fi ad-deen) has had its ruling abrogated (naskh) by the verses we’ve just quoted, as well as by the very Hadith you brought: ‘Whoever changes his religion, kill him.’ And abrogation is a well-established concept within the revelation of the Glorious Qur’an.”

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In a final explosive comment, Jalingo launched a personal attack on his critics, stating, “This is a brief response to the compounded ignorance of this individual—whose approach and manner resemble that of prostitutes and effeminate men—i.e., the so-called fabricators.”

Islamic scholar dies after medical trip to India

Legit.ng earlier reported that a prominent Islamic cleric and Chief Imam of Dutsen Tanshi Jummaat Mosque, Dr Idris Abdul’aziz Dutsen Tanshi, has died after a prolonged illness.

Source: Legit.ng