ABSTRACT
There is no doubt that apostasy is regarded as a grievous sin in Islam. In Islamic law, almost all early jurists took a hard line, believing that apostasy was to be punished by death. Indeed, a surface reading of some of the verses of the Qur’an and of hadith texts could lead to the conclusion that anyone who turns away from the faith should be punished in this world. Close reading, however, reveals that there is no temporal punishment specified in the Qur’an. The Prophet did not take it on himself to punish people for this offence. His mission was to persuade, not coerce, people into professing Islam.
