Contents:

Important Notes:
Note 1: Arabic Terms & Qur’anic References.
Note 2: Terms of Reverence.
Note 3: Quotations Dishonestly Presented.
Note 4: Judge a Religion by its Teachings.
Note 5: Beware of Biased Experts!
Note 6: One Side of the Picture.

Introduction:
Chapter One:
The penalty of apostasy in the light of the Holy Qur’an and the true practice of the Messenger
Firstly: The word "Hadd", generally interpreted to mean "penalty" or "punishment", is used in the Holy Qur’an to mean "the truth" or " the law", not to mean punishment.
Secondly: The position of the Holy Qur’an regarding accusation of apostasy.
Thirdly: The position of the Holy Qur’an regarding the verdict of executing someone outside the principle of: "a life for a life".
Fourthly: The penalty of apostasy in the light of the true practice of the Messenger.

Chapter Two:
The penalty of apostasy in the books of ancestors and in the history of Muslims.
Firstly: The events in the Prophet's life negate the existence of a penalty for apostasy.
Secondly: The penalty of apostasy and the war with the apostates.
Thirdly: Developing the penalty of apostasy between the two scholars "Al-Awza'ee" and "lkremah".
The Tradition of Al-Awza'ee As Reported In Sahih Muslim
Discussing Ikremah's Hadith in: "Sahih-ul-Bukhari"
Fourthly: Is it permissible to put people to death based on traditions that have been reported by one person?
The Verdict

Conclusion:
The penalty of apostasy, a verdict to kill all people



Important Notes


Note 1: Arabic terms & Qur’anic References.
The western reader may find some difficulty in understand­ing the few Arabic terms used in this translation, therefore every Arabic term in the book is followed by an English explanation which may not be necessarily present in the original Arabic text. Gender references are to both males and females unless otherwise stated. Qur’anic references follow immediately the English translation of Qur’anic verses between two parenthesis in the format of two numbers separated by a colon. The first number refers to the number of the Chapter from the Holy Qur’an, while the second number refers to the number of the verse in that Chapter. Some publishers of the Holy Qur’an count the opening verse: In the name of Allah, the Gracious, the Merciful; as the first verse of every Chapter in which it appears, other publishers do not. The author followed the referencing of the later publishers. Readers whose Holy Qur’an are published by the former publishers should add 1 to the verse number of the Qur’anic references mentioned in this book.

Note 2: Terms of Reverence.
The western reader may not be familiar with the terms of reverence used generally by Muslims in conjunction with names of some personalities. Therefore, it is better to present an explanation of such terms:

1. "sa" following the name of "the Prophet or "the Messenger" is an abbreviation of: Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, which means: Peace and blessings of God be upon him. This term of reverence is usually reserved for the Prophet Muhammad. Also whenever the term "Prophet or "Messenger" is mentioned without specifying a name, then such term refers exclusively to the Holy Prophet Muhammad. Needless to explain that the term "Holy" when used with the name of the Prophet does not mean in any way that the Prophet Muhammad is divine or being worshipped beside God. It is just a term of reverence used in English language to indicate that a specific person has a special relationship with God, as it is usually referred to a prominent religious personality by the term: "His Holiness". Also the Qur’an is referred to by the term: "The Holy Qur’an", meaning that the Qur’an is a divinely revealed book, as it is usually referred to the Bible by the term: The Holy Bible.
2. "as" is an abbreviation of Alaihis Salam; which means: Peace be on him. This term of reverence is usually reserved for the prophets of God.
3. "ra" is an