Answer
Short Answer:
- Now the actual punishment prescribed by the Shari’ah for the desertion of Islam by a Muslim is generally understood to be the death penalty. But this is a controversial question, as the Quran does not prescribe death as a penalty for apostasy.
- Therefore, saying that Islam wants to execute anyone who exercises this God-given right, would certainly be antithetical to the very foundational principles of Islam.
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Salam Dear Brother,
Thank you for contacting About Islam with your question.
What makes you a Muslim?
From the point of view of Islam, a person becomes a Muslim, when he or she is convinced of the truth of Islam. Because the Quran clearly and categorically says:
{There shall be no compulsion in religion […]} (Quran 2:256)
And:
{And say: The truth is from your Lord, so let him who please believe, and let him who please disbelieve.} (Quran 18:29)
As the above verses clearly show, it should be as a matter of one’s own conscience and not out of any worldly or material interest that a person should choose to become a Muslim.
In your question, you refer to the case of a Hindu man who officially converted to Islam with a view to marrying a Muslim girl. In this specific case, for all practical purposes, the man is a Muslim now.
Can Someone Be Insincere When Converting to Islam?
And if both the man and his wife continue to be Muslims, there is no problem. But your question suggests that the Hindu man’s purpose here was just to marry the Muslim girl. And for which he adopted the best course, namely converted to Islam.
And apparently, he never wanted to leave Hinduism. Nor adopt Islam as a way of life. He simply took the nearest way to attain his immediate objective. If this is the case, there is every chance that he will return to Hinduism with his wife. If she too is ready for it.
From the point of view of general ethics, the person in question is guilty of deception. The penal code of the government of India views deception as a punishable offense.
But the actual details of the punishment will be determined by a court of law. This, after hearing both sides as to the nature of the crime committed as well as its impact on others.
It may be imprisonment for a period of a few months and/or a fine. But usually, in the matter of conversion, the court is concerned whether there has been any coercion in effecting the conversion.
Freewill
If it is proved that the conversion or re-conversion was done out of the freewill of the persons involved, there is no problem. Because the fundamental rights outlined in the Indian constitution guarantee that any citizen of India can adopt any religion or ideology he or she likes.
From the Islamic point of view, no one is a Muslim unless and until he or she believes Islam to be the truth and declares so openly. Embracing Islam can never be done by way of expediency. Nor for the purpose of achieving some worldly benefit such as marrying a girl one likes.
Islam does not approve of such a conversion adopted as a ruse for the gratification of a selfish desire in the first place.
Secondly, the Islamic Shari’ah (i.e the Islamic legal system) does not favorably view a situation whereby a Muslim (whether he was formerly a Non-Muslim or not) officially leaves Islam.
This could be a punishable offense where the Shari’ah is in force. And of course, this does not apply to a country (whether it is a Muslim majority or not) where the Shari’ah is not the official legal system adopted.
The Controversy of The Death Penalty
Now the actual punishment prescribed by the Shari’ah for the desertion of Islam by a Muslim is generally understood to be the death penalty. But this is a controversial question. The Quran does not prescribe death as a penalty for apostasy.
On this issue, Sheikh Ahmad Kutty, a senior lecturer and Islamic scholar at the Islamic Institute of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, states the following:
Freedom of conscience is one of the fundamental rights of humans enshrined in the Quran; it is therefore, absurd for anyone to suggest that Islam allows putting people to death just because they convert to another religion.
Sheikh Ahmad Kutty cites the following verses of the Quran:
{There shall be no compulsion in religion. Distinct has now become the right way from [the way of] error: hence, he who rejects the powers of evil and believes in God has indeed taken hold of a support most unfailing, which shall never give way: for God is all-hearing, all-knowing} (Quran 2:256)
And:
{If it had been your Lord’s will, all who are in the earth would have believed. Will you, then, force the people to become believers?} (Quran 10:99)
And also verses 3:20, 5:92, 42:48
Freedom of Choice
It is a matter of highest significance in Islam that the Quran categorically emphasizes the personal moral responsibility of each one of us. This, as well as the freedom of choice given to us.
Therefore, saying that Islam wants to execute anyone who exercises this God-given right, would certainly be antithetical to the very foundational principles of Islam.
Sheikh Ahmad Kutty continues:
In full conformity with the above teachings, neither the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) nor any of the four rightly guided caliphs who succeeded him were in the habit of hunting down people and executing them for merely changing their religions. Rather, they refrained from doing so except in rare cases involving treason. Treason, however, is another matter. The punishment for treason in the Quran is as strict as it is in the Hebrew Bible. But it must never be confused with mere change of religion.
As for your question: it is evident that only a person devoid of any moral principles will resort to the deceptive way of pretending to become a Muslim to marry a Muslim girl and then force her to convert to his religion.
It is a reprehensible and heinous act from the point of view of all religions that preach honesty and sincerity in human dealings, as well as from the point of view of legal systems based on truth and justice.
And Allah knows best.
I hope this helps. Please keep in touch.
Walaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh.
(From Ask About Islam archives)
Please continue feeding your curiosity, and find more info in the following links:
https://aboutislam.net/reading-islam/understanding-islam/when-words-and-actions-do-not-meet/
https://aboutislam.net/counseling/ask-about-islam/why-does-islam-want-to-force-people-to-remain-muslims/