Sūrah Al-Burūj The Mansions of the Stars: Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī Qurʾānic Rulings and Law

DetailInformationClassificationSignificance

SurahAl-BurūjMeccanPersecution of believers and divine protection of the faith

Key Fiqh IssueRiddah (apostasy) legal definition, isti'tābah (request to repent), and school positionsCapital offence after isti'tābahMost severe consequence in Islamic personal law

School ComparisonḤanafī: male apostate 3 days to repent then executed; female imprisoned; Mālikī: isti'tābah, then executed (male and female by majority); Shāfiʿī: 3 days, then executed; Ḥanbalī: immediate or 3 days to repent, then executedCapital after isti'tābahFemale apostasy ruling is main Ḥanafī-majority divergence

Uṣūl PrincipleḤifẓ al-dīn preservation of religion as the first of the five maqāṣid (objectives) of SharīʿahCore maqṣadGrounds the apostasy ruling in the preservation of the divine trust

Al-Qurṭubī derives from verse 8 "they resented them for no reason except that they believed in Allah" the historical context of persecution for faith, and from the opposite direction derives the apostasy ruling: just as believers cannot be forced from their faith, a Muslim who voluntarily abandons the faith crosses a different legal threshold. The ḥifẓ al-dīn maqṣad (preservation of religion) is the uṣūl ground for the apostasy ruling.

Al-Qurṭubī details the isti'tābah requirement: before the apostasy ruling is applied, the apostate must be formally given the opportunity to repent (isti'tābah). The Ḥanafī school specifies three days; the other schools may allow less or more time depending on circumstances. The most significant school divergence is on female apostates: the Ḥanafī school holds that women are imprisoned until repentance, not executed (based on the prophetic prohibition of killing women in war by analogy); the majority of Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, and Ḥanbalī scholars hold that female apostates are treated the same as male apostates executed after isti'tābah if they refuse to repent.

وَمَا نَقَمُوا مِنْهُمْ إِلَّا أَن يُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ Wa-mā naqamū minhum illā an yuʾminū bi-llāhi l-ʿazīzi l-ḥamīd Meaning: "They resented them for no reason except that they believed in Allah, the Almighty, the Praiseworthy" Al-Qurṭubī: this verse establishes the principle that faith is not a legitimate ground for persecution; the apostasy ruling concerns the opposite situation voluntary abandonment, not coerced rejection; coerced abandonment of faith has no legal effect on Muslim status.

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَتَنُوا الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَتُوبُوا فَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ Inna lladhīna fatanū l-muʾminīna wa-l-muʾmināti thumma lam yatūbū fa-lahum ʿadhābu jahannam Meaning: "Those who tormented the believing men and women and then did not repent for them is the punishment of hellfire" Al-Qurṭubī: "thumma lam yatūbū" (then did not repent) the availability of repentance before divine punishment mirrors the isti'tābah principle in the apostasy ruling; repentance is always offered before severe legal consequences.

Isti'tābah (formal request to repent) is required before applying the apostasy ruling all four schools require this step; the time period varies (3 days typical).
Male apostate who refuses to repent: executed after isti'tābah unanimous across Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, Ḥanbalī; Ḥanafī agrees.
Female apostate: Ḥanafī says imprisoned until repentance (not executed); majority Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, Ḥanbalī say treated same as male the most significant school divergence in this ruling.
Coerced declaration of apostasy has no legal effect the coerced person retains Muslim status; only voluntary, deliberate apostasy triggers the ruling.
Ḥifẓ al-dīn (preservation of religion) is the maqṣad grounding the apostasy ruling it is not punishing belief change but protecting the divine covenant from voluntary, deliberate rejection.

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