Religious freedom and Riddah through the Maqāṣidī interpretation of Ibn ‘Āshūr
Open accessAbstract
The concept of riddah (apostasy) in Islam is a controversial issue, especially when it comes to religious freedom. Therefore, this article aims to analyse the application of the Maqāṣidi (Higher Objectives of Islamic Law) interpretation of Ibn ‘Āshūr in interpreting the verse on religious freedom in relation to riddah . According to Ibn ‘Āshūr, the main objectives in revealing the Qur’an are based on three things, namely ṣalāh al-aḥwāl al-fardiyyah (individual betterment), ṣalāh al-aḥwāl al-jamā’iyyah (collective good) and ṣalāh al-aḥwāl al-‘Umrāniyyah (the good of civilisation). Salāh al-aḥwāl al-fardiyyah provides meaning to the fulfilment of individual rights, such as the freedom of choice in belief or religion. Thus, in Ibn ‘Āshūr’s view, religion, which is considered something personal, is used to determine communal good and inevitably influences the goodness of human civilisation in the world. Based on the Maqāṣidi Interpretation of Ibn ‘Āshūr, this article argues that the death penalty for riddah needs to be reinterpreted for theological, historical and political reasons. Furthermore, its imposition is contrary to the dimension of ḥifẓ al-nafs (guarding the soul) and ḥifẓ al-dīn (maintaining religion). Contribution: This article provides insight into the contribution of Ibn ‘Āshūr through the Maqāṣidi interpretation in viewing the issue of religious freedom in relation to riddah . It contributes theoretically to become a conceptual framework to respond to the issue of riddah .
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Apostate movements against the Muslim community combined apostasy with rebellion, fraud, and sedition.
“Such movements were not limited to private disbelief but combined apostasy with rebellion, fraud and sedition.”
From APOSTASY PUNISHMENT IN ISLAMIC SCHOLARLY DISCOURSE: PERSPECTIVES AND IMPLICATIONS IN THE MALAYSIAN CONTEXT (2025) · cites this paper as Mujib & Hamim, 2021
The sections on Maqāṣidī interpretation and the debate over riddah (page numbers unavailable) distinguish private apostasy from rebellion, separatism, conspiracy and provocation of hostility. Those passages support rebellion and broadly support sedition, but they do not describe the movements as involving fraud. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredClassical jurists applied the death penalty for apostasy to protect communal cohesion and political stability.
“Classical jurists thus applied the penalty to protect communal cohesion and political stability (Mujib & Hamim, 2021).”
From APOSTASY PUNISHMENT IN ISLAMIC SCHOLARLY DISCOURSE: PERSPECTIVES AND IMPLICATIONS IN THE MALAYSIAN CONTEXT (2025) · cites this paper as Mujib & Hamim, 2021
In “Debate between classical and contemporary Islamic Law experts regarding riddah” (page unavailable), the paper says most classical legal experts upheld the death penalty for apostasy. It links protection of the Muslim community and political concerns to the Prophet’s imposition of the penalty, but does not say classical jurists applied it for those reasons. (LLM, conf=0.85)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredDifferences in scholarly opinions on apostasy do not arise from denying the seriousness of apostasy, but from contrasting interpretive frameworks.
“These differences in scholarly opinions do not arise from denying the seriousness of apostasy, but from contrasting interpretive frameworks.”
From APOSTASY PUNISHMENT IN ISLAMIC SCHOLARLY DISCOURSE: PERSPECTIVES AND IMPLICATIONS IN THE MALAYSIAN CONTEXT (2025) · cites this paper as Mujib & Hamim, 2021
The section ‘Debate between classical and contemporary Islamic Law experts regarding riddah’ (page unavailable) links scholarly disagreement to different ways of interpreting the Qur’an and hadith, including whether to use historical, sociological and political approaches. It does not establish the claim that the differences do not arise from denying the seriousness of apostasy. (LLM, conf=0.82)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredHistorically, the imposition of the death penalty for apostasy was shaped by the atmosphere of treachery surrounding the apostate movements against the Muslim community.
“Historically, the imposition of the death penalty for apostasy was shaped by the atmosphere of treachery surrounding the apostate movements against the Muslim community.”
From APOSTASY PUNISHMENT IN ISLAMIC SCHOLARLY DISCOURSE: PERSPECTIVES AND IMPLICATIONS IN THE MALAYSIAN CONTEXT (2025) · cites this paper as Mujib & Hamim, 2021
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Musa, R., Razali, K., Mohamad Fakhrulrozi, A. S., Ali, M. S., Zulkifli, M. F., & Mohammad Nasir, N. S. (2025) · Malaysian Journal of Syariah and Law · doi:10.33102/mjsl.vol13no3.755
- Authors
- Mujib, L. S. B., & Hamim, K.
- Affiliations
- Universitas Islam Negeri Mataram (ID)
- Venue
- HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies
- Publisher
- AOSIS
- Published
- 2021-11-12
- Volume
- 77
- Issue
- 4
- ISSN
- 0259-9422 (ISSN-L)
- 2072-8050
- OpenAlex
- W3214678165
- Cited by
- 21
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 2
- FWCI
- 5.34
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Greater South Information System
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Qur’anic Interpretation Studies
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Religious studies › Islamic Thought and Society Studies
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Islamic Studies and History
- Keywords
- riddah, apostasy, religious freedom, maqāṣid al-sharīʿah, Quranic exegesis, Islamic law
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