Is it true that Islam cuts off hands and kills people who leave?

Maybe you saw a clip online. It said Islam cuts off hands, whips people, and kills anyone who leaves the religion. Maybe a friend at school asked you about it, and you did not know what to say. Maybe it is your own question: how can a religion of mercy have punishments like these?

That is a fair question. Asking it is not a sin. Many sincere Muslims have asked it. You deserve an honest answer, not a quick one.

Some of these punishments are real, and they are severe. But the clips rarely tell you the rest: who may apply them, how hard they are to prove, how often Nabi ﷺ turned people away, and what scholars say about leaving Islam.

The short answer

• The hudud are few. They cover a small number of crimes. For everything else, a judge picks a lighter, fitting punishment, or none.
• Only a court can apply them. A proper court in an Islamic state, with a qualified judge. Never a person, a family, a mob or a group.
• They need very strong proof. Real doubt drops the punishment. In practice, they were very rare.
• Mercy and repentance come first. Nabi ﷺ told people who confessed to go home and ask Allah for forgiveness.
• On leaving Islam, scholars differ about what the law was for and what applies today. They all agree that no individual may harm anyone.

What are the hudud?

Hudud (one is called a hadd) means limits. Scholars use the word for a small number of fixed punishments named in the Quran or the Sunnah for certain crimes. The main ones are:

• Theft¹.
• Zina (sex outside marriage)².
• Falsely accusing a chaste person of zina³.
• Armed robbery and spreading terror in the land⁴.
• Drinking alcohol. Nabi ﷺ and Abu Bakr gave a set number of lashes for it⁵. Most scholars count it as a hadd. Some say it is left to the judge.

Many classical scholars also listed leaving Islam and armed rebellion against the state. We look at leaving Islam later in this chapter.

Everything else is called ta'zir: a punishment the judge chooses to fit the crime and the person. It can be a warning, a fine or a short sentence. It can also be nothing at all, if the judge sees that forgiving is better.

Why have them at all?

Scholars explain that Islamic law protects five things: life, faith, the mind, the family and property. The hudud guard these. Allah calls the punishment for theft a lesson from Allah, meant to stop others⁶. The goal is a safe society.

Notice also what comes straight after the verse on theft: whoever repents after his wrong and puts things right, Allah will accept his repentance⁷. Mercy is never far from the punishment.

Who is allowed to carry them out?

This is the most important point in this chapter. Only a proper court in an Islamic state can apply a hadd. The four schools agree on this. A father, a brother, a preacher, a group or a crowd may not do it.

Sa'd ibn Ubadah, a leader of the Ansar, asked Nabi ﷺ: if a man finds another man with his wife, should he kill him? Nabi ﷺ said: No⁸. Even in the worst moment of anger, no one may take the law into his own hands.

• Where Muslims live as a minority, in Europe, America and many other places, the hudud do not apply at all. Muslims there follow the law of the land.
• In Muslim countries, it is still a matter for the courts only. Many scholars also say the strict requirements are rarely met today.
• Anyone who hurts a person in the name of a hadd, without a court, is doing something haram. If he kills, he has committed murder. Allah says killing one person unjustly is like killing all of humanity⁹.

For more on who may declare war and why terrorism is haram, see Jihad, war and terrorism.

Why are they so hard to prove?

The proof needed for a hadd is much stronger than for most crimes.

• Zina needs four witnesses who all clearly saw the act itself¹⁰¹¹. That almost never happens. And if someone accuses without four such witnesses, the accuser is the one punished¹². Islam protects people's good name.
• Theft has a minimum value. Nabi ﷺ said the hand is cut only for something worth a quarter of a dinar (a small gold coin) or more¹³. Scholars add more requirements. For example, the item must be taken from a place where it was kept safe, and the thief must not have a real claim to it.
• Real need counts. Scholars often mention that Umar, the second caliph, did not cut hands during a year of famine. Hunger is a doubt that drops the punishment.
• Taking back a confession. Most scholars say that if a person confesses and then takes it back, the hadd is dropped. When Ma'iz tried to run away during his punishment, Nabi ﷺ said: why did you not leave him? Perhaps he would have repented, and Allah would have forgiven him¹⁴.
• No favors for the rich. A woman from a powerful family stole, and people asked Nabi ﷺ to let her off. He said nations before were destroyed because they punished the poor and let the rich go. Then he said even his own daughter would face the same law¹⁵.

Doubt drops the punishment

Scholars of all four schools agree on a rule: if there is real doubt, the hadd is not applied. There is a well-known saying, "push away the hudud with doubts". As a saying of Nabi ﷺ, its chain is weak. But the scholars agree on what it teaches, and they took it from how Nabi ﷺ and the Companions judged.

Mercy and repentance come first

Nabi ﷺ did not go looking for people to punish. Again and again, he gave them a way out.

• He sent people back. A man named Ma'iz confessed zina. Nabi ﷺ told him, again and again: go back, ask Allah for forgiveness and turn to Him¹⁶. He even asked: perhaps you only kissed her, or looked at her?¹⁷.
• He did not ask for details. A man said: I have done a sin that has a hadd, so punish me. Nabi ﷺ did not ask what it was. The man prayed with him. Then Nabi ﷺ said: Allah has forgiven your sin¹⁸.
• He told people to forgive before court. Nabi ﷺ said: forgive each other for such wrongs among yourselves, because once a case reaches me, the hadd must be carried out¹⁹.
• He did not let people curse a sinner. A man was punished more than once for drinking. When someone cursed him, Nabi ﷺ said: do not curse him. By Allah, I know he loves Allah and His Messenger²⁰.

If you sinned in secret

Islam does not ask you to hand yourself in. It asks you to repent to Allah and keep the sin covered.

• Nabi ﷺ said: whoever covers a Muslim, Allah will cover him on the Day of Judgement²¹.
• He warned against people who sin at night, while Allah has covered them, and then tell others about it in the morning²².
• He said a punishment in this world wipes out that sin. And if Allah covers it, the matter is with Allah: He may forgive or punish²³.
• Even the punishment for armed robbery is dropped for those who repent before they are caught²⁴.

Are these punishments cruel?

We will not pretend. Some of the hudud are severe. Allah says so Himself: they are meant to stop people³¹. Here are some things to think about, calmly.

• Severe on paper, rare in practice. The high level of proof, the rule on doubt, and the push to repent mean very few cases ever reach a hadd.
• Every society punishes crime. Many countries send people to prison for decades. Some still use the death penalty. The real question is not whether to punish, but how.
• The goal is protection, not revenge. The hudud guard people's lives, families, property and good name. They are not a tool for anyone's anger.
• This world is not the end. A hadd wipes out the sin³². For a believer, that is mercy in its own way.

Some readers will still find this hard. That is honest, and it does not make you a bad Muslim. Take that feeling to Allah in dua, keep learning, and talk to a scholar you trust. We trust that Allah is wise and fair, even where we do not see the full wisdom yet.

What does the Quran say about leaving Islam?

Now the second big question: what happens to a person who leaves Islam?

The Quran is clear that faith cannot be forced:

• There is no force in religion. The right way is now clear from the wrong way³³.
• The truth is from your Lord. So whoever wants, let him believe, and whoever wants, let him disbelieve³⁴. The verse goes on to warn about the Hereafter.
• Allah asks Nabi ﷺ: will you force people until they become believers?³⁵.

The Quran talks about people who left the faith in several places. It warns them about the Hereafter: their deeds are lost if they die that way³⁶. It also says Allah will bring other people who love Him in their place³⁷. It leaves the door open for those who repent and put things right³⁸. And a person forced to say words of disbelief, while his heart is still firm in faith, is not counted as leaving³⁹.

These verses speak about the Hereafter. They do not name a punishment in this world.

What did the classical scholars say, and why?

Two hadith are the main evidence used by the classical scholars:

• Nabi ﷺ said: whoever changes his religion, kill him. Ibn Abbas quoted this when Ali punished a group who had turned away from Islam⁴⁰.
• Nabi ﷺ said the life of a Muslim may not be taken except in three cases. One of them is a person who leaves his religion and leaves the community⁴¹⁴².

Based on these, the four schools held that an adult Muslim of sound mind who openly left Islam had committed a crime under the law of the state. Here is what that meant:

• Only a court could deal with it. Never a family or a person.
• The person was given time, often three days. Scholars talked with him to answer his doubts.
• If he came back, there was no punishment. If he refused, the state could carry out the death penalty.
• Hanafis: a woman who leaves Islam is not put to death. She is held and invited back.

The world they lived in

Remember the time. Religion and state were joined. Your faith was also your loyalty. The Muslims were often at war. Leaving Islam openly usually meant leaving the Muslim side, and often joining its enemies. That is why many scholars connect it with the words "and leaves the community" in the hadith. It was treated much like treason is treated by many countries today.

What do scholars say today?

Scholars today hold different views. Real scholars hold each of them. Here they are, fairly.

View 1: the classical law stands, but only for a proper Islamic court

Many scholars say the classical view is still the law in principle, based on the hadith above. But they stress that it is only for a court of an Islamic state, with every requirement met, and after the person is taught and invited back. Many of them add that a person with doubts must be taught, not punished, and that this law does not apply where there is no such court.

View 2: the punishment was for leaving joined with treason or fighting

Other scholars say the death penalty was for a person who left Islam and turned against the Muslims: joined the enemy, fought, or worked to harm the community. A person who simply stops believing, and harms no one, is not punished in this world. His matter is with Allah. Their evidence:

• No force in religion⁴³.
• The Quran speaks about leaving Islam many times, but names no worldly punishment for it⁴⁴⁴⁵.
• The words "and leaves the community" in the hadith⁴⁶.
• A Bedouin asked Nabi ﷺ three times to cancel his pledge of Islam, and then left Madinah. Nabi ﷺ did not punish him⁴⁷. Scholars who hold the other view say this man only wanted to leave Madinah, not Islam.
• In the treaty of Hudaybiyah, Nabi ﷺ agreed that a Muslim who went over to Quraysh in Makkah would not be sent back⁴⁸.

View 3: it is left to the state to decide

Some scholars say it is not a fixed hadd but a ta'zir: the state may decide, based on the harm to society in each time and place. Some of them point out that a few early scholars are reported to have said the person should be invited back with no time limit.

What can we not fully know?

Let us be honest about the limits.

• How these laws would work today, in modern states, is still discussed by scholars. Good scholars reach different answers.
• We do not always see the full wisdom behind every law of Allah. We see some of it: protecting life, family and trust. The rest we leave to Him.
• We do not know anyone's end. Only Allah judges a person's heart and how he dies. We never say that a named person is in Hell.

What if someone you love has left Islam?

A brother, a daughter or a close friend says: I do not believe anymore. What do you do?

• Stay calm and stay kind. Shouting, threats and shame push people further away. Allah tells us to invite with wisdom and good advice⁵¹.
• Keep the family tie. Asma's mother was not a Muslim. Asma asked Nabi ﷺ if she should keep good ties with her. He said: yes, keep good ties with your mother⁵². Allah tells us to be kind to our parents in this world even if they call us away from Him⁵³.
• Listen first. Ask what happened. Often the reason is pain: hurt from Muslims, a hard question no one answered, or a hard time in life. See How to look for answers.
• Make dua for them. Guidance is from Allah. He told Nabi ﷺ: you cannot guide everyone you love. Allah guides whom He wills⁵⁴.
• Never harm them, and never let others harm them. If anyone threatens a person who has left Islam, that is wrong. Get help from family elders, a wise imam, or the police.

If it is you who is thinking of leaving

Please do not carry this alone. Doubts happen to good Muslims (see Is it normal to have doubts?). Talk to someone you trust and ask your questions. Allah says those who come back and put things right will find Him forgiving and merciful⁵⁵. If you have been away for a long time, read Is it too late to come back to Islam?

If your doubts come with deep sadness, fear, or thoughts of hurting yourself, please talk to someone today: family, an imam, a doctor or a counselor.

Common questions

I saw someone doing something haram. Can I punish them myself?

No. No person may apply a punishment. Even Sa'd, finding a man with his wife, was told not to kill⁵⁶. You can advise gently, in private. If a real crime is happening, call the police.

I did a serious sin in secret. Should I confess to someone?

No. Keep it covered and repent to Allah. Nabi ﷺ warned against telling people about a sin Allah had covered⁵⁷. Allah forgives all sins for those who turn back to Him⁵⁸.

Is stoning in the Quran?

The Quran names one hundred lashes for zina⁵⁹. The four schools hold that the punishment for a married person is stoning, based on the Sunnah⁶⁰⁶¹. It needs four witnesses to the act itself, or a clear confession repeated by a person of sound mind, which he may take back. The cases we know of from his time came from people who confessed themselves.

If I have doubts, have I left Islam?

No. A question in your mind is not leaving Islam. Some Companions had thoughts too terrible to say out loud. Nabi ﷺ said hating such thoughts is clear faith⁶². See Is it normal to have doubts?

Can someone who left Islam come back?

Yes. The door is open while a person is alive. Allah forgives those who repent and put things right⁶³. Coming back is as simple as saying the shahadah sincerely. See New Muslim.

Is an ex-Muslim going to Hell?

Only Allah knows a person's heart and how he dies. The Quran warns about dying while rejecting faith⁶⁴. But we never say that a named person is in Hell. Our job is kindness, honesty and dua.