Drama As Islamic Cleric Endorses Death Penalty For Anybody Who Changes Religion

Dr Ibrahim Jalingo, an Islamic cleric and National Chairman of the Council of Ulama, has sparked significant outrage by publicly recommending the death penalty for anybody who rejects their faith.

In a message written in Hausa and uploaded on his official Facebook page on Thursday, April 10, Jalingo forcefully defended a Hadith that prescribes capital punishment for apostasy and denounced detractors of Hadith literature, accusing them of “compounded ignorance”.

“Today, I came across the first Hadith among the supposed ‘100 Hadiths’ which the fabricators claim contradict the Qur’an. They assert that Muslims who believe in both the divine revelation of the Hadith and the Qur’an cannot respond to them! The Hadith is: ‘Whoever changes his religion, kill him.’ The person who presented this statement to me by the fabricators is Issiyaku Abdulkadir.

Here is what I wrote in response to the claims of these fabricators: First, I thank you for bringing me what this compound ignoramus refers to as ‘100 Hadiths that contradict the verses of the Qur’an. ‘This will, God willing, allow me to expose his ignorance to the world.”

According to the Tribune, Jalingo’s tweet responded to rising criticism about the legitimacy of a particular Hadith, which many claim contradicts Qur’anic teachings.

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However, Jalingo ignored such arguments, launching a thorough theological counterattack against what he defined as “fabricators” attempting to undermine Islamic traditions.

Jalingo argued that the Hadith is divinely inspired and should not be regarded as merely interpretative: “Second: It should be made clear to everyone that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) never said: ‘The role of Hadith is to interpret the Qur’an.’ However, the Prophet said: ‘Indeed, I was given the Qur’an and something like it alongside it.’ What is true is that the Qur’an is a revelation from Allah, and so is the Hadith, a revelation from Allah. Often, the Qur’an addresses a matter in a summarised or brief way, and then the revelation of Hadith comes to elaborate on that matter.”

He supported the Hadith with numerous Qur’anic references, arguing it does not contradict scripture.

“Third: The Hadith you cited—’Whoever changes his religion, kill him’—is authentic and does not contradict the Qur’anic revelation. This is because Allah says in Surah At-Tawbah, verse 5: ‘Then when the sacred months have passed, kill the polytheists wherever you find them’.”

Jalingo also used verses from Surah Al-Baqarah and Surah An-Nisa to support his case.

“Fight them until there is no more fitnah (disbelief and oppression), and religion is for Allah alone.’ Meaning: Fight them until they accept Islam. And in Surah An-Nisa’, verse 89: ‘Kill them wherever you find them.’ And again in Surah An-Nisa’, verse 91: ‘Kill them wherever you confront them.’

The cleric criticised the commonly famous text defending religious freedom as irrelevant. “You see, unless someone is foolish, as the fabricators are, no one would claim that the Hadith that states ‘Whoever changes his religion, kill him’ contradicts the Qur’an—because the Qur’an itself goes further.

In some cases, it allows for executing all polytheists, not only apostates.

“Fourth: You should also know that the verse ‘There is no compulsion in religion’ (La ikra fi ad-deen) has had its ruling abrogated (naskh) by the verses we’ve just quoted, as well as by the very Hadith you brought: ‘Whoever changes his religion, kill him.’ And abrogation is a well-established concept within the revelation of the Glorious Qur’an.”

Jalingo concluded his piece with an assault against his critics.

“This is a brief response to the compounded ignorance of this individual—whose approach and manner resemble that of prostitutes and effeminate men—i.e., the so-called fabricators.”

The cleric’s statements have subsequently gone viral on social media, eliciting support and criticism.

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