Reinterpreting Hadiths on Non-Muslims and Apostasy in the Contemporary Era: Toward a Moderate and Contextual Islamic Discourse
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33367/al-karim.v3i2.8006Keywords:
Apostasy, Ḥadīth representation, Non-Muslims, The death penaltyAbstract
Rigid interpretations of hadiths concerning relations with non-Muslims and the death penalty for apostasy (riddah) remain critical issues in Islamic discourse, particularly amid the recurring phenomenon of religious intolerance in Indonesia and globally. This article aims to identify the classifications of non-Muslims and their potential to be considered hostile within the framework of Islamic jurisprudence, to explain how Islam views interreligious relations as part of socio-humanitarian life, and to critically examine the concept of the death penalty for apostates in light of justice and public welfare. The study employs a qualitative approach through library research, drawing on primary sources such as Qur’anic exegesis, collections of authentic hadiths, as well as relevant works of classical and contemporary scholars. The findings reveal that the classification of non-Muslims in fiqh is not monolithic but differentiated, such as kāfir ḥarbī and kāfir dhimmī, each bearing distinct social and legal implications. In today’s plural societies, static classical approaches to these categories require critical reassessment to prevent legitimising hostility. Islam essentially promotes interreligious relations grounded in the principles of taʿāruf (mutual acquaintance), ʿadālah (justice), and ṣulḥ (peace). Meanwhile, the discourse on the death penalty for apostasy is more appropriately understood within the historical-political context of early Islam rather than as a universally binding rule. Reinterpretation informed by maqāṣid al-sharī’ah and contemporary realities highlights the importance of respecting freedom of religion as long as it does not involve hostility.
Contribution: The primary contribution of this study lies in its integrative approach, combining normative-textual analysis, maqāṣid al-sharī’ah, and contemporary social contexts, thereby offering a reference for developing an Islamic discourse that is moderate, inclusive, and responsive to modern challenges.
Downloads
References
Abd al-Jabbār, Ṣuhayb. Al-Musnad al-Mawḍū‘ī al-Jāmi‘ Li-al-Kutub al-‘Asharah. Al-Maktabah Al-Syamilah. 2013. https://shamela.ws/book/13285/40#p1.
Abū Dāwūd, Sulaimān ibn al-Ash‘ath al-Azdī al-Sijistānī. Sunan Abī Dāwūd. 1st ed. Edited by Shuayb Al-Arna’ūṭ and Muḥammad Kāmil Qarrah Ballī. Dār al-Risālah al-‘Ālamiyyah, 2009. https://shamela.ws/book/117359/2545.
Aditya, Mochammad Rizky Eka, Dinda Khoirunnisa, Fawwas Fawwas, Ajid Qiston, and Aisyah Zarah Azizah. “The Problem of Interfaith Marriage in Indonesia: A Juridical-Normative Approach.” El-Usrah 6, no. 2 (2023): 456–70. https://doi.org/10.22373/ujhk.v6i2.20059.
Afsaruddin, Asma. The First Muslims: History and Memory. Simon and Schuster, 2013.
Ahmad, Rumadi. “Speaking the Unspeakable: The Status of ‘Non-Muslims’ in Indonesia.” Samarah: Jurnal Hukum Keluarga Dan Hukum Islam 6, no. 2 (2022): 734. https://doi.org/10.22373/sjhk.v6i2.13576.
Akbar, Ali, and Abdullah Saeed. “Death Penalty for Apostasy: Selected Sunni and Shi’a Scholars’ Views in Favour of Abolition.” Melbourne Asia Review 4 (November 2020). https://doi.org/10.37839/MAR2652-550X4.17.
Al Ayyubi, M. Sholahuddin, and Try Heni Aprilia. “Hukuman Mati Bagi Murtad Perspektif Syekh Ali Jum’ah.” Syariah: Journal of Fiqh Studies 1, no. 1 (2023): 43–60. https://doi.org/10.61570/syariah.v1i1.17.
Al-‘Asqalānī, Aḥmad bin ‘Alī bin Ḥajar. Fatḥ Al-Bārī Bi Sharḥ al-Bukhārī. 1st ed. Vol. 11. Al-Maktabah al-Salafiyyah, 1970. https://shamela.ws/book/1673/6414#p1.
Al-Bukhārī al-Juʿfī, Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl. Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Bukhārī. 5th ed. Edited by Muṣṭafā Dīb Al-Bughā. Dār Ibn Kathīr, 1993. https://shamela.ws/book/735.
Alfarishy, Yusdiandra. “Kebebasan Beragama Dalam Perspektif Deklarasi Universal HAM Dan Deklarasi Kairo 1990.” IN RIGHT: Jurnal Agama Dan Hak Azazi Manusia 12, no. 1 (2023): 81–99. https://doi.org/10.14421/inright.v12i1.2815.
Al-Ghoni, Burhanudin, Ahmad Hermawan, Kharis Nugroho, Husain Azhari, Fathiya Azka Awliya, and Shafiqah Amiera Binti Mohd Zambri. “Reframing Qur’anic Perspectives on Interfaith Relations in the Contemporary World: A Thematic Analysis.” Al-Karim: International Journal of Quranic and Islamic Studies 3, no. 1 (2025): 1–14. https://doi.org/10.33367/al-karim.v3i1.6478.
Al-Ḥusaynī al-Ṭihrānī, Muḥammad al-Ḥusayn. “Aḥkām al-Kuffār al-Dhimmīyīn wa al-ḥarbīyīn.” MadrasatAlwahy.org, MadrasatAlwahy.org. Accessed August 7, 2025. https://madrasatalwahy.org/Document/Speech/Details.
Al-Nawawī, Abū Zakariyyā Muḥyī al-Dīn Yaḥyā bin Sharaf. Al-Minhāj Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim Bin al-Ḥajjāj. 2nd ed. Vol. 14. Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1972. https://shamela.ws/book/1711/3178.
Al-Nīsābūrī, Abū al-Ḥusayn Muslim bin al-Ḥajjāj. Al-Jāmi‘ al-Ṣaḥīḥ (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim). 1 reprint. Edited by Muḥammad Dhihnī Afandī, Ismā‘īl bin ‘Abd al-Ḥamīd Al-Ṭarāblusī, Aḥmad Rif‘at bin ‘Uthmān Ḥilmī al-Qurrah Ḥiṣārī, Muḥammad ‘Izzat bin ‘Uthmān Al-Za‘farānbūlī, and Abū Ni‘mat Allāh Muḥammad Shukrī bin Ḥasan Al-Anqarawī. Dar Tawq al-Najat, 2011. https://shamela.ws/book/711.
Al-Qarḍāwī, Yūsuf. Fī Fiqh Al-Aqalliyyāt al-Muslimah: Ḥayāt al-Muslimīn Wasṭ al-Mujtamaʿāt al-Uḫrā. 1st ed. Dār al-Syurūq, 2001. https://www.al-qaradawi.net/node/5061.
Al-Qurṭubī, Muhammad bin Ahmad al-Anshari. Al-Jāmi‘ Li Aḥkām al-Qur’Ān (Tafsir al-Qurṭubī). 2 Asy-Syamilah. Edited by Aḥmad Al-Bardūnī and Ibrāhīm Aṭfīsh. Dār al-Kutub al-Miṣriyyah, 1964. https://shamela.ws/book/20855.
Al-Rāzī, Fakhr al-Dīn. Mafātīḥ al-Ghayb (Al-Tafsīr al-Kabīr). 3rd ed. Dār Iḥyā’ al-Turāth al-‘Arabī, 1420. https://shamela.ws/book/23635.
Al-Ṣanʿānī, Abū Bakr ʿAbd al-Razzāq ibn Hammām. Al-Muṣannaf. 2 Al-Maktabah asy-Syamilah. Dār al-Taʾṣīl, 2013. https://shamela.ws/book/84/2913.
Anas, Ahmad. “Yusuf Al-Qardhawi’s Hermeneutics: An Alternative Moderate Reading of Qur’an.” An-Nur International Journal of The Quran & Hadith 2, no. 2 (2024): 34–44. https://doi.org/10.62032/aijqh.v2i2.49.
Asadurrohman, Muhammad. “Historical Analysis of the Influence of Pre-Islamic Traditions in Jurisprudence and the Importance of Recontextualization.” TAJDID 30, no. 2 (2024): 213. https://doi.org/10.36667/tajdid.v30i2.1587.
Asadurrohman, Muhammad. “Status Ahli Waris Muslim Terhadap Harta Pewaris Non-Muslim Perspektif Yusûf Al-Qarḍâwî.” TAJDID 28, no. 1 (2021): 121. https://doi.org/10.36667/tajdid.v28i1.565.
Auda, Jasser. “The Maqasid Methodolgy: A Guide for the Researcher in the Research Network.” Journal of Contemporary Maqasid Studies 1, no. 1 (2021): 1–30. https://doi.org/10.52100/jcms.v1i1.59.
Az-Zuhailī, Wahbah. Al-Fiqh al-Islām Wa Adillatuh. Al-Maktabah asy-Syamilah al-Haditsah. Dar al-Fikr, 1985.
Az-Zuhailī, Wahbah. At-Tafsīr al-Munīr Fī al-‘Aqīdah Wa Ash-Sharī‘ah Wa al-Manhaj. 10th ed. Vol. 1. Dar al-Fikr, 2009.
Badr al-Dīn, Abū Muḥammad Maḥmūd bin Aḥmad al-ʿAinī. ʿUmdah Al-Qārī Syarḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī. Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāṡ al-ʿArabī, n.d. Accessed August 15, 2025. https://shamela.ws/book/5756/178.
BBC News Indonesia. “ASN dipecat karena terpapar radikalisme dinilai tak selesaikan akar masalah, lalu program deradikalisasi apa yang tepat bagi mereka?” 2021. https://www.bbc.com/indonesia/indonesia-56833812.
BBC News Indonesia. “Terorisme: Mahasiswa terlibat aksi teror, program anti radikalisme di kampus disebut ‘hanya seremonial, tidak mengena.’” May 30, 2022. https://www.bbc.com/indonesia/indonesia-61622974.
CNN Indonesia. “BNPT Sebut Tak Ada Aksi Terorisme di 2023, Tapi Sel Teroris Meningkat.” Nasional. 2024. https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20240220194519-12-1065185/bnpt-sebut-tak-ada-aksi-terorisme-di-2023-tapi-sel-teroris-meningkat.
dw.com. “BNPT Temukan Ratusan Ribu Konten Radikalisme di Medsos.” 2023. https://www.dw.com/id/bnpt-temukan-ratusan-ribu-konten-penyebaran-radikalisme-di-media-sosial/a-67084972.
Fahruddin, Ahmad Hanif. “MENGUCAPKAN SALAM KEPADA NON MUSLIM (Analisis Teksal-Qur’an Hadits, Asbabul Wurud dan Implikasi Hukum).” Akademika 13, no. 01 (2019): 01. https://doi.org/10.30736/adk.v13i01.137.
Hasballah, Khairuddin, Andi Darna, Wardana Said, Hajarul Akbar, Ihdi Karim Makinara, and Faisal Fauzan. “Identifying ‘Illat through Munasabah in Islamic Law: A Perspective of Imam Al-Ghazali.” Samarah: Jurnal Hukum Keluarga Dan Hukum Islam 5, no. 2 (2021): 598. https://doi.org/10.22373/sjhk.v5i2.10914.
Hidayati, Endang, and Bahriyan Ar-Rasyid Hutagaol. “An Analysis of Hasan Hanafi’s Tafsir Method: Hermeneutics as An Interpretative Approach.” INJIES: Journal of Islamic Education Studies 2, no. 1 (2025): 39–48. https://doi.org/10.34125/injies.v2i1.22.
Ibn Kathīr, Ismā‘īl ibn ‘Umar. Tafsīr Al-Qur’ān al-‘Aẓīm. 1st ed. Dar Ibn al-Jawzi, 1431. https://shamela.ws/book/1503/1534#p1 / https://shamela.ws/book/1503/852#p1.
Jain, Sushil. “Ghiyar and Sartorial Differentiation: Exploring Shurut Vinar, Tashabbah-Bi-l-Muslimin, and the Status of Dhimmi and Kafir.” SSRN Scholarly Paper No. 4880052. Social Science Research Network, June 25, 2024. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4880052.
Khabar, Mahmood Khosh, Mahmood Veisi, Hamed Rostami Najafabadi, and Ahmad Falahi. “Reconsidering the Criminalization of Apostasy with a Maqasid al-Shari’a Approach.” Fighe Maqaran 11, no. 21 (n.d.): 203–37. world. Accessed September 25, 2025. https://www.magiran.com/paper/2776869/reconsidering-the-criminalization-of-apostasy-with-a-maqasid-al-shari-a-approach?lang=en.
Khalfaoui, Mouez. “Islam and Freedom of Belief: The Challenge of Female Apostasy.” Brill 23, no. 2 (2025): 239–54. https://doi.org/10.1163/15692086-12341435.
Lattanzio, Gabriele. “Beyond Religion and Culture: The Economic Consequences of the Institutionalization of Sharia Law.” Emerging Markets Review 52 (September 2022): 100918. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ememar.2022.100918.
Muflihun, Muflihun. “Makna Ahl Al-Kitâb Dalam Prespektif Al-Qur’an (Studi Komparatif Atas Tafsîr Al-Manâr Dan Tafsîr Al-Mishbâh).” Masters, Institut PTIQ Jakarta, 2024. https://repository.ptiq.ac.id/id/eprint/1485/.
Mujib, Lalu Supriadi B., and Khairul Hamim. “Religious Freedom and Riddah Through the Maqāṣidī Interpretation of Ibn ‘Āshūr.” HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies 77, no. 4 (2021). https://www.ajol.info/index.php/hts/article/view/232993.
Quṭb, Sayyid. “Tafsir Fī Ẓilāl Al-Qur’ān.” Al-Mawsū‘ah al-Shāmilah Li al-Tafsīr. Accessed August 14, 2025. https://quran-tafsir.net/qotb/sura60-aya8.html.
Rambe, Choirul Hamdan, and Abdul Mukhsin. “Review of Islamic Criminal Law on the Crime of Blasphemy (Case Study in Tebing Tinggi City).” Legal Brief 13, no. 5 (2024): 1259–67. https://doi.org/10.35335/legal.v13i5.1164.
RI, Kemenag. “Qur’an Kemenag.” https://quran.kemenag.go.id/.
Rokhmadi, Rokhmadi, Moh Khasan, Nasihun Amin, and Umul Baroroh. “Understanding Riddah in Islamic Jurisprudence: Between Textual Interpretation and Human Rights.” HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies 79, no. 1 (2023). https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v79i1.8613.
Saeed, Abdullah. Interpreting the Qurʼān: Towards a Contemporary Approach. Routledge, 2006.
Sijuwade, Joshua R. “Islam and the Pan-Abrahamic Problem.” Religions 16, no. 1 (2025): 51. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16010051.
Skovgaard-Petersen, Jakob. “Islamists, Civil Rights, and Civility: The Contribution of the Brotherhood Siras.” Contemporary Islam 18, no. 2 (2024): 243–55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11562-023-00535-8.
Solahudeen, Isa Olawale. “Justification for Islamic Penology: A Comparative Study of Crime Rates Between United States Of America and Saudi Arabia.” Fountain University Law Journal 2, no. 4 (2025): 24–41. https://doi.org/10.53704/2skyvx34.
Soofi, Ahmer Bilal, and Muhammad Masud. “International Law and Maqasid Al-Shariah.” Preprint, 2024. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4937103.
Sriwidodo, Joko. “Ensuring Restorative Justice Through Penal Mediation in Indonesia: An Examination from the Perspective of Islah (Reformation) in Islamic Criminal Law.” Manchester Journal of Transnational Islamic Law & Practice 20, no. 3 (2024): 45. https://openurl.ebsco.com/contentitem/gcd:181002287?sid=ebsco:plink:crawler&id=ebsco:gcd:181002287.
Tahir, Tarmizi, and Syeikh Hasan Abdel Hamid. “Maqasid Al-Syari’ah Transformation in Law Implementation for Humanity.” International Journal Ihya’ ’Ulum al-Din 26, no. 1 (2024): 119–31. https://doi.org/10.21580/ihya.26.1.20248.
Team, Almaany. Ta‘rīf Wa Sharḥ Wa Ma‘nā Kāfir Bi-al-‘Arabī Fī Ma‘ājim al-Lughah al-‘Arabiyyah, Mu‘jam al-Ma‘ānī al-Jāmi‘, al-Mu‘jam al-Wasīṭ, al-Lughah al-‘Arabiyyah al-Mu‘Āṣir, al-Rā’Id, Lisān al-‘Arab, al-Qāmūs al-Muḥīṭ – Mu‘jam ‘Arabī ‘Arabī. Accessed August 17, 2025. https://www.almaany.com/ar/dict/ar-ar/%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%B1/.
Team, Almaany. “Ta‘rīf wa Sharḥ wa Ma‘nā Muslim bi al-‘Arabī fī Ma‘ājim al-Lughah al-‘Arabiyyah, Mu‘jam al-Ma‘ānī al-Jāmi‘, al-Mu‘jam al-Wasīṭ, al-Lughah al-‘Arabī al-Mu‘āṣir, al-Rā’id, Lisān al-‘Arab, al-Qāmūs al-Muḥīṭ – Mu‘jam ‘Arabī ‘Arabī.” In Almaany.Com. Accessed August 16, 2025. https://www.almaany.com/ar/dict/ar-ar/%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%84%D9%85/.
Tweissi, Basim. “Iran vs. Israel: How Deception and the Information War Shaped Public Perceptions.” Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, 2025. https://www.dohainstitute.org/en/Lists/ACRPS-PDFDocumentLibrary/iran-vs-israel-how-deception-and-the-information-war-shaped-public-perceptions.pdf.
United Nations. “Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” 1948. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights.
Yasmar, Renti, Ahmad Fadhel Syakir Hidayat, and Umi Sumbulah. “Non-Muslim Discourse in Abdullah Saeed’s Perspective.” AL QUDS : Jurnal Studi Alquran Dan Hadis 8, no. 1 (2024): 71–90. https://doi.org/10.29240/alquds.v8i1.6015.
Abstract
Views:
80, 
PDF downloads: 143
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Muhammad Asadurrohman, Alamsyah, Maimun, Bunyana Solihin, Muhammad Latif Mukti
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
-
The formal legal aspect of access to any information and articles contained in this journal site refers to the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license.
-
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Licensed under a 