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in category Seerah

Did any sahaba (companions) apostasise or become murtad during the life of the Prophet Muhammed (saw)?

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In a Nutshell: Some unnamed companions who apostatised after receiving news of Isra and Miraj. Abdullah ibn Sa'd, the foster brother of Uthman ibn Affan, apostatised then came back to Islam during the conquest of Makkah whilst the Christian remained an apostate and died, and the earth rejected his body, and thus became a sign for the people.

The following examples are often cited:

  • Unnamed companions after Isra and Miraj
  • The scribe Abdullah ibn Sa‘d ibn Abi Sarh, and
  • An unnamed Christian man.

Regarding the unnamed companions who apostatised after receiving news of Isra and Miraj:

Aisha said: When the Prophet (saw) was taken to Al-Aqsa Mosque, people have spoken about that and some people who believed in him have apostatized. (Hakim)

It was narrated that Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqas said:

On the day of the conquest of Makkah, the Messenger of Allah (saw) granted safety to the people except four people, two women whom he named, and Ibn Abi Sarh. As for Ibn Abi Sarh, he hid with Uthman ibn Affan, and when the Messenger of Allah (saw) called the people to swear allegiance, Uthman brought him and made him stand before the Messenger of Allah (saw) and said: O Prophet of Allah, accept the allegiance of Abdullah. He raised his head and looked at him three times, each time refusing, then he accepted his oath of allegiance after the third time. Then he turned to his Companions and said: “Was there not among you any intelligent man who, when he saw me not accepting his pledge, would get up and kill him?” They said: O Messenger of Allah, we do not know what is in your mind; why did you not hint to us with (a movement of) your eyes? He said: “It is not appropriate for a Prophet to have treacherous eyes.” (Nasa’i 4067) and Abu Dawud 2683)

The scholar Dhahabi said:

"He never harmed anybody, and he did not do anything that he could be blamed for after the conquest of Makkah. He was one of the wisest and most generous of men." (Siyar A‘laam an-Nubala, 3/34)

With regard to the Christian, he became Muslim, then apostatised. He used to say that he changed the words the Prophet (saw) dictated to him. It was narrated that Anas said:

"There was a Christian man who became Muslim and read al-Baqarah and Aal Imran, and he used to write for the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). He went back to being a Christian, and he used to say: Muhammad does not know anything but what I wrote for him. Allah caused him to die, and they buried him, then the next morning the earth had thrown him out. They said: This is the doing of Muhammad and his companions, because he ran away from them; they dug up our companion and threw him (on the ground). So they dug a grave for him and made it deep, but the next morning the earth had thrown him out. They said: This is the doing of Muhammad and his companions, because he ran away from them; they dug up our companion and threw him (on the ground). They dug another hole for him and they made it as deep as they could in the ground, but the next morning the earth had thrown him out. Thus they realised that this was not something that people had done, so they left him unburied."

Ibn Taymiyyah said:

"This accursed one who fabricated lies against the Prophet (saw) and said that he did not know anything but what he wrote for him was subject to vengeance and shame from Allah, as He caused him to be thrown out of the grave after he had been buried, several times. This is something extraordinary which shows to everyone that this was a punishment because of what he had said and that he was a liar, because such things do not happen to most of the dead."


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