Who is a Murtad. (An Apostate) . The word Murtad is derived from IRTIDAAD, 'to turn back'.

One who gives up Islam willfully for another Faith or becomes a Mulhad (an atheist) (By Marriage or for any other reason) is classified as a Murtad (apostate, renegade, and traitor). (This law does not apply to one who has been compelled by force to change his Faith.) Islam does not permit force to bring any one into its religion. The Holy Quran declares: "Let there be no compulsion in religion" (Surah Baqarah, Verse 256). Islam places no restrictions on any one's Faith. "And say: '(This) is the Truth from your Lord; so let him who wishes believe and let him who wishes disbelieve . . .'" (Surah Al-Kahf, Verse 29). But any Muslim who leaves his Faith willfully is regarded as a traitor. He shall be declared a Murtad, a renegade. He is not to be trusted by the Community. (A Kaafir is a non-Believer, one who does not believe in the Divine Laws of Islam.) (A Mushrik is a pagan, or one who joins partners with Allah / worships other than Allah.) (A Mulhad is an atheist, or one who belief that Almighty Allah does not exist.) Upon hearing of a Muslim having become a Murtad, the Learned (Imam / Sheikh) and family members are expected to call on him / her at least once every day for three days, (or on three separate occasions) in order to coerce and induce him / her back into the fold. Beautifull speech with wisdom (as ordained by Almighty Allah) should be used. Should this person agree to return, he / she will have to follow the same procedure as would apply to a convert to the Faith; that is firstly reject Kufr (disbelief) and then pronounce his Shahadat (Testimony) in the presence of witnesses. A Murtad must also repay the obligatory duties (Fara-id) he had missed. (Salah - Zakaah -Siyam) - Once he / she returns to Islam, and Muslims must no longer shun him. The attitude Islam adopts towards a Murtad is that if he dies or is killed, Muslims are not allowed to bath or bury him in their cemetery or to offer prayers for him. This is declared in the Holy Quran in Surah Taubah, Verse 84: " Nor do thou ever pray for any of them that dies nor stand at his grave: for they rejected Allah and his Apostle, and died in a state of perverse rebellion. " Therefore, a Muslim should not fraternise or befriend a Murtad. (You are allowed to befriend people of other Faiths, but not those who are Murtad.) (One should isolate oneself from family members who have apostated) Even marriage ties are affected. A wife or a husband of a Murtad or of a Mulhad does not require other grounds for annulling Marriage. A Murtad, having committed Kuf'r, cannot inherit from a Muslim nor a Muslim from him. A directive of the Holy Prophet says, "The Kaafir does not inherit a Muslim's wealth nor a Muslim a Kaafir's." For committing the act of KUFR, one should make TAUBAH repent sincerelyfor three daysearnestly begging Allah for His forgiveness, beseeching Him for His mercy, for He is Oft-forgiving, Most Mercifull -- (This is hardly a "punishment" befitting the grievous offence. It is rather an opportunity for those who go astray to invoke His clemency.) -- A Kaafir, a Murtad or a Mulhad is permitted back into the fold of Islam, provided he PUBLICLY rejects Kufr beliefs, declares his Kalimah Shahada and makes sincere Taubah.

An apostate. To be an apostate in Islam is quite different from being so in any other religious denomination. This religion is the religion of the pulpit, religion of the grandmothers, religion of the open sessions and religion of the secret private sessions. It is the religion that an old Muslim follows and the religion that a new Muslim obeys: there is nothing to hide, nothing secret. Why is it so? Why is it that a Muslim is not taught anything from the cradle to the end of his life, but one version of it? It is because this religion is based entirely on reason and logic. There isnt any part of it which demands blind following. Everyone is not free to make an inquiry, but rather, it is his duty to make inquiry about the fundamentals of Islam, in order that his faith rests on firm and unshakable grounds. If someone harbors doubts, it should be his first priority in life to convince himself, in order not to turn into a hypocrite. The Prophet has said that he is leaving behind him a shining path whose night is like the day, i.e., which has no ambiguity, no grey areas, no hidden meanings, but everything is as clear as the daylight. Islam is, therefore, the only religion that is not merely open to criticism, but which is a constant target of criticism by its adversaries, quite a few of whom, after discovering that nowhere it asks them to stretch their reason and logic, succumb to its call. What then could be the reason for a Muslim living in the comforts of an Islamic State to declare Islam as false and feel the necessity to declare his apostasy openly? Has he another religion that can withstand scrutiny in the light of reason and logic? Why did he feel it necessary to announce his dissociation with Islam? Is he out of his mind? Is he a foreign countrys agent? Is he just trying to gain media attention? I s he trying to create disturbance in the society? What exactly are his motives?

It will be the responsibility of a committee appointed to look into his affair, to find out what exactly is wrong, and where? They will conduct discussions with the man. If he has rational reasons for rejection of his faith, he will be explained how his mind is, in truth not rational. If he is an ignorant man, he will be offered books to study and given time to reconsider. If he suffers from some sort of mental disorder, he will be sent to the psychologists for treatment. If he is merely cranky, and his homefolk bear witness that he is, then, perhaps he will be let off. If it is suspected that he works for a foreign agency, then the Law will take its course. In short, sufficient time will be allowed to the man, and sufficient investigations will be conducted before deciding his motives. If the man is sane, is not working for a foreign agency, is sufficiently rational, has no good reasons for rejection of Islam after having been a Muslim all along, then, initially he will be imprisoned, and then, after no further hopes of the man reverting, he will be classified as Murtad and ordered executed. However, if it is a woman, she cannot be executed for apostasy but rather imprisoned for life, to be freed with reversion.
As ag ainst t he 5 5 million C hristians w ho w ere exec ut ed dur ing t he Middle -ag es in Eur ope f or her etic al belief s, M uslims w ho were ex ec uted for apostasy c an be counted on fing ers.

Nonetheless, this is in theory: that is, execution in the wake of apostasy. Islam is not a religion of Inquisition. Muslims have not been executed for blasphemy or Irtidad (apostasy) but occasionally in the entire history of Islam; despite tens of thousands qualifying for it during its history. As against the 55 million Christians who were executed during the Middle-ages in Europe for heretical beliefs, Muslims who were executed for apostasy can be counted on fingers. This is because, it is commonly felt that an apostate of today is a repentant Muslim of tomorrow. People pass through various phases in life, come under a variety of influences, but with time, the community of Muslims is able to win them back until which time it accommodates them and pretends as if they do not exist. To be sure, that kind of compromise is possible during this worldly life, but apostasy is a crime against God who has promised (2: 217):

Whosoever turns back from his religion, and dies in the state of unbelief, it is such whose works will go waste both in thi s life as well as in the next. These are companions of the Fire. They shall abide in it forever. As for wars during the Riddah of Abu Bakrs time, they were not executions for heresy: civilians killings civilians as in Europe during the Middle Ages. But rather, a war of struggle to survive broke out between Muslims and non-Muslims, with the first attack on Madinah by the non-Muslims organized within few days of Abu Bakrs appointment as caliph. Except for Makkah and Madinah, Muslims were left with no town in their full control. Despite attack on Madinah, Abu Bakr did not order the killing of the apostates. He sent a message of warning, and openly declared a state of war between the Muslims and apostates. The Murtaddin accepted the challenge in full confidence of 95% Pagans against 5% Muslims, and a series of wars began from which, against all odds, Abu Bakr and his party miraculously emerged victorious. Otherwise, all counted, those who were executed in Islam for reasons of heresy ( Irtidad) could be no more than a figure expressed in two digits.