Friday, April 11, 2025 - An Islamic cleric and National Chairman of the Council of Ulama, Dr Ibrahim Jalingo, has stirred widespread controversy after publicly endorsing the de@th penalty for individuals who renounce their religion.
In a statement written in Hausa language and shared via his
official Facebook page on Thursday, April 10, Jalingo strongly defended a
Hadith prescribing capital punishment for apostasy and condemned critics of
Hadith literature, accusing them of “compound ignorance.”
Tribune reports that Jalingo's post came in response to
mounting criticisms disputing the authenticity of a specific Hadith, which many
argue contradicts the teachings of the Qur’an. But Jalingo dismissed such
arguments, launching a detailed theological rebuttal against what he described
as “fabricators” aiming to discredit Islamic traditions.
“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 in question is: ‘Whoever changes his religion, kill him.’ The
person who presented this statement by the fabricators to me is someone named
Issiyaku Abdulkadir.
Here is what
I wrote in response to the claims of these fabricators: First, I thank you for
starting to bring me what this compound ignoramus refers to as ‘100 Hadiths
that contradict the verses of the Qur’an.’ This will, God willing, give me the
opportunity to expose his ignorance to the world.”
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 further backed the Hadith with multiple Qur’anic
references, claiming 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 cited verses from Surah Al-Baqarah and Surah
An-Nisa’ to support his argument.
“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 dismissed the widely quoted verse advocating
freedom of religion as no longer applicable. “You see, unless someone is
completely ignorant like the fabricators, no one would claim that the Hadith
which says ‘Whoever changes his religion, kill him’ contradicts the
Qur’an—because the Qur’an itself goes even further. It does not only permit the
killing of apostates, but all polytheists in certain contexts.
“Fourth: You
should also know that the verse ‘There is no compulsion in religion’ (La ikrah
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 ended his post with an attack on 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 remarks have since gone viral across social
media platforms, attracting both support and condemnation.
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