What Islam's sources say about violence and jihad
What the sahih hadith say
Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, compiled about 230 years after Muhammad, record commands to fight until people testify to Islam, rules of war, and the death penalty for leaving Islam, alongside a ban on killing women and children.
The reports
These are the most-cited sahih reports on fighting and apostasy. They are summarised here, never quoted: read the full wording on sunnah.com.
Sahih al-Bukhari 25 Summary, not a quotation
Ordered to fight people until they testify to the faith, pray and pay zakat; then their blood and property are protected.
Read the full text on sunnah.comSahih Muslim 1731a Summary, not a quotation
Instructions to army commanders: invite to Islam; if refused, demand jizya; if refused, fight. Do not kill children, mutilate or act treacherously.
Read the full text on sunnah.comSahih al-Bukhari 3015 Summary, not a quotation
The Prophet forbade the killing of women and children in war.
Read the full text on sunnah.comSahih al-Bukhari 6922 Summary, not a quotation
Whoever changes his religion, kill him.
Read the full text on sunnah.comSahih al-Bukhari 3017 Summary, not a quotation
Ali burned people (apostates); Ibn Abbas objected to burning but cited the command to kill whoever changes his religion.
Read the full text on sunnah.comHow they are read
Classical jurists read Bukhari 25 with the Quran's war verses as the basis for jihad against non-Muslim states, and Bukhari 6922 as a death penalty for adult apostates. Many modern Muslim scholars limit Bukhari 25 to the Arab idolaters of Muhammad's time and read the apostasy reports as about treason, not belief.
Where scholars disagree
- The scope of Sahih al-Bukhari 25 and of the apostasy reports is debated by modern Muslim scholars; the classical schools held the stricter reading.
Sources
- Earliest source Sahih al-Bukhari (al-Bukhari died 870) 25, 3015, 3017, 6922; Sahih Muslim (Muslim died 875) 1731a (sunnah.com numbering).
- Rudolph Peters and Gert J. J. De Vries, "Apostasy in Islam", Die Welt des Islams 17 (1976-77).