The National Chairman of the Council of Ulama’Jibwis Nigeria, Sheikh Dr. Ibrahim Jalo Jalingo has advocated for the killing of those who dump Islam.
The cleric said this on Thursday in a post made on his Facebook page, backing his demand with a Quran verse, “Whoever changes his religion should be killed”, which he attributed to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
Jalingo was reacting to criticism from a user identified as Masussuka, who had questioned the authenticity of the Hadith, claiming that it contradicts the Qur’an.
The Hadith has caused controversy amongst Islamic scholars for centuries.
However, Sheikh Jalingo maintained that the Hadith is in line with the teachings of the Qur’an.
He emphasised that the Qur’an, in verses such as Surah At-Tawbah (9:5) and Surah An-Nisa (4:89), explicitly permits the killing of polytheists and apostates.
According to Jalingo, these verses justify the execution of individuals who abandon Islam and convert to another religion.
“Only an ignorant person like Masussuka would claim that the Hadith ‘Whoever changes his religion, kill him’ contradicts the Qur’an,” Jalingo said.
“In fact, the Qur’an itself not only permits the killing of those who commit apostasy but even allows the killing of all polytheists.”
He further argued that the verse: “There is no compulsion in religion” (La ikraha fi al-deen) has been abrogated by the aforementioned verses, which he believes more clearly dictate the treatment of apostates.”
