Clarifying Apostasy and Musaylimahs Allegiance in Early

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By: Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi
Oxford

I received a question from Shaykh Zafar Ahmad al-Nadwi, a teacher at Dar al-Uloom Nadwat al-Ulama:
“Dear Shaykh Dr. Akram Nadwi, may Allah preserve you, Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. Could you clarify the issue of apostasy after the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) death? Some have mentioned that most people who accepted Islam after the conquest of Mecca reverted, or that most of them did. Also, what is the correct stance on Musaylimah the Liar’s Islam? Did he accept Islam and pledge allegiance to the Prophet (peace be upon him)?”

1. Did most of those who accepted Islam after the conquest revert?

Apostasy means renouncing obedience, which can refer to either religious or political obedience. The frequent mentions of apostasy in hadith and Islamic history refer primarily to the period during the caliphate of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), which occurred in two forms:

Religious Apostasy: This involved those who renounced Islam, opposed the faith, and returned to disbelief. Among these were followers of false prophets, such as Musaylimah in Yamamah and al-Aswad al-‘Ansi in Yemen during the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) lifetime. Talhah ibn Khuwaylid al-Asadi also claimed prophethood among Banu Asad.

Political Apostasy: These were people of rebellion, including those who separated prayer from zakat. They accepted prayer but denied zakat’s obligation and refused to pay it to the leader. This second type of apostasy puzzled ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him).

Arab society was tribal and followed their leaders. When these false prophets rose, they attracted their tribes, and leaders of other tribes refused to pay zakat. Some historians used “apostasy” broadly to describe whole tribes. Al-Qurtubi, in his Tafsir, quotes Ibn Ishaq, stating: “When the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) passed away, all the Arabs except for three mosques (in Medina, Mecca, and Jawatha) apostatized.” Ibn Hisham, in his Sirah (2/666), relates that Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “When the Prophet (peace be upon him) died, the Arabs apostatized, Judaism and Christianity surfaced, and hypocrisy emerged.”

I would say that historians generalized broadly, and the truth is that among these tribes were those with sincere faith who were weak and did not become apparent until Abu Bakr’s army subdued these tribes. When these tribes were defeated, sincere believers joined the expeditions in Iraq and Syria. Al-Khattabi notes, “None of the Companions apostatized; rather, some of the Bedouin tribesmen, who had no strong attachment to religion, did. This does not tarnish the honor of the Companions.”

Ibn Hisham also mentions that most people in Mecca considered reverting after the Prophet’s death, but Suhayl ibn ‘Amr delivered a speech and warned them, so they abandoned the idea.

So, the truth is that most apostates were rough Bedouins who lacked firm belief, following their tribal leaders. Among them were weak Muslims who couldn’t defy their tribes. When their leaders were defeated, the weak Muslims returned to Islam, grew in faith, and later played commendable roles in the conquests of Iraq, Syria, and other regions.

2. Did Musaylimah the Liar accept Islam?

Musaylimah was a man from Banu Hanifah named Musaylimah ibn Thumamah, who called himself “Rahman of Yamamah.” In the ninth year of Hijra, a delegation from Banu Hanifah, including Musaylimah, came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and converted to Islam. Musaylimah sought power and was reluctant to fully accept Islam, telling those around him, “If Muhammad assigns me authority after him, I will follow him.” When the Prophet (peace be upon him) heard this, he approached Musaylimah with a palm branch and said, “If you ask me for this piece of the palm branch, I would not give it to you, and I will not exceed Allah’s command regarding you. If you turn back, Allah will destroy you. Thabit will respond to you on my behalf.” Then he left him (reported by Muslim).

Both Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslim narrate from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “While I was asleep, I was given the keys of the earth’s treasures, and two bangles were placed on my hands, which I disliked. Allah revealed to me to blow on them, and when I blew on them, they disappeared. I interpreted them as two liars who would appear, one from San‘a and the other from Yamamah.”

From these two narrations, it is apparent that Musaylimah did not genuinely accept Islam. This is the view of most hadith scholars and historians. However, some may have mistakenly considered him a Muslim due to his inclusion in the delegation that initially declared Islam upon meeting the Prophet (peace be upon him).