Close Friendship and Alliance (Muwalat) with an Apostate

Question

Question: Those people who according to the Shari‘a are offenders against the Shari‘a, on whom a hadd has become applicable for changing their religion — according to a Shar‘i fatwa — and regarding whom there is a ruling to cease close friendship and alliance (muwalat); and some people cease muwalat with them, while other people maintain muwalat with them, consider this deed of theirs good, and by their cleverness declare this deed of theirs wrong or permissible — what is the Shar‘i ruling for such people?

Answer

Whoever leaves the religion of Islam and adopts some other religion is an apostate (murtadd). Close friendship and alliance (muwalat) with him is haram. Whoever maintains muwalat with him is a sinner, and it is obligatory (lazim) for him to repent of this deed of his.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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