Are One’s Deeds Nullified by Apostasy?

Question

Question: verse (1): [ar]وَمَن يَرْتَدِدْ مِنكُمْ عَن دِينِهِۦ فَيَمُتْ وَهُوَ كَافِرٌ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ حَبِطَتْ أَعْمَـٰلُهُمْ فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا وَٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ الخ[/ar] “Whoever among you turns back from his religion and dies as a disbeliever — for those, their deeds have become worthless in this world and in the Hereafter” (Surah al-Baqara, 2:217). Verse (2): [ar]وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِٱلْإِيمَـٰنِ فَقَدْ حَبِطَ عَمَلُهُۥ[/ar] “And whoever denies the faith — his work has become worthless” (Surah al-Ma’ida, 5:5).

Answer

This disagreement rests on a disagreement in principle (usul): namely, that the argument from mafhum al-sifa (the implied meaning of a descriptive qualifier) is regarded as a [valid] proof by Imam al-Shafi‘i ﵀, but is not regarded as a proof by Imam Abu Hanifa ﵀ — as, for example, in [the verse]: [ar]وَمَن لَّمْ يَسْتَطِعْ مِنكُمْ طَوْلًا أَن يَنكِحَ ٱلْمُحْصَنَـٰتِ…

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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