Thursday 18 Ramadan 1445 - 28 March 2024
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If a person apostatizes then returns to Islam, should he repeat Hajj?

Question

What is the ruling regarding a person who left Islam then returned to it? Should he repeat what he has performed of the pillars of Islam, for example, Hajj, fasting and praying? Is his repentance and returning to Islam enough? Should he start over new?.

Answer

Praise be to Allah.

The more correct of the two scholarly opinions is that if the apostate repents to Allah and enters Islam again, repenting and turning to Allah, he does not have to repeat the actions that he did before he apostatized, because Allah has stipulated for deeds to be rendered worthless by apostasy that the person should die in that state. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And whosoever of you turns back from his religion and dies as a disbeliever, then his deeds will be lost in this life and in the Hereafter, and they will be the dwellers of the Fire. They will abide therein forever” [al-Baqarah 2:217]. So in order for deeds to be lost, it is stipulated that the person should persist in his apostasy until death. 

The verse also indicates that if he repents before death, then the deeds that he did before he apostatized will be valid, and will be acceptable in sha Allah. 

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Source: Islam Q&A