Original disbelief is different from emergent [disbelief]; the evidence for this is that the man is permitted to remain upon it, and the inhabitants of monasteries, the elderly, and the blind are not killed, nor is the woman compelled to abandon it through beating or imprisonment; emergent disbelief is the opposite. A child is not legally responsible (mukallaf), unlike a woman. As for the Banu Hanifah, it has not been proven that those of them who were enslaved had previously embraced Islam. The Banu Hanifah did not all embrace Islam; rather, some of them did, and the apparent [situation] is that those who embraced Islam were men. Among them were those who remained steadfast in their Islam, such as Thumamah ibn Uthal, and among them were those who apostatized, such as al-Dajjal al-Hanafi.

Section Two: Apostasy is not valid except from a person of sound mind. As for one who has no sound mind, such as a child who has no discernment, a lunatic, or someone whose mind has ceased to function due to fainting, sleep, illness, or taking permitted medicine, his apostasy is not valid, and his speech has no legal consequence, without disagreement. Ibn al-Mundhir said: All those whom we have memorized from among the scholars have reached a consensus that if a lunatic apostatizes during his state of madness, he remains a Muslim according to what he was upon before that, and if a killer intentionally kills him, he is subject to retaliation (qisas) if his guardians demand it. The Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "The Pen is lifted from three: from the child until he reaches puberty, from the sleeper until he wakes up, and from the lunatic until he regains his sanity." Recorded by Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi (10), who said: It is a hasan (good) hadith. This is also because he is not legally responsible, so he is not held accountable for his speech, just as (11) he is not held accountable for it regarding his acknowledgments (iqrar), his divorce, or his manumission. As for the intoxicated person and the discerning child, we will mention their rulings later, if Allah wills.

Section Three: That he is not to be killed until he is asked to repent three times. This is the opinion of the majority of scholars, including Umar, 'Ali, 'Ata', al-Nakha'i, Malik, al-Thawri, al-Awza'i, Ishaq, and the People of Opinion (Ashab al-Ra'y). It is one of the two opinions of al-Shafi'i. It is narrated from Ahmad, in another report, that he is not