two upright witnesses, as is the case with testimony regarding theft. It is not valid to draw an analogy to adultery, for the four-witness requirement was not stipulated therein because of the cause of killing; the proof of this is its requirement in the adultery of a virgin, even though there is no killing involved. The cause is simply that it is adultery, and that is not present in apostasy. Furthermore, the difference between the two is that accusing someone of adultery necessitates eighty lashes, unlike accusing someone of apostasy.

Second Section: If one's apostasy is established by evidence or other means, and he testifies that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, the veracity of what he was testified against is not to be investigated, and he is to be set free. He is not to be tasked with acknowledging what was attributed to him, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "I have been commanded to fight the people until they say: There is no god but Allah. If they say it, they protect their blood and wealth from me, except for its right, and their reckoning is with Allah, the Exalted and Majestic." Agreed upon. Furthermore, the Islam of an original unbeliever is established by this; therefore, the Islam of an apostate is likewise. Once his Islam is established, there is no need to investigate the veracity of his apostasy. The statement of al-Khiraqi is understood to apply to one who disbelieved by denying the oneness of God, or denying the prophethood of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), or denying both together. As for one who disbelieved in a manner other than this, his Islam is not realized except by acknowledging what he denied. Whoever acknowledges the prophethood of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) but denies that he was sent to all the worlds, his Islam is not established until he testifies that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah to all creation, or he disavows, along with the two testimonies, every religion that contradicts Islam. If he claims that Muhammad is a messenger sent subsequently, other than this one, he is obligated to acknowledge that this sent one is the Messenger of Allah; for if he restricts himself to the two testimonies, it is possible that he meant what he believes. If he apostatized by denying an obligatory matter (fard), he does not become a Muslim until he acknowledges what he denied and repeats the two testimonies; because he belied Allah and His Messenger through what he believed. Likewise, if he denies a prophet, or a verse from the Book of Allah the Exalted, or one of His books, or one of His angels who is known to be among the angels of Allah, or declares a forbidden act to be permissible, then for his Islam, it is indispensable to acknowledge