"What did you do with him?" He replied, "We brought him close and struck his neck." 'Umar said, "Why did you not imprison him for three days and feed him a loaf of bread every day and ask him to repent, perhaps he might repent or return to the command of Allah? O Allah, I was not present, I did not order it, and I was not pleased when it reached me." If his repentance were not mandatory, he would not have been absolved [of responsibility] for their action. Because it was possible to reform him, it was not permissible to destroy him before attempting to reform him, like a filthy garment. As for the command to kill him, it refers to [the time] after requesting repentance, as evidenced by what we have mentioned. As for the hadith of Mu'adh, it has been narrated therein: "And he had been asked to repent." It is narrated that Abu Musa asked him to repent for two months before Mu'adh arrived to him, and in another version: "He invited him for twenty nights, or close to that, so Mu'adh came and invited him, but he refused, so he struck his neck." Recorded by Abu Dawud (18). It does not follow from the prohibition of killing that liability (daman) is mandatory, as evidenced by the women, children, and elderly of the warring unbelievers. Once it is established that the request for repentance is mandatory, its duration is three days. This is narrated from 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him. Malik, Ishaq, and the People of Opinion (Ashab al-Ra'y) held this view. It is one of the two opinions of al-Shafi'i. In the other [opinion], he said: "If he repents immediately, [he is spared], otherwise he is killed on the spot." This is the sounder of his two opinions, and it is the view of Ibn al-Mundhir, due to the hadith of Umm Marwan and Mu'adh, and because he is persistent in his disbelief, which resembles [the state] after three days. Al-Zuhri said: "He is called [to repent] three times; if he refuses, his neck is struck." This resembles the opinion of al-Shafi'i. Al-Nakha'i said: "He is asked to repent forever." This leads to him never being killed, which is contrary to the Sunnah and consensus. It is narrated from 'Ali that he asked a man to repent for a month. Our evidence is the hadith of 'Umar, and because apostasy only occurs due to a doubt, and it does not vanish immediately; therefore, it is mandatory to wait for a period during which he may reflect, and the most appropriate for that is three days, based on the report concerning it, and because it is a near period. It is appropriate that he be restricted during the period of requesting repentance and that he be imprisoned, because of the saying of 'Umar: "Why did you not imprison him and feed him a loaf of bread every day?" One should repeat the invitation to him, perhaps his heart will soften and he will return to his religion."