as a form of retaliation (qisas). Therefore, if he reaches puberty and remains firm in his apostasy, the ruling of apostasy is then established for him; he is to be asked to repent for three days, and if he repents, he is accepted, otherwise, he is killed, whether we say that he was an apostate before reaching puberty or not, and whether he was originally a Muslim who apostatized, or a disbeliever who became a Muslim as a child and then apostatized.

1545- Issue: He said: (And if both spouses apostatize and join the land of war, no slavery applies to them, nor to any of their children who were [born] before the apostasy.)

The summary of this is that slavery does not apply to an apostate, whether a man or a woman, and whether they join the land of war or remain in the land of Islam. This is the view of al-Shafi'i. Abu Hanifah said: If a female apostate joins the land of war, it is permissible to enslave her, because Abu Bakr captured the Banu Hanifah and enslaved their women, and the mother of Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyyah was among their captives. Our argument is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): "Whoever changes his religion, kill him." Furthermore, because it is not permissible to allow him to remain in his disbelief, it is not permissible to enslave him, just as it is not permissible for a man. Also, it has not been established that those whom Abu Bakr captured had [already] accepted Islam, nor was the ruling of apostasy established for them. If it is said: It has been narrated from Ali that a female apostate may be taken captive, we reply: This hadith is weak, and Ahmad declared it weak. As for the children of apostates, if they were born before the apostasy, their Islam is affirmed as a consequence of their parents' Islam, and they do not follow them in apostasy because Islam is superior; they followed them in it, so they do not follow them in disbelief. Thus, it is not permissible to enslave them while they are young, because they are Muslims; nor when they are old, because if they remain steadfast in their Islam after their [parents'] disbelief, they are Muslims, and if they commit disbelief, they are then apostates, and their ruling is the same as that of their parents regarding seeking repentance and the prohibition of enslavement. As for whoever is born after the apostasy, their disbelief is confirmed, because they were born between two parents...