like the two testimonies. Also, because prayer is a pillar specific to Islam, he is ruled to be a Muslim by it, just as with the two testimonies. The possibility of dissimulation (taqiyya) and hypocrisy is negated by the two testimonies. This applies whether he is an original unbeliever or an apostate. As for the other pillars—such as Zakat, fasting, and Hajj—he is not ruled a Muslim by them, for the polytheists used to perform Hajj during the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), until the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade them, saying: "No polytheist shall perform Hajj after this year" (15). Zakat is a charity, and they [too] give charity. Indeed, it was imposed upon the Christians of Banu Taghlib to pay twice the amount of Zakat that is taken from the Muslims, yet they did not become Muslims by that. As for fasting, every religious community has fasting, and furthermore, fasting is not an action [of worship], but rather an abstinence from specific actions at a specific time. This may happen from an unbeliever, just as it happens from a Muslim. There is no consideration given to the intention of fasting, for it is an inward matter which we have no knowledge of, unlike prayer; for prayer consists of actions that are distinct from the actions of the unbelievers and are specific to the people of Islam. Islam is not established until he performs a prayer that is distinguished from the prayer of the unbelievers by facing our Qibla, bowing (ruku'), and prostrating (sujud). It is not achieved by merely standing, because they also stand in their prayer. There is no difference between the original unbeliever and the apostate in this regard; for whatever Islam is achieved by in the case of the original unbeliever is also achieved by in the case of the apostate, such as the two testimonies. Based on this, if an apostate dies and his heirs produce evidence that he prayed after his apostasy, they are ruled to have [the right to] inheritance, unless it is proven that he apostatized after his prayer, or if his apostasy was by denying a mandatory duty, or a scripture, or a prophet, or an angel, or similar [innovations] whose adherents attribute themselves to Islam; for he is not ruled a Muslim by his prayer, because he believes in the obligation of prayer and performs it while in his state of disbelief, so his action is similar to other actions. And Allah knows best.

Section: If one who should not be coerced into Islam—such as a Dhimmi (protected subject) or a Musta'man (one granted asylum)—is coerced into Islam and accepts it, the legal status of Islam is not established for him [until there is something from him that indicates his Islam voluntarily, such as him remaining steadfast upon Islam] (16) after the removal of coercion from him. If he dies before that, his status is the status of the unbelievers. If he returns to the religion of disbelief, it is not permissible to kill him or coerce him into Islam. This is the opinion of Abu Hanifa and al-Shafi'i. Muhammad ibn al-Hasan said: He becomes a Muslim outwardly, and if he returns from it, he is to be killed if