[Cognition of an apostate]

Based on this, only those who know and acknowledge their abandoning Islam are considered out of Islam; such as those about whom God has said: ﴿شَاهِدِينَ عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ بِالْكُفْرِ﴾[1]; “While they bear witness to disbelief against themselves,” and said: ﴿وَشَهِدُوا عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ أَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا كَافِرِينَ﴾[2]; “And they bore witness against themselves that they were disbelievers.” Therefore, those who consider themselves Muslims in belief, even if they apparently prostrate themselves before other than God in practice, are considered Muslims; because disbelief is by intention, and whoever does not intend it is not considered a disbeliever; such as the Angels who prostrated themselves before Adam ; as God Almighty has said: ﴿وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا﴾[3]; “And when We said to the Angels: ‘Prostrate yourselves before Adam,’ so they prostrated themselves,” and such as the sons of Ya‘qub who prostrated themselves before Yusuf ; as God Almighty has said: ﴿وَرَفَعَ أَبَوَيْهِ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ وَخَرُّوا لَهُ سُجَّدًا﴾[4]; “And he seated his parents on the throne, and they prostrated themselves before him.”

[Cognition of a hypocrite]

Even hypocrites whose hearts are full of disbelief and who are inferior to disbelievers in the Hereafter, since they consider themselves Muslims, are considered Muslims, although they are, in fact, disbelievers, and it is possible to know them by looking at their sayings and actions; as God Almighty has said: ﴿وَلَتَعْرِفَنَّهُمْ فِي لَحْنِ الْقَوْلِ ۚ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ أَعْمَالَكُمْ﴾[5]; “And you will indeed know them by the manner of (their) speech, and God knows about your deeds”; such as those who, despite their acknowledgment of Islam, intentionally say or do what contradicts its theoretical and practical principles or take an intentional action contrary to it; as God has said about them: ﴿يَحْلِفُونَ بِاللَّهِ مَا قَالُوا وَلَقَدْ قَالُوا كَلِمَةَ الْكُفْرِ وَكَفَرُوا بَعْدَ إِسْلَامِهِمْ وَهَمُّوا بِمَا لَمْ يَنَالُوا﴾[6]; “They swear to God that they did not say it, while they said the word of disbelief and disbelieved after their Islam and determined on what they did not achieve.”