Sayyidi Younus AlGohar answers in detail a question from a viewer who wanted to know what the punishment for apostasy is in Islam and whether Islam allows Muslims to kill those accused of blasphemy. Summary: - When the spiritual system in religion is destroyed for any reason, even if the religion is practised, it is mal-practised. This is because acceptance of worship is subject to the presence of the heart in the worship, which is only obtained through spiritual knowledge. When there is nobody who can awaken and enlighten your heart, any form of worship performed becomes dubious and subject to a lot of divine scrutinies. So in Prophet Mohammad's era, it was only through him that one could be connected to God; no other religion besides Islam could connect one to God at that time. So in that era, if someone renounced Islam for another religion, they would be hell-bound. - It was not possible for someone to sincerely join Islam in the era of Prophet Mohammad and not be blessed; therefore they would never feel the need to renounce the religion. However, those who joined the ranks of the Muslims with a hidden agenda would later 'renounce' Islam to go back to the enemies of Islam. So to protect the religion, it was necessary to punish such people with death, otherwise, they would weaken the roots of the religion. - However, today, Muslims are in the same state as the Christians and Jews in Prophet Mohammad's era. Now Apostasy Law does not apply because people are divided into sects - they are not members of Prophet Mohammad's nation in the eyes of Prophet Mohammad and God. In the eyes of God and Prophet Mohammad, a true member of Prophet Mohammad's nation has God's name inscribed upon his heart and he loves Prophet Mohammad more than anyone else in the world. 'Obtain Shahr-e-Sadr (Opening of the Chest) for Islam.' - Koran 39:22 - How many sects of Islam follow the above-mentioned verse of the Koran practically? If the religious scholars understood it, then why don't they dispense the knowledge of Shahr-e-Sadr? A true Sufi is one in whose company people's hearts are revived with God's name. Today, religious scholars mock the concept of Zikr-e-Qalb (Opening of the Spiritual Heart) in stark contrast to what the Koran says. 'Do not follow those who I have kept heedless of my Zikr (invocation).' - Koran 18:28 'Enter Islam completely.' - Koran 2:208 'O Son of Adam, there is a piece of flesh in your body. If it is reformed, the entire body is reformed. If it is corrupted, the entire body is corrupted. Remember well: it is your heart.' - Prophet Mohammad - When God has directly forbidden following such people, then how could those people revive others' hearts with God's name? The religious scholars were supposed to take people from Sharia into Tariqat (spirituality); however, they turned the seekers of the religion towards politics instead. Whoever wants to punish those who renounce Islam should first ask himself, 'Am I even in Islam myself?' If people had entered Islam, they would not be divided into sects. In Prophet Mohammad's Islam, first the hearts were taught to invoke upon God and then they were taught to perform Salat; this is why, unlike today's Muslim, their Salat would reach God. - Blasphemy laws in Pakistan are used for personal vendettas. There are many cases where people were brutally murdered just because they were falsely accused of blasphemy. You cannot take the law into your own hands; if someone had actually committed blasphemy, then a case should have been made with all the evidence and then it would be tried in court. If the court then awarded punishment, it would be justified.