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Fatwa CenterIf one commits apostasy and then returns to Islam, will his oaths, vows, and rights towards Allah be nullified?
Question
AssalamoAlaikum. If a person commits apostasy and re enters Islam will his oaths, vows,covenants and debts upon ALLAH be Nullified like his Nikkah. Is there a difference of opinion in this matter. JazakALLAH Khair.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
Riddah (apostasy) does not invalidate oaths and vows, and the one who repents from apostasy must fulfill what he was obligated to fulfill before his apostasy of the rights of Allah the Almighty, such as Zakat and expiations. This is the view of the Hanbalis and Shafi’is.
Some scholars are of the view that apostasy invalidates oaths and vows, so it is not an obligation on him to fulfill them after returning to Islam, and that the Zakat or expiations that one had to fulfill before apostasy are waived by apostasy, and thus it is not an obligation to fulfill them after returning to Islam.
The Kuwaiti Encyclopedia of Jurisprudence reads: “As for the apostate, whatever zakat he was obligated to pay during his Islam and he apostatized after the completion of the lunar year after reaching nisab, it is not waived according to the view of the Shafi’is and Hanbalis, because it is a right of property that is not waived by apostasy like the debt. As for the Hanafis, they are of the view that the Zakat that was due on the apostate’s money before the apostasy is waived by apostasy, because one of its conditions is the intention upon payment.
Allah knows best.
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