Quoting from Kashif Ahmed Shehzada's article  "Can People be Forced to Accept Islam? A Qur’anic Perspective":

Punishment for Apostasy

[Quran 16:106] “He who disbelieves in Allah after his having believed, not he who is compelled while his heart is at rest on account of faith, but he who opens (his) breast to disbelief– on these is the wrath of Allah, and they shall have a grievous chastisement.”

[Quran 16:107] “This is because they love this world’s life more than the hereafter, and because Allah does not guide the unbelieving people.”

[Quran 16:108] “These are they on whose hearts and their hearing and their eyes Allah has set a seal, and these are the heedless ones.”

[Quran 16:109] “No doubt that in the hereafter they will be the losers.”

The above verses clearly inform that the consequences of not agreeing to the Law of Allah is deprivation of the benefits that are acquired as a result of following the Divine guidance in our lives, and the wrath of Allah is incurred upon those who disbelieve. The Qur’an proclaims that man has the freedom of choice to accept or reject the permanent values of God. He CANNOT be forced to accept those values, but has the free will to accept them, as the following verse informs:

[Quran 2:256] “There is no compulsion in ‘Deen’ (way of life according to laws of Allah); truly the right way has become clearly distinct from error; therefore, whoever disbelieves in the rebel and believes in Allah he indeed has laid hold on the firmest handle, which shall not break off, and Allah is Hearing, Knowing.”

With the straight path of God having being made distinct, the consequences of not accepting the way of life prescribed by Allah have also been identified:

[Quran 3:85] “And whoever desires a religion other than Islam, it shall not be accepted from him, and in the hereafter he shall be one of the losers.”

In case of Apostasy, i.e. a situation in which a person believes, and after believing disbelieves in the message of Allah, the consequences of such a state are also made evident to us in the Qur’an:

[Quran 3:86] “How shall Allah guide a people who disbelieved after their believing and (after) they had borne witness that the Messenger was true and clear arguments had come to them; and Allah does not guide the unjust people.”

For such (Apostates) the penalty is the curse of Allah, i.e. deprivation of the benefits that result from following the guidance of Allah:

[Quran 3:87] “(As for) these, their reward is that upon them is the curse of Allah and the angels and of men, all together.”

[Quran 3:88] “Abiding in it; their chastisement shall not be lightened nor shall they be respited.”

But as the Qur’an identifies the consequences of Apostasy,it also confirms that there is room for repentance and that Apostasy does not qualify one for the death penalty. The following verse identifies this aspect:

[Quran 3:89] “Except those who repent after that and amend, then surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.”

Had the punishment for Apostasy been prescribed as `Death’ then the above verse would not have accommodated the room for amending one’s conduct and repentence, but with the inclusion of a condition of repentance and amending one’s conduct, the Qur’an confirms that for Apostates the punishment is not death.The following verse is even more clear regarding this aspect:

[Quran 4:137] “Surely (as for) those who believe then disbelieve, again believe and again disbelieve, then increase in disbelief, Allah will not forgive them nor guide them in the (right) path.”

The above verse clearly establishes that a person does not get the death penalty for Apostasy, as it identifies stages where a person believes, then disbelieves, then again believes and after that again disbelieves. Now had the law been there stating death for Apostasy, then the above verse would not have identified these stages of beliveing, then rejecting, then believing and then again rejecting, as a person who after believing rejects would then be qualified for the death penalty at the first instance of Apostasy, and would not have the opportunity to believe one more time again after disbelieving. The above verse is abundantly clear in describing that there is room for a person who out of any reason has turned his back on Islam, to amend his conduct and revert to the Guidance of God.

The Qur’an informs us that incase we turn back from the true path, Allah will bring others in our place:

[Quran 5:54] “O you who believe! whoever from among you turns back from his religion, then Allah will bring a people, He shall love them and they shall love Him, lowly before the believers, mighty against the unbelievers, they shall strive hard in Allah’s way and shall not fear the censure of any censurer; this is Allah’s Face, He gives it to whom He pleases, and Allah is Ample-giving, Knowing.”

In turning away from the guidance of God, we do not do any harm to Allah, but in reality we harm our own selves:

[Quran 3:144] ” And whoever turns back upon his heels!, he will by no means do harm to Allah in the least”

Those who are turned away from the straight path pose no threat to the believers, provided the believers are steadfast on the Law of God:

[Quran 5:105] “O you who believe! take care of your souls; he who errs cannot hurt you when you are on the right way; to Allah is your return, of all (of you), so He will inform you of what you did.”

In case someone shows ingratitude then that does not harm Allah in the least:

[Quran 14:8] “If you are ungrateful, you and those on earth all together, most surely Allah is Self-sufficient, Praised;”

Our duty is to propagate the Message of the Qur’an to the best of our ability and in propagating that message there is to be no use of force, as the following verse identifies:

[Quran 50.45] “We know best what they say, and you are not one to compel them; therefore remind him by means of the Quran who fears My promise.”

To spread the Message of Qur’an by wisdom and reason. This is the duty of every believer.

MISCONCEPTION #4

The messenger’s job was not just to deliver the Qur’an like a postman but his duty is also to explain and give commentary of the divine message. In many Quranic verses it is stated that he gives the knowledge of the Book. The knowledge and Tafsir (Exegesis) of the Book of Allah that the messenger has given is contained in the books of traditions. Thus Qur’an is the theory while the compilations of traditions are its Tafsir.

CLARIFICATION

While it is correct to state that the messengers duty was not restricted to merely reciting the Qur’an to his people, as is evident by the words: "..He will give them the knowledge of the Book .." (2:129), it is also an incontestable fact that the books of traditions that are upheld by varous sects and attributed to the messenger, do not contain the explanation of each and every verse of the Qur’an. What exists in those compilations are some ascribed paradoxical reports limited to certain verses only. No book of tradition contains the complete commentary and explanation of the Qur’an from Surah Al-Fatiha, the first chapter to Surah An-Naas, the last chapter, that it could attribute to the messenger of Allah.

This being the case, the question arises that how did the messenger confer the knowledge of the Book of Allah to his audience? And where can we find those explanations? The Qur’an provides us the adequate answer to these questions of extreme importance.

I seek refuge with Allah from the Shaitaan, the rejected.

One of the most important points that the most traditional Muslims ignore, forget or are unaware of, is that Al Quran is Al Furqan/The Criterion:

Chapter 2/185: Ramadan is the month in which Al Quran was revealed, as a guide for mankind, clarifications from the guidance, and the Criterion…

It means that it is Al Quran’s function to distinguish between right and wrong i.e. we should judge all information according to Al Quran, the Criterion.

So what about the books of Hadiths and the Bible? Does Al Quran really need them to be explained? Not if it is the Criterion, which it surely is.

The important point to understand is that a criterion cannot be lacking details. Al Quran is The Criterion that will judge the Hadiths and the Bibles etc as well as all other information. So, for example, if a person wants to find out which of the Hadiths are closer to the truth, first he will read and understand Al Quran alone(without help from Hadiths), and then judge the Hadiths according to what he has read in Al Quran.

Suppose, someone says " ‘XYZ Hadith’ explains Al-Quraan. We cannot understand Al-Quraan without 'XYZ Hadith' "... But if we cannot understand Al-Quraan without ‘XYZ Hadith’, then how can we judge ‘XYZ Hadith’ by Al-Quraan/Al-Furqaan?

It shows that Al Quran does not require Hadiths to be explained. Because if the Criterion requires Hadiths to be explained, then it is not much of a criterion to begin with, because then it would not be a criterion over those Hadiths which explain it.

This is simple and irrefutable logic. The Criterion should be complete and cannot be lacking details.

If a Hadith is confirmed by Al-Quran, then one can accept that Hadith. But it should be because of one’s belief/emaan on the ayaat, since we are not supposed to believe in any hadees/narration after Allah and His ayaat:

Chapter 45/6: These are the verses of Allah that We recite to you with the truth. So which hadees/narration after Allah and His verses do they believe in?

Emaan/belief should begin and end with the verses of Allah. What else have they been making part of their emaan?!

http://thequran.wordpress.com/2006/09/12/quran-the-criterion-what-does-it-mean/

Does Al-Quran command women to cover their faces and heads? What about the Bible? What is the dress code according to Al-Quran? The answer is very different from the traditional belief.

For the clarification, from Al-Quran, of the misconceptions among Muslims and Non-Muslims, about hijab/veil and related topics and comparison with what the Bible says about the subject, check out the lecture “What Al-Quran says about Hijab/Veil” by Muhammad Shaikh:

(Click on the link to play video. The videos cannot be downloaded)

In English:
http://www.the-quran.org/lectures/hijab/hijabeng.htm

In Urdu:
http://www.the-quran.org/lectures/urdu/hijab/hijaaburdu.htm

And it is not for any human being that Allah should speak to him except by inspiration or from behind a Hijab/Veil or He sends a messenger, then he inspires with His permission what He wills, surely, He is Most High Wise. (Ash-Shura 42:51)