Under Compulsion

Under unbearable torture, 'Ammar was made to say words of disbelief and speak well of the idols. When he was freed he went to the Prophet ﷺ in distress, afraid that he had lost his faith.

The Prophet ﷺ asked him how he found his heart. 'Ammar said that it was at rest in belief. The Prophet ﷺ told him that if they returned to it, he should say the same words again.

The scholars say Allah revealed about such cases that a person who is compelled to utter disbelief while his heart is firm in faith has not left Islam: ﴿إِلَّا مَنْ أُكْرِهَ وَقَلْبُهُ مُطْمَئِنٌّ بِالْإِيمَانِ﴾ (“except one who is forced while his heart is at rest in faith”) (16:106). 'Ammar's case became the standard example.