The first verse reads: {There is no compulsion in religion; the truth has been made distinct from falsehood...} [154], establishes a great Islamic principle, which is the prohibition of compulsion in religion, whereas the second verse reads: {Fight those of the People of the Book who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day...} [155], tackles another issue related to those who prevent people from the way of Allah and stop them from accepting Islam. Thus, there is no real contradiction between the two verses. Surat al-Baqarah: 256. Surat at-Tawbah: 29.
Faith is a relationship between the slave and his Lord, whenever he wants to sever it, his matter is left up to Allah. However, if he declares it publicly and uses it as a pretext to fight Islam, betray it, and distort its image, then, according to the man-made war laws, he must be killed and this is indisputable.
The confusion that led to such an allegation about the punishment prescribed for apostasy stems from the illusion that all religions are equally sound, and considering faith in the Creator and worshiping Him alone and exalting Him above all deficiencies and flaws equal to disbelief in His existence, or the belief that He is embodied in the form of a human or stone, or that He has a child, while Allah is far exalted above that. The reason behind this illusion is the belief in the relativity of creed, i.e., it is possible that all religions are true, which is impossible according to the basic rules of logic. It goes without saying that faith contradicts atheism and disbelief. Hence, the one who adopts the sound creed finds that belief in the relativity of the truth is nothing but heedlessness and logical foolishness. Consequently, it is invalid to deem two contradicting creeds true.
Despite all this, the apostates who rejected the true religion are never subject to the prescribed punishment as long as they do not declare their apostasy, and they know that very well. However, they ask the Muslim community to open the door for them so they can spread their ridicule of Allah and His Messenger without being called to account and urge others to adopt disbelief and disobedience and this, for instance, is what no king accepts or allows in his kingdom. No king would accept that any of his subjects deny his existence or ridicule him or any of his courtiers, nor would he accept that someone would attribute to him what does not befit his status as a king. If this is the case with worldly kings, how about the King of all kings and the Creator and Sovereign of everything?!
Some also think that if the Muslim commits an act of disbelief, he becomes immediately subject to the execution of the prescribed punishment. The truth, however, is that there are excuses that might prevent deeming him a disbeliever in the first place, like ignorance, false interpretation, compulsion, and mistake. This is why the majority of scholars confirmed the fact that an apostate must be asked to repent due to the probability of him being confused about the truth, with the exclusion of the combatant apostate. [156] Ibn Qudāmah in "Al-Mughni".
Muslims used to treat the hypocrites the way they treat normal Muslims, granting them all their rights, despite the fact that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) knew them and informed Huzhayfah, his Companion, of their names; however, such hypocrites did not declare their disbelief.
Prophet Moses was a fighter, and so was Prophet David. Both Prophets, Moses and Muhammad (peace be upon them all), were in charge of the political and worldly affairs, and both of them emigrated from the pagan community. Moses took his people out of Egypt, while Muhammad's emigration was to Yathrib, and before that his followers had emigrated to Abyssinia escaping from the political and military authorities in the countries from where they fled for the sake of their religion. The call of Jesus (peace be upon him) was different as it was addressed to the Jews, who were not pagans, unlike Moses and Muhammad who lived in two pagan environments: Egypt and the Arab Peninsula, which made things harder and more challenging. The change that was contingent on the call of Moses and Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon them) was fundamental and comprehensive, as it was a big leap from idolatry to monotheism.
Victims of the wars that took place during the lifetime of Prophet Muhammad did not exceed one thousand, taking into account that such wars were for self-defense, repelling aggression, or protecting religion. On the other hand, millions fell victims to wars that were waged under the name of other religions.
Moreover, the mercy of Prophet Muhammad (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was manifest on the Day of the Conquest of Makkah and after Allah Almighty had granted him empowerment, as he said: "Today is a day of showing compassion". He issued a general pardon forgiving the Quraysh who spared no effort to hurt the Muslims, and meeting the offense and abuse with benevolence and kindness.
Allah Almighty said:
{Good and evil are not equal. Repel evil with what is good; the one whom you have enmity with will become as if he was a close friend.} [157] Surat Fussilat: 34.
Allah Almighty said about the traits of the pious:
{...and who restrain their anger and pardon people; for Allah loves those who do good.} [158] Surat Āl ‘Imrān: 134.