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The question

Is recording calls considered legitimate evidence for establishing Islamic legal penalties, such as the apostasy penalty, and is it considered an admission by the owner of the voice even if only one person recorded it?

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Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

A servant is accountable before Allah Almighty for the apostasy he utters, if he is sane, aware of what he said, intended it, and was not coerced or misinterpreting. To establish apostasy judicially, the testimony of two just witnesses is necessary. A single telephone recording from one person is insufficient due to the possibility of voice mimicry and uncertainty about the speaker's identity. The ruling on apostasy is not to be taken lightly. Our scholars said: If there are ninety-nine aspects indicating the apostasy of a Muslim and one aspect indicating his remaining in Islam, then that one aspect should be acted upon, based on the saying of the Prophet, peace be upon him: "Ward off the prescribed punishments from Muslims as much as you can. If you find an escape for a Muslim, then let him go, for it is better for the Imam to err in forgiveness than to err in punishment."

Summary from Ftawy's records · added here

Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.

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Where this answer came from
Source platform
Ftawy
Original fatwa ID
122088
Added here
. This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
Text
Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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Read the full answer on Ftawy