"If a Mussulman woman become an apostate, she is not put to death, but imprisoned, until the return to the faith. Shafei maintains that she is to be put to death; because of the tradition before cited;—and also because, as men are put to death for apostacy solely for this reason, that it is a crime of great magnitude and therefore requires that its punishment be proportionably severe, (namely, death,) so the apostacy of a woman being likewise (like that of man) a crime of great magnitude, it follows that her punishment should be the same as the of a man. The arguments of our doctors upon this point are twofold.—FIRST, the prophet has forbidden the slaying of women, without making any distinction between those who are apostates, and those who are original infidels, SECONDLY, the original principle in the retribution of offences is to delay to a future state, (in other words, not to inflict punishment here, but to refer it to hereafter,) since it retribution were executed in this world, it would render defective in the state of trial. as men would avoid committing sin from apprehension of punishment, and therefore would be in the state of persons acting under compulsion, and not of free agents: but in the case of apostacy of men the punishment is not deferred to a future state, because it is indispensably requisite to repel their present wickedness, (namely, their becoming enemies to the faith,) wicch wickedness cannot be conceived of women, who are, by natural weakness of frame, in incapable thereof: contrary to men.—A female apostate, therefore, is the fame as an original female infidel; as the killing of the one is forbidden, so the killing of the other also. She is however to be imprisoned, until return to the faith; because, as she refuses the right of GOD after having acknowledged it, she must be compelled, by means of imprisonment, to render GOD his right, in the same manner as she would be imprisoned on account of the right of the individual. It is written in the Jama Sagbeer,—"A female apostate is to be compelled to return to the faith, whether she be free', or a slave.—The slave is to be compelled by her master:—she is to be compelled, for the reasons already recited; and this is compulsion is to be executed by her master, because in this regard is had to the right both of GOD and of the master. It is elsewhere mentioned that a female apostate must be daily beaten with severity until she return to the faith."