Quran 3:85 says, "If anyone desires a religion other than Islam, never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who have lost." This proves that apostasy (or even not being a Muslim at any time) is a capital crime in the court of Allah.
Not even close. This means that God will not accept any religion from anyone except Islam. It's talking about the afterlife.
Not being a Muslim at anytime without ever being a muslim is a given not to have a punishment. As the Quran enforces at multiple times the freedom of religion, and that there is no forcing any body to adhere Islam.
As for apostasy, i believe there is no punishment for it neither. The Quran doesn't say so, while it speaks about apostasy at multiple verses, and not once does it mention any kind of punishment, let alone capital punishment. The Hadiths which says so are talking about turning on the community, as in war against community, like the case of Abu Bakr's war. In other words, treason. Leaving Islam on it's own is not treason, because you can be non-Muslim and still live in an Islamic society. So, being a non-Muslim, doesn't mean you are at war with Islam, or being an enemy of Islam in anyway, wether you were a muslim and then converted, or always have been a non-muslim.
May I humbly suggest that what matters is the opinion of God? If God does not accept any religion except Islam and He clearly says so in the Quran, who are we to put conditions on it? And afterlife is not "mere afterlife". This life is only a test for afterlife and afterlife is eternal, according to Islam.
Yes of course, but i'm not putting conditions. This verse is clarifying that God will not accept any religion except Islam. This information is crucial.
Also, yes the afterlife in our belief is eternal, and it is the most important. But we can't conclude from this verse that we should kill non-muslims, or apostates. Especially when there are verses that say that we mustn't force our beliefs on others, and that they should be free to choose their path. They can't do that if we kill them.
When we are talking of Islam, we have to understand what our destiny at the hands of God (and not mortals) is. What mortals do or do not do in this world would bring upon them its own consequences as a response by society (not necessarily guided by Islam) that may be unpredictable. If Muslims decide to kill apostates, especially in today's world, it will have its own consequences that may be detrimental to Muslims. When you have conceded that God will not accept any religion except Islam, and when God says that those who do not accept Islam are the losers [losers at the point of time when the choice is heaven or hell], the question whether apostasy is a capital crime in Islam is answered irrefutably. Furthermore, it would be too late to make a choice at the time of the last judgement. This means that we must make the choice here in our present life. Therefore if we fail to accept Islam in this life, our fate is sealed – even if fellow human beings let us off, God will not. We are apostates warranting the afterlife in hell. Please note that according to Islam all humans are born Muslim and therefore according to Islam all non-Muslims are apostates.
