Prophets and messengers in Islam human beings of all time. A prophet, in the Muslim sense of the term, is a person whom God specially chose to teach the faith of Islam. Some were called to prophesy late in life, in Muhammad's case at the age of 40. Others, such as John the Baptist, were called to prophesy while still at a young age and Jesus prophesied while still in his cradle. The Quran verse 4:69 lists various virtuous groups of human beings, among whom prophets (including messengers) occupy the highest rank. Verse 4:69 reads: Biblical stories retold in the Quran in the Arabic language
Apostasy in Islam to Islam and later rejects the religion is called a "murtad milli". The jurist Imam Ibnul Humam (d. 681 AH) wrote in his book "Fathul Qadir": A person is considered apostate if he or she converts from Islam to another religion. Apostasy can occur even if one does not formally renounce Islam. Those who were forced to denounce Islam under conditions of duress or out of fear of persecution or during war (Taqiyya or Kitman) are not considered apostates. Evidence of apostasy in Islam, according to Reliance of the Traveller, a 14th-century manual of the Shafi'i school of jurisprudence (Fiqh),