Did Islam approve freedom of belief?

Question:

His second question says: If Islam has approved freedom of belief, why does it fight apostasy, polytheism, and atheism?

Answer:
Islam does not approve freedom of belief. Islam commands the sound belief, obligates it, and imposes it upon people. It does not make it so that one is free to choose whatever religion he wishes. No.
The statement that Islam permits freedom of belief is an error. Islam makes the oneness of Allah obligatory, and sincerity to Him, and adherence to His religion, entering into Islam, and staying away from what Allah has forbidden.
The greatest of the obligatory duties and the most important of them is the oneness of Allah and sincerity to Him. The greatest of sins and the greatest of transgressions is associating partners with Allah , and doing what makes the servant a disbeliever from the other types of atheism.
Allah the Exalted says: [al-Nisa:36] and He the Exalted says: [al-Isra:23] and He the Exalted says: [al-Fatihah:5] and the Prophet ﷺ says: [al-Zumar:2] and He the Exalted says: [al-Bayyinah:5].
And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It is agreed upon as authentic.
Between the Lord ﷺ and the Messenger ﷺ lies the obligation of creed, and the obligation to adhere to the law of Allah, and that man has no freedom in this; he has no right to choose another religion, he has no right to embrace what Allah has forbidden, and he has no right to abandon what Allah has made obligatory upon him. Rather, it is obligatory for him, and it is incumbent upon him, to stand firm upon the religion of Allah, which is Islam, and to make Allah unique in worship, and not to worship with Him any other , and to believe in His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and to stand firm upon His law, and to show loyalty for this, and to show hostility for this, and to establish the prayer as Allah has commanded, and to pay the zakah as Allah has commanded, and to fast as Allah has commanded, and to perform Hajj as Allah has commanded him, and thus he commits himself.
In the two Sahihs, it is narrated from Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "O Messenger of Allah, which sin is the greatest?" He said: I said: "Then what?" He said: I said: "Then what?" He said: So Allah revealed regarding this His saying, the Exalted: "his punishment will be doubled on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide therein in humiliation except for him who repents " [al-Furqan:68-70] the verse. This indicates that making Allah unique, being sincere to Him, establishing the prayer, giving the zakah, forbidding killing, and forbidding zina are obligatory matters that are necessary, and no one has the right to associate partners with Allah, he has no right to commit zina, he has no right to steal, he has no right to kill a soul without right, he has no right to drink intoxicants, he has no right to abandon the prayer, he has no right to abandon the zakah while he has wealth in which zakah is due, he has no right to abandon fasting while he is able—fasting Ramadan—except in travel or illness, he has no right to leave Hajj while he is able, rather he performs Hajj once in a lifetime, and so on.
So there is no freedom in Islam, rather it is obligatory that a person adheres to the correct belief and leaves what Allah has forbidden. Yes, he has freedom in the permissible matters that Allah has permitted for him. He has freedom in the recommended matters that are not obligatory; if he wishes to leave them, there is no harm. And as for the permissible, if he wishes to do it, he does it, and if he wishes to leave it, he leaves it.
As for what Allah has made obligatory upon him, he is obligated to do it, and what Allah has forbidden for him, he is obligated to leave it. He does not have the right to embrace communism or Christianity or Judaism or polytheism or Zoroastrianism; he does not have that right. Rather, whenever he embraces Judaism or Christianity or Zoroastrianism or communism, he becomes a disbeliever whose blood and wealth are lawful. He must be called to repent. The one in authority in his land, the Muslim one in authority, calls him to repent. If he repents and returns to the truth, otherwise he is killed; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Narrated by al-Bukhari in the Sahih.
So whoever changes his religion, the religion of Islam, to disbelief, it is obligatory that he be killed if he does not repent. By this, it is known that the Muslim has no freedom to leave the truth and take hold of falsehood ever; rather, it is obligatory for him to stand firm upon the truth, and it is obligatory for him to abandon falsehood, and he must enjoin good and forbid evil, and advise for Allah, and call to Allah ﷺ, and he must beware of what Allah has forbidden him, and he must call people to abandon what Allah has forbidden them. All of this is obligatory according to one's ability. Yes.

The presenter: What we understand from this, O honorable Shaykh, is that the person is restricted, and it is necessary. If he is not restricted by Islam and obedience to the Creator, is he not restricted by desire and obedience to the created beings?

The Shaykh: And this is correct. The soul has movement. If the soul does not adhere to the truth, it leads to falsehood. And the tongue is the same; if it does not speak with truth, it speaks with falsehood. And so are the limbs. If the servant does not obligate them and take them in hand in the truth, otherwise they submit to their desires and falsehood, and to Satan; so he falls into what Allah has forbidden for him.
So it is obligatory that he adheres to what Allah has made obligatory upon him in his tongue, and in his actions, and in his other affairs, and not to leave room for Satan, and for the soul that commands evil. Rather, he fights that and seeks help from Allah to leave the falsehood and to perform the truth. Yes.