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Is it obligatory for one who has denied something and apostatized to affirm what he denied before uttering the Two Testimonies (Shahadatayn), repenting, and seeking forgiveness, or should he utter the Two Testimonies first, then affirm, repent, and seek forgiveness? And why is the apostate given three days to repent and not killed if he repents, even though the command to kill the apostate is mentioned in the noble Hadith? And does one apostatize if he says to himself that he can repel whispers by cursing Satan and that seeking refuge [with Allah] does not benefit him?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The repentance of an apostate who denied a matter known to be an essential part of the religion is by affirming in his heart what he denied and by uttering the Two Testimonies. It does not matter whether both occur simultaneously or if his affirmation of what he denied comes first. However, his uttering the Two Testimonies while still denying will not benefit him, because the cause of his disbelief remains. The jurists have stipulated that for one who denies a matter known to be an essential part of the religion, his repentance is to affirm what he denied, along with uttering the Two Testimonies. As for the situation mentioned, it is a mere suspicion of disbelief, and simply groundless whisperings.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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