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Is an unbeliever or apostate considered a non-Muslim if he does not perform ghusl, according to those who deem ghusl obligatory for him? And are his acts of worship invalidated, or does he become a Muslim and a sinner? And how does an apostate repent from abandoning prayer and zakat? And should the pronouncement of the Two Testimonies of Faith or seeking forgiveness be before or after ghusl?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The conversion of a disbeliever to Islam is valid even if they do not perform ghusl (ritual bath), but prayer, circumambulation (tawaf), touching the Quran, staying in the mosque, and reciting the Quran are forbidden for them until they perform ghusl. The majority of scholars hold that abandoning prayer is a lesser form of disbelief, and that withholding zakat is not disbelief unless the one withholding it denies its obligation. The fatwa we adopt is that ghusl is not obligatory for a disbeliever upon converting to Islam unless they committed an act while in disbelief that would necessitate ghusl.

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

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