or found. This is the school of thought of Malik, Abu Thawr, and Ibn al-Mundhir. Abu Bakr said: Ghusl is recommended and not obligatory, unless a state of major ritual impurity (janaba) occurred during his time of disbelief, in which case ghusl is obligatory upon him when he embraces Islam, regardless of whether he performed ghusl during his time of disbelief or did not. This is the school of thought of al-Shafi'i. Abu Hanifa did not make ghusl obligatory upon him in any case, because a large number and a vast multitude embraced Islam, and had everyone who embraced Islam been ordered to perform ghusl, it would have been transmitted via a mutawatir (mass-transmitted) or manifest narration. Also, because when the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him - sent Mu'adh to Yemen, he said: "Invite them to the testimony that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. If they obey you in that, then inform them that..." If ghusl were obligatory, he would have ordered them to do it, because it would be among the first obligations of Islam. Our evidence is what Qays ibn 'Asim narrated, who said: I came to the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him - intending to embrace Islam, and he ordered me to perform ghusl with water and lotus leaves (sidr). Narrated by Abu Dawud and al-Nasa'i, and his order implies obligation. As for what he mentioned regarding the scarcity of transmission, it is not valid from one who holds ghusl to be obligatory upon someone who embraces Islam after having been in a state of janaba during his shirk (polytheism), for it is apparent that an adult does not remain free from it. Furthermore, a report, once authenticated, serves as proof without consideration of any other condition, given that it has been narrated that Sa'd ibn Mu'adh,
(1) So it appears in the copies, and the complete hadith is: "Allah has obligated upon them five prayers in every day and night; if they obey, then inform them that..." (2) Narrated by al-Bukhari in: The Obligation of Zakat, Chapter on Taking Sadaqah from the Wealthy and Returning it to the Poor Wherever They Are, from the Book of Zakat; and in: Chapter on Sending Abu Musa and Mu'adh to Yemen Before the Farewell Pilgrimage, from the Book of Military Expeditions (Maghazi); and in: Chapter on What Was Said Regarding the Prophet's Invitation of His Nation to the Tawhid of Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, from the Book of Tawhid. Sahih al-Bukhari 2/130, 158, 5/204, 9/140. And Muslim in: Chapter on Inviting to the Two Testimonies and the Laws of Islam, from the Book of Faith (Iman). Sahih Muslim 1/50, 51. And Abu Dawud in: Chapter on Zakat of Grazing Livestock, from the Book of Zakat. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/366. And al-Nasa'i in: Chapter on the Obligation of Zakat, and Chapter on Transferring Zakat from One Land to Another, from the Book of Zakat. Al-Mujtaba 5/3, 41. And Ibn Majah in: Chapter on the Imposition of Zakat, from the Book of Zakat. Sunan Ibn Majah 1/568. And al-Darimi in: Chapter on the Virtue of Zakat, from the Book of Zakat. Sunan al-Darimi 1/379. And Imam Ahmad in: Al-Musnad 1/233. (3) Al-Sidrah: The lote tree (Nabq). And when 'sidr' is used generally in the context of ghusl, it refers to the ground leaves. Al-Misbah al-Munir. (4) Narrated by Abu Dawud in: Chapter on the Man Who Embraces Islam and is Ordered to Perform Ghusl, from the Book of Purification. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/86. And al-Nasa'i in: Chapter on Mentioning What Necessitates Ghusl and What is Not Necessitated by the Ghusl of the Disbeliever When He Embraces Islam, from the Book of Purification. Al-Mujtaba 1/91. It was also narrated by al-Tirmidhi in: Chapter on What Was Mentioned Regarding Performing Ghusl When a Man Embraces Islam, from the Chapters of Jumu'ah. 'Aridat al-Ahwadhi 3/84. And Imam Ahmad in: Al-Musnad 5/61.
