and Usayd ibn Hudayr, when they wanted to embrace Islam, asked Mus'ab ibn 'Umayr and As'ad ibn Zurarah: "What do you do when you enter this affair?" They replied: "We perform ghusl, and we bear the testimony of truth." This indicates that it was a well-known practice. Furthermore, a disbeliever is generally not free from a state of janaba (major ritual impurity) that befalls him, or a ritual impurity that touches him, and he does not perform ghusl; nor is his hadath (minor ritual impurity) lifted if he performs it, so the likely probability of that was established in place of its reality, just as sleep was established in place of hadath, and the meeting of the two circumcised parts in place of ejaculation.

Section: If a disbeliever becomes junub (in a state of major ritual impurity) and then embraces Islam, ghusl for janaba is not required of him, regardless of whether he performed ghusl during his state of disbelief or not. This is the view of those who make the ghusl of Islam obligatory, and it is the view of Abu Hanifa. Al-Shafi'i said: Ghusl is upon him in both cases. This is the choice of Abu Bakr, because the lack of legal capacity (taklif) does not prevent the obligation of ghusl, such as in the case of childhood and insanity, and his performance of ghusl during his disbelief does not lift his hadath; for it is one of the two types of hadath, so it does not lift during his state of disbelief, just like the minor hadath (hadath asghar). It was narrated from Abu Hanifa, and there is one of two views for the followers of al-Shafi'i, that it does lift his hadath because his intention is more correct than that of a child. But this is not correct, because purification is an act of worship in its pure form, so it cannot be valid from a disbeliever, just like prayer. Our evidence—based on the fact that it is not obligatory—is that it was not transmitted from the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him - that he ordered anyone to perform the ghusl of janaba, despite the large number of men, women, adults, and married people who embraced Islam. Furthermore, the likely probability was established in place of the reality of hadath, so the ruling of hadath was dropped, just as is the case of travel with hardship.

Section: It is recommended that a Muslim perform ghusl with water and lotus leaves (sidr), as in the hadith of Qays. It is also recommended to remove his hair, because the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him - ordered a man who embraced Islam, saying: "Shave." He said to another with him: "Remove from yourself the hair of disbelief and be circumcised." Narrated by Abu Dawud. The minimum state of a command implies recommendation.

55 - Issue: He said: (And purification from menstruation and postpartum bleeding).

Ibn Aqil said: This is metaphorical; for the actual cause of the obligation of ghusl is menstruation and postpartum bleeding themselves, because they are the hadath, and the cessation of them is a condition for the obligation of ghusl and its validity, so he named it the cause for that. This is like their saying: "The cessation of the blood of istihada (irregular vaginal bleeding) invalidates prayer." The invalidator is only the hadath that emerges, but it is pardoned due to necessity; when the blood ceases, the necessity vanishes, and the ruling of the hadath appears at that time, and the ruling is attributed to the cessation due to its appearance to them. There is no disagreement regarding the obligation of ghusl for menstruation and postpartum bleeding. The Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be upon him - ordered ghusl from menstruation in many hadiths; he said to Fatima bint Abi Hubaysh: "Leave the prayer for the number of days you used to menstruate, then perform ghusl and pray." Muttafaq 'alayh. He also ordered it in the hadith of Umm Salama, and the hadith of 'Adi ibn Thabit, from his father, from his grandfather, both of which were narrated by Abu Dawud and others. He ordered it in the hadith of Umm Habiba, Sahlah bint Suhayl, Hamna bint Jahsh, and others. It has been said regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted: {So when they have purified themselves, then come to them} that it means: when they have performed ghusl. He prohibited the husband from having intercourse with her before the ghusl, which proves its obligation upon her. Postpartum bleeding is exactly the same as menstruation; for the blood of postpartum is the blood of menstruation, but during the period of pregnancy, it is directed toward the nourishment of the fetus; when the fetus exits, the blood exits because there is no place for it to go.