Is My Ghusl Valid after Committing Disbelief?

Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi

Question

Does saying a thing of kufr during ghusl invalidate it? Do you have to start over?

Answer

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

I pray this finds you in the best of states.

Purity

No, uttering a statement of disbelief (may Allah protect us from such things) while performing a ritual bath won’t invalidate this ritual bath. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]

The reason for this ruling is that water has been created in itself purifying. Whether a person is a believer or not, after washing his body fully with water, this person is now in a state of ritual purity.

Allah, Most High, says: “And We send down purifying rain from the sky.” [Quran, 25:48]

[Marghinani, Hidaya]

For this reason, it is merely recommended for a convert in a state of purity to perform a ghusl after entering Islam. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]

Statements of Disbelief

Imam Tahawi, may Allah have mercy on him, states in his primer of creed, “A servant is not considered to have left his faith except by denying that which originally caused him to enter it.” i.e., his very belief in Allah’s oneness, or the resulting faith in all that is necessarily known of the religion. [Maydani, Sharh al-Tahawiyya]

Don’t fall prey to baseless misgivings. Please see:

What is the Ruling For Someone Who Has Thoughts of Disbelief Without Saying Them Aloud?

And Allah knows best.
Wassalam
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found. Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani. He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others. He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.