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The repentance of an apostate—or of any unbeliever—is achieved when he pronounces the two testimonies of faith (shahadatayn) and renounces the very act that rendered him an unbeliever. Merely saying, “Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,” does not dispense with the declaration of monotheism. However, if he says, “I am a Muslim,” that statement itself counts as repentance. Should a non-Muslim commit the two testimonies to writing, he becomes Muslim; and if he declares, “I have submitted,”1 “I am a Muslim,” or “I am a believer,” he is likewise deemed Muslim.

In outward legal terms, the repentance of a zindiq—that is, a hypocrite who outwardly professes Islam while concealing disbelief—is not accepted in this life; nor is the repentance of one who repeatedly apostatizes, or who reviles Allah Most High, His Messenger, or any angel. The same rule applies to anyone who slanders a prophet or the prophet’s mother: such a person is to be executed, even if he was a disbeliever and then professed Islam.