98 – On the authority of Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): “In the story of Thumamah ibn Uthāl, when he embraced Islam the Prophet ﷺ ordered him to perform ghusl (a full ritual bath).” Narrated by ʿAbd al-Razzāq, and its original wording is agreed upon by al-Bukhārī and Muslim. (1)

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Degree of authenticity
The ḥadīth is ṣaḥīḥ. Al-Bayhaqī recorded it (9/66) through the chain of ʿAbd al-Razzāq, whose isnād is sound and composed entirely of narrators found in the two Ṣaḥīḥs; its basic wording appears in both of them. Ibn Khuzaymah likewise declared it authentic (1/125).

Glossary of names
• Thumamah: with a ḍammah on the initial thāʾ and a light fatḥah on the mīm.
• Ibn Uthāl: with a ḍammah on the hamzah. He was al-Ḥanafī, one of the chiefs of Banū Ḥanīfah in al-Yamāmah.

Points derived from the ḥadīth

1. One of the matters that make ghusl obligatory is the conversion of a non-Muslim to Islam, even if he was an apostate returning to the faith.
2. The outward purport of the report is that this ghusl is compulsory, whether or not the person, while in disbelief, had done something that would otherwise necessitate a bath.
3. The jurists explain the rationale: a disbeliever is seldom free from janābah (major ritual impurity); thus what is presumed is treated as if it were certain, similar to the case of sleep.
4. According to the jurists, the new Muslim is not required to perform a second bath for any impurity that occurred while he was still in disbelief; the ghusl of embracing Islam suffices.
5. They also say it is recommended for the convert to shave his hair and to wash his clothes or