Fatwa #4374813 December 2019Pakistan
How to combat evil thoughts & Waswasah?
Question
AsalamuAlaikum I recently had some free time (2-3 months) so in those months I decided to devote time to Allah... like making a habit of reading Quran, offering complete prayers include Sunnah and Nafl prayers and even Qiyam-Ul-Layl prayers a few times. I used to devote approximately 1 hour or less to making dua... but suddenly I started having these thoughts that were creeping up on me in a tiny voice... like thoughts about doubt. The major reason this problem even began is because I studied a subject called Pakistan Culture in which we studied Sufis... now there were narrated various miracles which sounded unrealistic so I used to laugh and say that these are completely unbelievable and unrealistic but unfortunately thinking this way produced a doubt in me about Islamic miracles. If I can easily denounce these so called Sufi miracles how am I believing in Islamic miracles. Even writing these things is making me feel ashamed and scared. I want to stop these thoughts as they make me feel so depressed but they sometimes come up while I’m making dua or something. And then I fear that this comes as disbelief or case of weak faith and I read a verse of the Quran that even a small amount of disbelief can take us to hell... and I sometimes think I should just ignore it but then if this doubt is there I should eradicate it all together to avoid hell. Actually, for me I pray to Allah for the well-being of my family and myself because I know my fate lies in his hands... if something good or bad happens it’s by his will... I pray and read Quran and devote time to Allah because I fear his punishment if I did otherwise. I obviously believe in Hell and Heaven and that after we die we’ll be in the hands of Allah and get judged that’s why I try my best to avoid evil and do good. And I know that these idols that Indians worship are useless and that Isa (AS) was a messenger of Allah... I know my fate lies in the hands of Allah but a tiny bit of doubt is there.. I don’t know where it is coming from but I want to kill this doubt as it’s consuming me. Like I have no idea where these weird thoughts keep coming from because I avoid sins only to secure my hereafter and pray that Allah save me and my loved ones from punishment.. but suddenly I hear a voice inside me that is it really true... the miracles the strange incidents are they really true...is the hereafter really true... I accept Allah as my only God and I really don’t know what to make of these thoughts... I’m afraid I may have accidentally committed Shirk... I kinda blame the modernness of this generation that has encouraged me to entertain this disgusting thoughts and ponder over everything... you know searching for facts and not just accepting things as it is... Please guide me to get rid of these thoughts and how to avoid punishments for the thoughts I may have had before... I also thought that it’s just Shaitan playing with me and that I won’t let him break me but rather use this to become even closer to Allah but I fear punishment for having these thoughts and I am scared that this doubt might take me away from Allah and make him angry... by the way I am a 17 year old
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Sister in Islam,
May Allah expel such thoughts from your mind and alleviate you from this predicament you are being faced with.
There are many ways to overcome and deal with your Waswasah (whispers) problem. Try and make a routine of reciting Quran as much as possible. Verily Allah Ta’ala says:
وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاءٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۙ (سورة الاسراء: 82)
Translation: And We send down of the Qur'an that which is healing and mercy for the believers (Surah Al-Isra: 82)
Hereunder are some supplications you may recite to combat the whisperings of Shaytaan:
رَبِّ أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ هَمَزَاتِ الشَّيَاطِينِ وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ رَبِّ أَنْ يَحْضُرُونِ [المؤمنون: 97، 98]
Translation: “My Lord, I seek your protection from the evil whisperings of the Shaytaan, and I seek refuge with You, my Lord, from their presence.”
لاحول ولا قوة إلا بالله
Translation: “There is no power and no might except with Allah.”
أعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ نَفْسِي وَمِنْ شَرِّ الشَّيْطَانِ وَشِرْكِهِ
Translation: “I seek refuge in you from the evil of my soul and from the evil of Satan and his companions.”[i]
Try your utmost to recite the aforementioned Du’as whenever you experience such thoughts. Also try and read Ayat-ul-Kursi abundantly. A key point that must not be forgotten is Du’a. Turn to Allah in humility and make sincere Du’a that Allah alleviate you from your predicament.
Sister, evil thoughts are not bad. Entertaining them is the problem. A thieve only goes to a home where there is a treasure. Likewise, shaytaan is trying to make you despondent and leave the good you trying to do. The best remedy is to simply ignore it.
We also advise you to continue doing all the good you have been doing. Don’t make this a reason to stop you doing good actions. By continuing in doing good actions, you will indeed overcome the plots of shaytaan and defeat him.
You should keep yourself occupied because an idle mind is a devil’s workshop. Keep yourself occupied by reading authentic Islamic literature You may read the following book: Combating the Whisperings of Shaitan by Shaykh Yunus Patel (Rahimahullaah) for effective methods on dealing with waswasah.
Another way of keeping yourself occupied is by listening to Islamic lectures. You may also listen to spiritual advices of my honourable teacher, Mufti Ebrahim Desai (Hafidhahullah). The discourses on Qaseeda Burda will be very useful for spiritual upliftment.
Along with this, we advise you to listen to the following discourse delivered by my honourable teacher, Mufti Ebrahim Desai (Hafidhahullah), in regards to dealing with Waswasah (whispers):
https://daruliftaa.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Before-Zuhr-23.mp3
https://daruliftaa.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/After-Zuhr-23.mp3
Lastly, it would be extremely beneficial if you could link yourself with a reputable spiritual guide and follow his guidelines.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mahmood Suliman
Student Darul Iftaa
Gaborone, Botswana
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
________
[i] سنن الترمذي ت بشار - محمد بن عيسى بن سَوْرة بن موسى بن الضحاك، الترمذي، أبو عيسى (المتوفى: 279هـ) - دار الغرب الإسلامي – بيروت (334/5)
- حَدَّثَنَا مَحْمُودُ بْنُ غَيْلاَنَ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو دَاوُدَ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنْ يَعْلَى بْنِ عَطَاءٍ، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ عَمْرَو بْنَ عَاصِمٍ الثَّقَفِيَّ، يُحَدِّثُ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ: قَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ: يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ مُرْنِي بِشَيْءٍ أَقُولُهُ إِذَا أَصْبَحْتُ وَإِذَا أَمْسَيْتُ؟ قَالَ: قُلْ: اللَّهُمَّ عَالِمَ الغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ، فَاطِرَ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ، رَبَّ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَمَلِيكَهُ، أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ، أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ نَفْسِي وَمِنْ شَرِّ الشَّيْطَانِ وَشِرْكِهِ، قَالَ: قُلْهُ إِذَا أَصْبَحْتَ، وَإِذَا أَمْسَيْتَ، وَإِذَا أَخَذْتَ مَضْجَعَكَ.
هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيح