Practising brother suffers from strong waswasah
Q0016: assalamunalaykum. I have one problem i am practicing muslim alhamdulillah. but i have been suffering from strong waswasa a long time. now i have very strong waswasa about islam and muslims that i feel very confused. i have become very agresive and lost feelings about deen about my family and my Brothers in islam but instead i,ve got some disturbing feelings that i love Everything accept islam audhubillah and this makes me even lose more lust for Life. still am i practising deen but i feel worst then munafiq and it hurts in my heart a lot. i have had suicidel thoughts but i am sceard of jahannam. what to do? jazzak allah khair.
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Wa alaykum as salam and jazak Allah khair for your question.
I am sorry to hear about the waswasah that you a have been experiencing. If it is of any consolation you are not alone in suffering from this. There are many practicing brothers who struggle to do read Quran, pray or even do wudu because of the waswasah that they get but by the Help of Allah, many have been cured from this in the past.
Waswasah is not really a whisper. It isn't usually a voice and nor is it gender specific, its not even a sound. Waswasah is more like a thought except its based on your thought pattern and emotional responses. Shaytan gives you thoughts, accompanied by feelings of excitement, desires, lust, despair, sadness, loneliness etc thus in a subtle way he slowly edges you towards sin or worse disbelief in this amazing Deen.
Shaytan wants you to indulge sin so you'll be too ashamed to have high and lofty goals. They all share the same goal as their father Iblis to destroy the mankind and take them all to Hellfire.
A practicing person might get some very sickening thoughts and feel so ashamed of themselves. But you have to remember these thoughts are the thoughts of shaytan. Not your thoughts. It is the shaytan that will be accountable not you. As long as you don't act on them.
I know you must miss that innocent self that you once were. But even now you are pure, a good Muslim. If you feel low and dirty it is because the sins have covered you. The shayeteen is filthy. When you strive you will feel pure again.
This is a reflection of the nature of shaytan. They hate Adam and his off springs. But it is not the ultimate aim and goal of shaytan.
I am sorry to hear about the waswasah that you a have been experiencing. If it is of any consolation you are not alone in suffering from this. There are many practicing brothers who struggle to do read Quran, pray or even do wudu because of the waswasah that they get but by the Help of Allah, many have been cured from this in the past.
Waswasah is not really a whisper. It isn't usually a voice and nor is it gender specific, its not even a sound. Waswasah is more like a thought except its based on your thought pattern and emotional responses. Shaytan gives you thoughts, accompanied by feelings of excitement, desires, lust, despair, sadness, loneliness etc thus in a subtle way he slowly edges you towards sin or worse disbelief in this amazing Deen.
Shaytan wants you to indulge sin so you'll be too ashamed to have high and lofty goals. They all share the same goal as their father Iblis to destroy the mankind and take them all to Hellfire.
A practicing person might get some very sickening thoughts and feel so ashamed of themselves. But you have to remember these thoughts are the thoughts of shaytan. Not your thoughts. It is the shaytan that will be accountable not you. As long as you don't act on them.
I know you must miss that innocent self that you once were. But even now you are pure, a good Muslim. If you feel low and dirty it is because the sins have covered you. The shayeteen is filthy. When you strive you will feel pure again.
This is a reflection of the nature of shaytan. They hate Adam and his off springs. But it is not the ultimate aim and goal of shaytan.
"Iblis said: "By Your Honor, then I will surely mislead them all,
Except Your chosen slaves among them (true believers)."
[Surah Saad 38:82-83]
The battle between jinn-kind and mankind began between Iblis and Adam (alayhis salam) and is continuing right now. But shaytan admits that he does not stand a chance against the true believers and I want to set you upon this path.
This is a battle that we cannot afford to be passive or defensive but we need to take an offensive approach, very much as the shayateen (devils) have taken with us. Suicidal thoughts, sexual thoughts, reminding a person of their past are all weapons of the shaytan to overwhelm them with negativity to prevent a person from becoming close to Allah, from praying salah and ultimately giving up hope in the mercy of Allah (azza wa jall)
You need to have a positive approach to this. To create a positive mentality you need to begin by ignoring any negative thoughts that shaytan gives you by knowing on these two ayah and believing in them firmly-
This is a battle that we cannot afford to be passive or defensive but we need to take an offensive approach, very much as the shayateen (devils) have taken with us. Suicidal thoughts, sexual thoughts, reminding a person of their past are all weapons of the shaytan to overwhelm them with negativity to prevent a person from becoming close to Allah, from praying salah and ultimately giving up hope in the mercy of Allah (azza wa jall)
You need to have a positive approach to this. To create a positive mentality you need to begin by ignoring any negative thoughts that shaytan gives you by knowing on these two ayah and believing in them firmly-
“Say: O my Servants who have transgressed against their souls! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah: for Allah forgives all sins: for He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
[Surah al-Zumar 36:53]
And also
"And those who strive in Our (cause),- We will certainly guide them to our Paths: For verily Allah is with those who do right"
[Ankabooth 29:69]
Practical solution
This will be an up hill climb up to recovery, like climbing the side of a hill. You might feel weak right now and want to give up be remember this is a plot of shaytan. As long as you don't give up, shaytan is doomed to fail insha Allah.
I will show you how to overcome the waswasah, by the Help of Allah you will be able to stop these waswasah completely but you have to be willing to trust me.
1) Every time the shaytan reminds you of your past- remind shaytan of his future i.e. Hell fire.
If you shed even one drop of tear out of fear of Allah because of your past mistakes then indeed Allah Loves the one who repents to Him and will reward you with Paradise insha Allah. As for the shaytan he will most likely never repent so he can try his best to overcome the slaves of Allah and enjoy this short world life but in the end he will have an eternal destruction.
2) You need to make a commitment right now that from today this moment you won't commit another sin. Because sin is what give shaytan such a strong grip on you when in reality shaytan is weak. When we sin we come weaker than even shaytan.
You're probably thinking its not possible to give up sin but I'm telling you it is. I'm going to give you a weapon that will prevent the shaytan from giving you waswasah and without waswasah you will stand at least 95% chance of avoiding sin. And with sins out the window, you'll be able to wake for fajr with ease, you'll feel more motivated to do good deeds!
So make a commitment right now that you will resist using the below technique.
3) Every time shaytan gives you any kind of thought, wheather it's to commit a sin or leave a good deed then punish the shaytan by saying "astaghfirullah" (Oh Allah forgive me) at least ten times, meaning it sincerely
Trust me shaytan will come at you and throw his most at you for approx. 20 min constantly give you waswasah to do sin, contact xyz woman etc but if you resist for just 20 min you will- for the first time ever be at a stage where you are strong than shaytan and he will fail. This is a tried and tested method.
By making this in to a regular habit, and keep doing this, after 2 or 3 days the shaytan will realize that his plan to weaken you is only helping you do more good deeds and will give up giving you waswasah altogether. Shaytan hates it so much when a Muslim repents to Allah, you are not accountable for these thoughts as they are not from you, rather you will be rewarded for not listening to them and making istighfar.
What's the proof for this?
I will show you how to overcome the waswasah, by the Help of Allah you will be able to stop these waswasah completely but you have to be willing to trust me.
1) Every time the shaytan reminds you of your past- remind shaytan of his future i.e. Hell fire.
If you shed even one drop of tear out of fear of Allah because of your past mistakes then indeed Allah Loves the one who repents to Him and will reward you with Paradise insha Allah. As for the shaytan he will most likely never repent so he can try his best to overcome the slaves of Allah and enjoy this short world life but in the end he will have an eternal destruction.
2) You need to make a commitment right now that from today this moment you won't commit another sin. Because sin is what give shaytan such a strong grip on you when in reality shaytan is weak. When we sin we come weaker than even shaytan.
You're probably thinking its not possible to give up sin but I'm telling you it is. I'm going to give you a weapon that will prevent the shaytan from giving you waswasah and without waswasah you will stand at least 95% chance of avoiding sin. And with sins out the window, you'll be able to wake for fajr with ease, you'll feel more motivated to do good deeds!
So make a commitment right now that you will resist using the below technique.
3) Every time shaytan gives you any kind of thought, wheather it's to commit a sin or leave a good deed then punish the shaytan by saying "astaghfirullah" (Oh Allah forgive me) at least ten times, meaning it sincerely
Trust me shaytan will come at you and throw his most at you for approx. 20 min constantly give you waswasah to do sin, contact xyz woman etc but if you resist for just 20 min you will- for the first time ever be at a stage where you are strong than shaytan and he will fail. This is a tried and tested method.
By making this in to a regular habit, and keep doing this, after 2 or 3 days the shaytan will realize that his plan to weaken you is only helping you do more good deeds and will give up giving you waswasah altogether. Shaytan hates it so much when a Muslim repents to Allah, you are not accountable for these thoughts as they are not from you, rather you will be rewarded for not listening to them and making istighfar.
What's the proof for this?
"From the evil of the whisperer (devil who whispers evil in the hearts of men) who withdraws (from his whispering in one's heart after one remembers Allah)
[Surah an Naas 114]
The tafseer of this verse tells us that the shayateen flee from the person when he makes dhikr of Allah.
The heart of men is like a fortress. Shaytan will come and tempt you to lower the draw bridge and let him in. He knows your weakness and will tempt you with those things. But you need to resist.
If you give in, you've lowered the door bridge and you've let him in. You have failed.
When you keep remembering Allah- say astaghfirullah 10 times for ever thought, every time he gives you a sinful thought straight away don't contemplate on the thought. Feel disgusted by it. Ask Allah to forgive you as though its a sin you committed. 20 minutes on the first occasion you start this method then after that with in three days they waswasah will have disappeared.
But remember to thank Allah (azza wa jall) and praise Him constantly. If you remember Allah when you're walking, driving, waiting, everyday mundane task the shaytan will keep away from you.
In the heart that is full of Allah's remembrance there is no room for the sinful waswasah of shaytan!!
4) I encourage you to adopt the morning and evening protection duas as they will have an immensely positive effect on your condition. Most practising people have left these adkhaar and because of that they are really suffering. They are so easy and simple as are most protective duas.
e.g.
لا إلَهَ إلأَ اللّهُ وَحْدَهُ لا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَ لَهُ الْحَمْدُ، وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْ ءٍ قَدِيرٌ
"La illaha ilAllahu wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahul Mulku, wa lahul Hamd, wa huwa 'ala kulli shay'in Qadeer"
(There is no deity but Allah alone. He has no Partner. Sovereignty and Grace are His and He is the Omnipotent)
100 times after fajr and maghrib salah (or ten times mentioned in another hadith)
[al Bukhari 4:95, Muslim 4:2071]
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Whoever says “Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah wahdahu laa shareeka lah, lahu’l-mulk wa lahu’l-hamd wa huwa ‘ala kulli shay’in qadeer” one hundred times in the day, will have a reward equivalent to that of freeing ten slaves, one hundred hasanahs (good deeds) will be recorded for him, and one hundred sayi’ahs (bad deeds) will be erased from his record, and it will be protection for him from the Shaytaan for that day, until evening comes. No one could achieve any better than him except the one who does more than he did.”
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 31119; Muslim, 2691)
Please click here Morning and Evening Protection duas.
As a final thing, when you pass this stage where you are no longer commiting sins shaytan will move to phase two which is to make you waste time so you don't do any good deeds. If you find yourself wasting a lot of time, playing PS3, watching TV etc then remember this is the path which might seem innocent (nothing wrong with playing PS3 right?- wrong) through these forms of entertainment shaytan will make you forget to remember Allah and you'll eventually fall back into sin.
They you will be stuck in the same vicous cycle that you have been for years so now is the time to break that cycle and never go back to it!
I hope this answers your question and no doubt Allah Knows Best. I pray that Allah blesses you with good health and strengthens your eman ameen.
Peace and blessings be upon the final messenger Muhammed (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) his family, companions and everyone who follow him in righteousness.
Kamal
Former Raqi
The heart of men is like a fortress. Shaytan will come and tempt you to lower the draw bridge and let him in. He knows your weakness and will tempt you with those things. But you need to resist.
If you give in, you've lowered the door bridge and you've let him in. You have failed.
When you keep remembering Allah- say astaghfirullah 10 times for ever thought, every time he gives you a sinful thought straight away don't contemplate on the thought. Feel disgusted by it. Ask Allah to forgive you as though its a sin you committed. 20 minutes on the first occasion you start this method then after that with in three days they waswasah will have disappeared.
But remember to thank Allah (azza wa jall) and praise Him constantly. If you remember Allah when you're walking, driving, waiting, everyday mundane task the shaytan will keep away from you.
In the heart that is full of Allah's remembrance there is no room for the sinful waswasah of shaytan!!
4) I encourage you to adopt the morning and evening protection duas as they will have an immensely positive effect on your condition. Most practising people have left these adkhaar and because of that they are really suffering. They are so easy and simple as are most protective duas.
e.g.
لا إلَهَ إلأَ اللّهُ وَحْدَهُ لا شَرِيكَ لَهُ، لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَ لَهُ الْحَمْدُ، وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْ ءٍ قَدِيرٌ
"La illaha ilAllahu wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahul Mulku, wa lahul Hamd, wa huwa 'ala kulli shay'in Qadeer"
(There is no deity but Allah alone. He has no Partner. Sovereignty and Grace are His and He is the Omnipotent)
100 times after fajr and maghrib salah (or ten times mentioned in another hadith)
[al Bukhari 4:95, Muslim 4:2071]
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Whoever says “Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah wahdahu laa shareeka lah, lahu’l-mulk wa lahu’l-hamd wa huwa ‘ala kulli shay’in qadeer” one hundred times in the day, will have a reward equivalent to that of freeing ten slaves, one hundred hasanahs (good deeds) will be recorded for him, and one hundred sayi’ahs (bad deeds) will be erased from his record, and it will be protection for him from the Shaytaan for that day, until evening comes. No one could achieve any better than him except the one who does more than he did.”
(Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 31119; Muslim, 2691)
Please click here Morning and Evening Protection duas.
As a final thing, when you pass this stage where you are no longer commiting sins shaytan will move to phase two which is to make you waste time so you don't do any good deeds. If you find yourself wasting a lot of time, playing PS3, watching TV etc then remember this is the path which might seem innocent (nothing wrong with playing PS3 right?- wrong) through these forms of entertainment shaytan will make you forget to remember Allah and you'll eventually fall back into sin.
They you will be stuck in the same vicous cycle that you have been for years so now is the time to break that cycle and never go back to it!
I hope this answers your question and no doubt Allah Knows Best. I pray that Allah blesses you with good health and strengthens your eman ameen.
Peace and blessings be upon the final messenger Muhammed (صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم) his family, companions and everyone who follow him in righteousness.
Kamal
Former Raqi