How to get rid of ‘waswaas’ (insinuating thoughts from Shaitān)

 *How to get rid of ‘waswaas’ (insinuating thoughts from Shaitān*)

Bismillāh...

A person may ask: ”I am suffering from many insinuating thoughts (waswaas) about the nature of Allāh, may He be glorified. There are thoughts going around in my mind that I cannot utter because they are not befitting to Allāh, and they keep coming back to me, when I’m praying and at other times. It is so bad that I doubt my faith, and wonder if I’m a Muslim or not. What is the cure for this problem?”

A number of Ahaadith have been reported from the prophet of Allāh sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam which contain the answer to this problem, praise be to Allāh. The messenger of Allāh sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said:

•”The shaitān may come to any one of you and say:'who created Allāh?’ If any one of you experiences this, let him say: ‘Aamantu billaahi wa rasuulih (I believe in Allāh and His Messenger sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam)’ and that will drive him (shaitān) away.” {saheeh al-jaami’}

• “The shaitān may come to anyone of you, and say: ‘who created such-and-such ? Who created such-and-such?’ until he asks: ‘who created your Lord?’ If this happens to anyone, let him seek refuge with Allāh and let him stop these thoughts.”(Saheeh al-jaami’)

✍🏽 Muslim narrated that Abu Huraira said: “ Some of the companions of the Prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam came to him and said, “ we find things in our hearts that none of us would dare to utter out loud “. He said ‘do you really find that?’ They said, ‘Yes’ . He said, ‘That is clear faith ‘. 

Some scholars are of the view that this person would be rewarded following the companions asking the Prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam about the waswaas that they felt in their heart, and he said that is clear faith. In order words, the fact that this waswaas was happening and you disliked it so much and pushed it away from your heart is clear faith, like the Mujāhid (warrior) to whom the enemy comes and he resist him until he defeats him, and this is the greatest form of jihād (battle). The person’s faith becomes clear and pure because he hated those devilish whispers and warded them off, so his faith became pure and clear.

This waswaas is something that involuntarily enters the heart of a person, and if a person hates it and shuns it, this hatred of it is clear faith. Many of the scholars said: hating it, disliking it and shunning it is clear faith. Praise be to Allāh that the most the shaitān can do is to whisper, for when the devil from the jinn is defeated, it whispers (waswaas) and when the human devil is defeated, he lies. Waswaas affects everyone who tries to focus on Allāh in His worship and dhikr 📿(remembrance). So one has to be steadfast and patient and persist in dhikr 📿 and prayer 🤲🏾. He should not feel distressed because if he persists, that will drive the plot of shaitān away from him, for the plot of shaitān is weak.( Majmoo’ al -Fatawa 14/108)

*Ways of overcoming these insinuating thoughts:*

1. The person who is experiencing such ideas should say:”Aamantu billaahi wa rasuulih (I believe in Allāh and His Messenger Sallallāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam) 

2. He should seek refuge with Allāh The Almighty from the accursed shaitān, and say three times: “A’oudzu billaahi as-Samee’ al-‘Aleem min as-shaitāni ar-rajeem, min hamzihi wa nafkhihi wa nafathih (I seek refuge with Allāh, the All- Hearing, the All-Knowing, from the accursed shaitān, and from his slander and evil insinuations)”.

3. He should stop thinking about whatever it is that is on his mind, as the Prophet sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam said “ Let him stop “. This is an important tactic, because continuing to allow the shaitān to influence one in this way can only make it worse. The Muslim must stop these thoughts, as much as he is able, and keep his mind busy with something useful and beneficial.

4. He should recite Suratul al-Ikhlaas (Qul huwa Allāhu ahad) because it describes attributes of the Most Merciful and is considered to be equivalent to one-third of the Quran. Reciting this will guarantee an end to these insinuating thoughts (In Shā Allāh).

5. He should think about the creation and blessings of Allāh, not about His nature, because his weak human mind can never comprehend the nature of Allāh. Allāh Subhaanahu wata’aala says:(...and they will never compass anything of His knowledge) [Quran 20:110].

*May Allāh protect us from waswaas and any other satanic influences ...Aameen*