What is waswas?

Waswas are compulsive thoughts in which if a person gives in “…and responds to the waswas, the Shaytan will gain power over him, and that waswas will become a chronic problem. This is what is called al-waswas al-qahri (overwhelming waswas or OCD). This kind of waswas – as one of those who are specialized in this field said – “is a sickness which befalls some people like any other kind of sickness. It refers to repeated thoughts, movements, ideas or notions which are of a loathsome nature that a person would ordinarily reject and strive to resist. He also realizes that they are wrong and have no meaning, but there is something that is pushing him towards them and he usually fails to resist them. The strength of these waswas may vary, so much so that they appear – to non-specialists – to be very strong and it seems that the sick person is doing that willingly. This kind of waswas may also affect a person in his worship and in his worldly affairs.” [Islamqa]

• waswas is a spiritual sickness that can effect your religious matters as well as your personal/worldly matters

• waswas can be a passing issue or a constant problem in which it is labelled as an affliction

• those who have overwhelming waswas regarding religious matters tend to act upon them despite realizing those thoughts are unreasonable/incorrect

• hating corrupt waswas is a sign of faith

• waswas can be regarding faith, actions, relationships, and/or decision-making

• the focus of this blog is regarding faith and halal/haram matters

Know satan’s strategy behind waswas

Why would satan want you to make more wudoo or pray more by repeating them? Isnt that a good thing, doesnt satan hate when we do them? Yes satan hates that you worship Allah, but consider the fate of someone who constantly worries about his wudoo, his prayer, his purity, his intentions, to the point he ends up repeating wudoo countless times or wont stop thinking about his intentions all day long, etc, etc. Waswas starts off as a small thought, the more you think about it, the more you act upon it, the more you stress, the more you mentally/physically drain yourself, the more likely you are to break down and quit worship altogether. That’s why we are taught to shut down waswas right from the start. But satan tricks us to thinking that we are good by taking waswas into consideration, that we are showing fear of displeasing Allah. When in reality Allah doesnt want this for us, Allah does not like that we go to extremes in religion nor does He like that we make religion difficult on ourselves. When faced with waswas it helps to imagine satan whispering those issues in your ear. Then, make the intention of fighting this enemy of Allah so that you will be rewarded for engaging in jihad.

Know how to differentiate between right & wrong

Seeking knowledge helps us differentiate between valid thoughts or destructive waswas. Allah sent our prophet SAW to demonstrate how to follow islam. If we do more than what our prophet had done, then we are going into extremes/innovation. Thats because the prophet was the best example of a muslim, we cannot surpass him in deeds. Therefor do not rely on your “logic” (tho really it is just waswas from satan), rely on what is proven from revelation. In other words, stop doing what you think you should do(regarding religion), do what the prophet taught you to do. Remember that islamic rulings are not derived from logic, rather from revelation, if they were then as imam Hanafi said, we would wipe under our socks (the part we step on) for wudoo instead of over.

Here’s a lil scenario: a man feels waswas regarding his wudoo and cant tell whether he broke it. He tells himself “i ate a lot of garlic today so its likely that i broke wudoo and should re-do it”. But the prophet taught us how to determine whether we should re-do our wudoo, that is if we notice a sound or smell. Therefor this man should ignore his “logic” and unless he’s 100% certain that he smelled or heard anything, should continue about his day. And if he actually had broken his wudoo without knowing, then Allah is forgiving. And if he’s still stressed he should tell himself that Allah knows He’s sick with waswas and cannot make proper judgement.

Know that Allah understands youre sick, cannot make the best judgements, and that you arent accountable for ignorance

If Allah were to hold us accountable for every mistake we would all be a goners. Allah is forgiving as well as very considerate. He knows our intentions. Those who struggle with waswas tend to fear displeasing Allah and think they are taking precautions by following waswas, by repeating their prayer, etc. If this applies to you, Allah knows youre sick & stuck in a cycle. What you need to do is engage in jihad by ignoring your waswas. And if you end up truly making a mistake (that a certain thought turned out to be valid), then Allah forgives those who do so out of ignorance. Allah does not burden you beyond what you are capable of. Consistently remind yourself that if you follow waswas then you arent pleasing Allah. If you make a mistake then inshAllah you will be forgiven. If you keep worrying about potentially making mistakes then you wont leave room for yourself to start healing.

Consider how Allah allows those who are sick to pray fardh while sitting down when its haram to do so normally, or how those who havent reached maturity are excused from sins, do you think Allah will not be considerate with those who have the right intentions but cannot make proper judgements because they are sick with overwhelming waswas?

Know that you should ignore waswas but you shouldnt ignore the reality that youre having recurring waswas and should take measures to heal yourself

Some may give into their waswas (ex: they may think its easier to just redo wudoo every time instead of dealing with uncertainty) and some may just quit acts of worship (or even beneficial worldly acts) but these are not the solution to your waswas. You are only masking the waswas and may feel temporary relief, tho you might find that you start getting waswas in new matters. Satan wins by getting you to give in so he moves on to something else. And each time he’ll move on to something more dangerous, you might start out having doubts about wudoo and end up with doubts regarding Allah. You cant keep hiding from your problems.

Those who have waswas tend to come up with many many questions/doubts and eagerly try to find answers. Its more important that you actively strive to block waswas than answering those doubts (typically for those who have waswas, seeking answers about every small detail actually increases their problem and so they should take a step back and focus on the source). Basically, attack the source before attacking the symptoms. So from now on, stop searching up all your specific questions/doubts. Those thoughts arent yours, theyre satan’s so dont entertain them. He’s never going to admit defeat, you may answer one question then he moves to another. Instead, you’d benefit by searching up videos or articles regarding waswas and how to deal with it (tim humble is known to be very knowledge in these matters, i recommend him). Once you’ve healed, you’ll be able to differentiate the valid questions and seek answers normally. Even if you believe your waswas essentially comes from yourself, undoubtedly, satan takes advantage of your weaknesses. Waswas is an affliction and like any affliction, you will find healing in the quran, athkar/dua, in removing sins, and increasing good. A lot of people do not realize just how powerful the Quran is at healing its sincere reader/listener. It not only heals you by blocking out the source of most problems (satan) but also heals your spiritual, mental, and physical (yes physical) self. Instead of explaining, I’ve attached an amazing video bellow(the first one). I will also attach videos of advise on how to deal with waswas.

Tips:

Your waswas isnt going to disappear right after reading an article about it. Take notes, write everything that you felt moved by. You will need to continually remind yourself of them because satan will try to get you to forget them while in the moment.

When people advise you (based on knowledge) regarding waswas, take the advise! Satan will come up with a million reasons as to why the advise doesn’t correspond to your situation, dont listen.

Whenever you get waswas, it helps to plug in headphones and listen to Quran until it goes away. It re-directs your focus, while blocking satan and healing your soul and mind.

Space out both reading and listening to quran throughout the day, its better to prevent than resist waswas once it occurs.

If your waswas is extremely overwhelming you may want to find a support system (they should understand the nature of waswas). Whenever you have a question/doubt, instead of scrambling to find the answer, ask your friend (or even on IA) whether they think it is waswas or a valid question. If they say waswas, leave it.

Acts that help block satan’s whispers/influence:

 Reading morning, evening, and night athkar creates a barrier against satan throughout the day

 Cutting out music from your life

 Saying dua before entering bathroom and not taking long

 Reading and listening to Quran not just once but throughout the day

 Seeking islamic knowledge especially of aqeedah. The more understanding of Allah you have and iman, the stronger the ruqya will be

 Closing bathroom doors while saying bismillah

 Having a habit of staying in wudoo throughout the day

 Improve the quality of your prayer and dua. Do a lot of reflecting when making dua

 Avoid being by yourself

 Dont surround yourself with people who openly sin whether on social media or in person

Dont sleep or eat too much, eat healthy and limit processed sugars as well as exercise regularly