Waswas (Insinuating Thoughts) from Shaytan

    A person asked: "I am suffering from many insinuating thoughts (waswas) about the nature of Allah, the Almighty, may He, the Almighty, be glorified. There are thoughts going around in my mind that I cannot utter because they do not fit Allah, the Almighty, and they keep coming back to me, when I am praying and at other times. it is so bad that I doubt my faith, and wonder if I am even a real Muslim or not. What is the cure for this problem?"

    A number of hadiths have been reported from the Prophet, peace be upon him, which contain the answer to this problem, Al-hamdu Lillah (praise be to Allah). The Messenger, peace be upon him, said:
    "The Shaytan may come to any one of you and say, 'Who created Allah, the Almighty?' If any one of you experiences this, let him say, ' 'Amantu billahi wa rasulihi '[I believed in Allah, the Almighty, and His Messenger, peace be upon him], and that will drive him away." (Saheeh al-Jami' 1657)
    The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, also said:
    "The Shaytan may come to any one of you and ask, 'Who created the heaven?' and he will say, 'Allah, the Almighty' then the Shaytan will say, 'Who created Allah, the Almighty?' If any one of you experiences this, let him say, ' 'Amantu billahi wa rasulih.'" (Sahih al-Jami' 1656)
    The Prophet, peace be upon him, also said:
    "Whoever experiences anything of this Waswas, let him say three times,' 'Amantu billahi wa rashullih' and that will drive the Shaytan away." (Saheeh al-Jami' 6587)
    The Prophet, pece be upon him, said:
    "The Shaytan may come to any one of you, and say, 'Who created such-and-such? Who created such-and-such?' until he asks, 'Who created your (Lord) Rabb?' If this happens to anyone, let him seek refuge with Allah, the Almighty, and let him stop such thoughts." (Sheeh al-Jami' 93)

    The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
    "The people will nearly ask too many questions, so that one of them may say, 'Allah, the Almighty, created all of creation, but who created Allah, the Almighty?' If they say this, then recite: "Allah is the One, Allah is the Self-Sufficient Master, He begets not, nor was He begotten; and there is none co-equal or comparable unto Him" (Surah 112: 1-4), and spit (drily) to left three times, and seek refuge with Allah, the Almighty, from the Shaytan." (Saheeh al-Jami' 8182)

    The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
    "Think about the signs of Allah, the Almighty, do not think about Allah ( Himself)." (Saheeh Al-Jami' 2975)

    The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
    "Think about the creation of Allah not think about Allah (Himself)." (Saheeh al-Jami', 2976)

    Form these texts we may summarize the following six ways of overcoming these insinuating thoughts:
  1. The person who is experiencing such ideas should say," 'Amantu billahi wa rasulihi [I believe in Allah, the Almighty, and His Messenger, peace be upon him.]."
  2. He should seek refuge with Allah, the Almighty, from the accursed Shaytan, and say three times, "A 'udhu billahi 'l-Sami' il-'Alim min al-Shaytan il-rajim, min hamzihi wa nafkhihi wa nafathih [ I seek refuge with Allah, the All-hearing, the All-Knowing, from the accursed Shaytan, and from his slander and evil insinuations]."
  3. He should spit (with little saliva) to his left three times.
  4. He should stop thinking about these things, as the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Let him stop." This is an important tactic, because continuing to allow the Shaytan to influence one in this way will only make it worse. The Muslim must stop these thoughts, as much as he can, and keep his mind busy with something useful and beneficial.
  5. He should recite Surah al-Ikhlas (Qul huwa Allahu ahad), because it describes attributes of the All-Merciful and is considered to be equivalent to one-third of the Qur'an. Reciting this great Surah will guarantee an end to these insinuating thoughts.
  6. He should think about the creating and blessing of Allah, the Almighty, not about His nature, because his weak human mind can never comprehend the nature of Allah. Allah, the Almighty, said: "..... but they never compass anything of His Knowledge." (20:110)
(Ref: Muhammad Salih Al-Munajjid. Problems and Solutions. IIPH, Riyadh, KSA)

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