Treatment of Obsessions

Question:
May Allah reward you with good and do you well. From Algeria, a message was sent by a listener who says: “I am confused about my situation, which I am searching for a successful path in. S. A. My brother has a long message he wrote in a moving style. The summary of what is in this message is that he was afflicted with the illness of waswas (whispers of doubt) and his age is approximately twenty-five years. And at that time, he is searching for a means to free him, by the permission of Allah, from this illness. He mentions at the end of his message that whenever he listens to the Noble Qur'an on tapes or on the radio, he finds great psychological relief from this matter. How do you guide him and those like him, Shaykh Salih? May Allah reward you with good and do you well.

Answer:
Waswas (whispers of doubt) is from Shaytan. It is obligatory for him to seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan if he feels any of the waswas. He should seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan and not pay attention to the waswas or be affected by it, but rather reject it completely. It will not harm him, by the permission of Allah. He must increase in reciting the Qur'an and listening to it, for that will remove the plot of Shaytan and the whispers of Shaytan from him, by the permission of Allah. He must increase in the remembrance of Allah the Exalted, tasbih (glorification) and tahlil (declaration of Allah's oneness), and using the prescribed adhkar (remembrances) in the morning and evening. He should increase in the prescribed adhkar, and in the remembrance of Allah the Exalted, and in reciting the Qur'an, and in seeking refuge from Shaytan, and that will be removed from him, by the permission of Allah.