Treatment for the person afflicted with excessive intrusive thoughts

Question:
Honorable Shaykh, this is a female questioner from Riyadh who says that she is afflicted with obsessive-compulsive disorder, and that this condition prevents her from performing some acts of worship. She says she is patient and seeking reward. She asks: What is the ruling? Is the person afflicted with this rewarded in terms of their worship?

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. As for the matter, intrusive thoughts (waswas) are a psychological illness. They may originate from Satan, the open enemy, who whispers to a person to distress him. If it is a nervous or psychological illness, then one should consult a doctor, for there is a cure for it, with Allah’s permission. If it originates from the whispers of Satan, then this also has a cure through dhikr (remembrance of Allah) and seeking refuge in Allah from Satan. One should increase in the remembrance of Allah, in reciting the Noble Qur’an, in the morning and evening adhkar, and before sleeping. One should also not pay attention to them and not be affected by them; rather, the person should reject them completely, and they will not harm him, with Allah’s permission. Yes.