A woman who believes in Allah, but doubts come to her regarding matters of certainty, and she fears these intrusive thoughts; what is the advice in this situation?

The questioner:
Umm Usamah has a case in which she says: A woman loves Allah and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and believes in that with the strongest faith, and avoids sins as much as she can, and she cries when she remembers Allah the Exalted, and she performs the prayer at its times. But, Honorable Shaykh, doubt always comes to her regarding some matters that are of certainty, and she is always afraid of death and does not love it. She cries a lot and hopes that Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, will remove this matter and these intrusive thoughts from her. She supplicates to Allah a lot that Allah will keep this doubt away from her, but it is still in her heart. Does this indicate that Allah is not pleased with her? And what should she do to reach the truth of certainty? She asks you, may Allah reward you with good, to supplicate for her that Allah may grant her true certainty and permanent faith, and that Allah may make meeting Him beloved to her, and that Allah may remove fear and doubt from her heart? May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh:
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. And to proceed: This is a sign of good in this woman that she loves Allah and His Messenger, and that she strives in righteous deeds and in maintaining the prayers. And what the questioner mentioned, that she is afflicted with some doubt and fear of death, these are intrusive thoughts from Shaytan that do not harm her, if Allah wills.
The intrusive thoughts that occur to a person in his heart, such as doubts and illusions, these do not harm. Some of the Companions complained to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about what they found of such intrusive thoughts, and he said (peace and blessings be upon him): That is pure faith. And the fact that a person considers it a great sin to speak about these things, even though they are woven in his heart by Shaytan, and he considers it a great sin to speak about them, this is a sign of his faith.
Because the hypocrite, may Allah protect us from him, does not refrain, or does not consider it a great sin, to speak ugly words, words of disbelief. As for the believer, his faith forbids him, to the extent that some of the Companions said: I would rather fall from a mountain than speak this thing that may be woven in my heart. So he said (peace and blessings be upon him): That is pure faith. Thank you.
So do not worry about this matter. She should seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan, and it will not harm her. As for the fear of death, everyone dies, and this is inevitable. But she should ask Allah for a good ending and death upon Islam, otherwise death is inevitable.
Whether a person fears it or not? This is something that Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, has decreed for the servants. This is the Sunnah of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, in His creation. The fact is that this does not harm her. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Indeed, Allah has pardoned my ummah (Muslim community) for mistakes, forgetfulness, and what their souls suggest to them, or what their souls suggest, as long as they do not speak or act upon it. Mere intrusive thoughts in the soul do not harm a person, as long as he is upright in obedience and worship. Then what occurs to him of Shaytan’s intrusive thoughts does not harm him, and this will be removed by the permission of Allah. So she should increase in the remembrance of Allah and increase in reciting the Qur'an, and not pay attention to these intrusive thoughts and not worry about them at all. This thing will be removed from her by this, if Allah wills. And we ask Allah for us and for her steadfastness, guidance, uprightness, and a good ending.

The presenter:
Allahu Akbar. Shaykh Salih, if you would be so kind, do you advise this sister and those like her, men and women, to read specific verses or specific adhkar (remembrances) so that Allah may remove from them what they doubt?

The Shaykh:
There is no doubt that the adhkar (remembrances) in the morning and evening are a fortress against Shaytan. The greatest of that is for a person to read after the prayer, after the Fajr prayer, and after all the prayers, after the 'Asr prayer and the Maghrib prayer, a person reads Ayat al-Kursi (the Verse of the Throne) and reads after it Surat al-Ikhlas and the two Mu'awwidhat (seeking refuge chapters): Say, I seek refuge in the Lord of the dawn. And he repeats that and increases in the remembrance of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and the prescribed seeking of refuge, such as: I seek refuge in the perfect words of Allah from the evil of what He created. And the prescribed adhkar. Good. And he should review the books that deal with these adhkar, and the closest of them are: Yes. Al-Wabil al-Sayyib by Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, Al-Kalimah al-Tayyibah by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, and Al-Adhkar by al-Nawawi. These contain the adhkar that are said in the morning and in the evening. Yes. May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.