Treating Satan's Whispers in Prayer

Question : But is there a cure for this ailment?

Answer : The answer is yes. As it is authentically reported from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that Allah did not send down an ailment without sending down a cure for it; those who know know it, and those who do not know do not know it. Every ailment, whether religious or worldly, physical or social, has a cure, for Allah is Wise and He establishes causes and preventers for things: they occur when the causes are present and cease when the preventers are present. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) informed us of the cure for this, or taught his Ummah about it. When you feel it, turn to your left three times and say, "I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan." Do you understand? Turn to your left three times and say, "I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan." Our brother is whispering in my ear, saying: "In the prayer, do we speak?" Yes, in the prayer, because a man complained of this matter to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said to him, "That is a Shaytan called Khinzar." The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) named him. So when you feel it, turn to your left three times and say, "I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan." He said, "So I did that. Pay attention, I was cured." So I did that, and Allah removed it from me. Allahu Akbar. When the cure meets a receptive place, it benefits by the permission of Allah. How did the cure meet a receptive place?
It met a believing heart that believes that what was established is the truth and that it must cease. The man accepted this cure and benefited from it. But many people today accept what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) brought, but in a way of experimentation, meaning they say, "Let us try to see if it works or not." If you say "let us try," whether in your heart or with your tongue, you have not believed in the reality, and thus you will not find the effect. I said, "No, Allah the Exalted will deprive you of the effect of this answer because you did not believe in the cure." A cure requires a doctor who knows the cure, a receptive place, and the cure must be effective. Is the cure for this problem effective or not? It is effective. The doctor is a scholar. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is the scholar doctor, and the cure is effective. But we are left with the question: is the place receptive or not? If a person accepts that and knows that this is the truth, he benefits from it. For this reason, the Companions benefited. He said, "So I did that, and Allah removed it from me and saved me from its evil." But a question remains: how does a person turn his head while he is praying?
We say that turning in the prayer is permissible and there is no harm in it. Now, how does he turn when there may be someone to his left in the row? We say if there is someone to your left, this is a Sunnah, but if you do it, you will harm another person, so do not do it. Seeking refuge is sufficient. Seeking refuge is sufficient, because the person to your left will undoubtedly be harmed. For this reason, when we are praying, it is prescribed for the prostrator to spread his arms, but if he is in a row and spreads his arms, he will harm the person next to him. So we say, do not spread your arms so that you do not cause harm for the sake of a Sunnah.