Advice for one who suffers from fear and intrusive thoughts
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question : This questioner from Riyadh says that she is a young woman whom Allah the Exalted has guided to the straight path, and that she listens to Islamic tapes, including the Noble Qur'an, legal lectures, and other things. She says: But, Honorable Shaykh, I feel intense fear, and also constant thinking about death and fear of it. I have been told that this fear is a result of listening to Islamic tapes too much, and I do not know if this statement is true or not? What is your guidance, Shaykh Muhammad? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer : I congratulate her on the reward Allah has granted her, and I ask Allah for true steadfastness for her until death. As for what concerns fear, this is part of human nature: when one hears the mention of death and what happens after it, and the mention of the Resurrection and the terrors within it, he fears. But this fear should not be a fear of humiliation; rather, it should be a fear of dignity, such that it drives him to do obedience and leave sin, not that it drives him to destruction. As for the fear of death, everyone will die. Satan may frighten a person with death, saying, "You will die tomorrow, or tonight, or soon," or the like. He should leave these intrusive thoughts, and he should consider that one day he will die tomorrow, and then tomorrow passes, and another tomorrow, and a third, until the end, and he has not died, which indicates that these are intrusive thoughts with no reality.
The fear of Allah's punishment, and the fear of disgrace on the Day of Resurrection, which drives a person to do good deeds and leave bad deeds, is a praiseworthy fear, and a servant is not blamed for it.
As for the fear of panic, that is, the contraction of the soul and the lack of joy, this is a blameworthy fear, so a person should forget it. My advice to this woman is to forget this type of fear and to turn to the obedience of Allah the Exalted, doing what He has commanded and leaving what He has forbidden. Thank you, Honorable Shaykh.
Answer : I congratulate her on the reward Allah has granted her, and I ask Allah for true steadfastness for her until death. As for what concerns fear, this is part of human nature: when one hears the mention of death and what happens after it, and the mention of the Resurrection and the terrors within it, he fears. But this fear should not be a fear of humiliation; rather, it should be a fear of dignity, such that it drives him to do obedience and leave sin, not that it drives him to destruction. As for the fear of death, everyone will die. Satan may frighten a person with death, saying, "You will die tomorrow, or tonight, or soon," or the like. He should leave these intrusive thoughts, and he should consider that one day he will die tomorrow, and then tomorrow passes, and another tomorrow, and a third, until the end, and he has not died, which indicates that these are intrusive thoughts with no reality.
The fear of Allah's punishment, and the fear of disgrace on the Day of Resurrection, which drives a person to do good deeds and leave bad deeds, is a praiseworthy fear, and a servant is not blamed for it.
As for the fear of panic, that is, the contraction of the soul and the lack of joy, this is a blameworthy fear, so a person should forget it. My advice to this woman is to forget this type of fear and to turn to the obedience of Allah the Exalted, doing what He has commanded and leaving what He has forbidden. Thank you, Honorable Shaykh.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 2676- نصيحة لمن يعاني من الخوف والوسوسة/سؤال على الهاتف 📞 /ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.