The Ruling on the Divorce of the One Afflicted by Obsessive Thoughts and the Guideline for Dealing with Obsessive Thoughts

The questioner : Your Eminence the Shaykh! I love Allah and His Messenger, and I love you for the sake of Allah, but I am among those who have been afflicted with obsessive thoughts for many years.

The Shaykh : May Allah be the Greatest. I have been granted by Allah, praise be to Him, relief from my sin, and most of these obsessive thoughts have cleared up, praise and thanks be to Allah. But some obsessive thoughts remain for which I do not know the ruling of the religion, including the divorce of the wife. I want to get married, but I am afraid of the obsessive thoughts

The questioner : in this regard. I have read a fatwa from Your Eminence in which you state that the divorce of the one afflicted by obsessive thoughts does not take effect. Is this an absolute ruling, especially since I have been having obsessive thoughts about this matter even now, before marriage? How will it be after marriage? I ask you, may Allah preserve you, to give us a comprehensive answer and to establish a guideline for us in this matter: when does the divorce of the one afflicted by obsessive thoughts take effect? I also ask for your prayers for my well-being in your absence. May Allah keep you safe.

The Shaykh : May Allah love him as he loves us in Him. I ask Allah for his healing. In your absence, if I remember, I will pray for him; if I forget, I am excused.
As for obsessive thoughts, obsessive thoughts in matters of religion only occur to one whose heart is alive, and this is good news. Therefore, when the Companions complained to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) about this obsessive thought, he said, "Do you find that?" meaning pure faith. This obsessive thought cannot return to the heart unless the person is a believer. However, he must seek refuge in Allah when this obsessive thought comes to him, and he must stop and turn away from it and not pay attention to it, for it will not harm him by the permission of Allah. When it was said to Ibn 'Abbas or Ibn Mas'ud that the Jews say, "We do not have obsessive thoughts in our prayer," he said, "They are telling the truth; they do not have obsessive thoughts. What can Satan do with a ruined heart? Satan does not come to ruin a heart that is already ruined. But the heart that is filled with good is the one over which Satan gains control in order to ruin it. So we say to all our brothers: if you find this, it is a sign of faith, but you must seek refuge in Allah and stop it. As for what concerns the brother's middle ground regarding divorce, we say: get married. And we say to him in advance: May Allah bless you and her and unite you in goodness. Get married. And if you feel that you have divorced, your divorce will not take effect. The divorce of the one afflicted by obsessive thoughts does not take effect, because the one afflicted by obsessive thoughts pronounces divorce under compulsion. Some of the afflicted, may Allah grant us well-being, say, "When I recite the Qur'an and then turn the page, it is as if my soul says, 'My wife is divorced,' to this extent." So the divorce of the one afflicted by obsessive thoughts does not take effect even if he pronounces it. Some people
commit a foolish act when they see the severe distress from the obsessive thoughts. They say, "I will divorce my wife and make it permissible for myself." So they say, "My wife is divorced," just to get some relief. Who? What? Clean.
From the distress. We say this is wrong. And if he says in this state, "My wife is divorced," she is not divorced. It is like a man afflicted with obsessive thoughts regarding ritual impurity, and his soul keeps telling him, "You have become impure, you have become impure, you have become impure." So he says, "I will get some relief and become impure." He goes and urinates because he is doubtful and has obsessive thoughts, and this is wrong. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) gave us, may Allah reward him well, the rule for obsessive thoughts. He said, "Do not leave until you hear a sound or find a smell."
"Until you hear a sound or find a smell." He did not say, "If he feels it, let him become impure and perform ablution." He said, "Do not leave." So drive away these obsessive thoughts by ignoring them and building on the original state. In divorce, the original state is the continuation of the marriage. In ritual impurity, the original state is the continuation of purity.