Issues concerning obsessive doubts in ablution, prayer, divorce, and other matters, and the treatment thereof.
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The Shaykh : Here are issues concerning obsessive doubts that many people have been afflicted with:
The first issue: A man or a woman is afflicted with obsessive doubts in ablution. You find him coming to perform ablution and then saying, "I did not intend it," or "Does this require an intention or not?" I ask you: A man comes to the washing place and begins to perform ablution; is it conceivable that he came to the washing place and began to perform ablution without an intention? Answer me, people? It is absolutely impossible.
So if he performs ablution and says, "I did not intend it," or if he performs ablution and says, "I did not wash my face," or if he performs ablution and says, "I did not sniff water into the nose," or if he performs ablution and says, "I did not wipe the head," and they have a history of this, you find him performing ablution four or five times or more based on the obsessive doubts. For this reason, we advise our brothers whom Allah has afflicted with this to seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan and to restrict themselves to one time.
If he washes the face and hands, wipes the head, and washes the feet once, is that sufficient or not? Yes, it is sufficient. If he increases by washing a second time, that is better; a third time is better. And what exceeds the third time, he has done wrong, transgressed, and wronged himself. This is how it came in the hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed ablution once, once, and twice, twice, and three times, three times, and said: This is one.
Some people are afflicted with obsessive doubts in prayer. He prays, and when he wants to say the takbir and says it, he says, "Perhaps I did not say the takbir," and he repeats the takbir a second, third, and fourth time. And so it is with the recitation, he doubts; and so it is with the bowing and prostration. All of this must be discarded by the person, and he should not pay attention to it, because if he pays attention to it, it will affect his behavior and his mind, and perhaps even his creed. So let him discard this to the side. If he said the takbir, that is it; he does not say, "I did not say the takbir."
Likewise, some people are afflicted with obsessive doubts regarding people in their community. He passes by people, for example, and says, "By Allah, the people are looking at me with a look of anger, a look of dislike." Shaytan whispers to him, saying, "The people do not like you; the people are looking at you with a look of anger, a look of dislike." This is from obsessive doubts. And what a person should believe is that the people are looking at him with a look of what? Satisfaction, joy, and happiness, so that happiness enters his heart and he meets people with a cheerful face and happiness. Some people are also afflicted with obsessive doubts regarding their family, regarding their wife. Shaytan whispers to him that if she picks up the phone to speak to someone, she is flirting. And Shaytan comes to him and says, "Your wife is flirting," even though she is a poor soul who only picked up the receiver to say whether the owner of the house is present or not. But he doubts her. This is also not permissible; it is not permissible to doubt, because the original state is what? The original state is safety, the original state is chastity, and the original state is that a woman protects her honor just as a man protects his honor. And some people are afflicted with obsessive doubts regarding their family in the matter of divorce, and this often happens. A person is whispered to that he has divorced, until some of them say to me that when he sits to read the mushaf and turns the page, he said to his wife, "You are divorced," to this extent. Shaytan says to him, or says, "You said, 'If my wife does such and such, she is divorced,'" and he whispers to him about his wife. Some people, Shaytan says to them, "Rest from this obsessive doubt; divorce her and let her go." Is this permissible or not permissible? It is not permissible, brothers; it is not permissible.
A woman has been contracted in marriage in a valid manner. So what is the original state? The original state is the continuation of the contract and that you have not divorced her. For this reason, the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) differed regarding if one doubts the occurrence of the divorce: is scrupulousness to proceed with the divorce, or is scrupulousness not to proceed with the divorce? And the correct view is: that scrupulousness is not to proceed with the divorce. The correct view is that scrupulousness is not to proceed with the divorce, but rather the marriage remains, because if a person proceeds with the divorce, he commits two sins: The first sin is depriving her of her husband. And the second sin is making her lawful for others. And the original state is the continuation of the first marriage. So if we doubt the occurrence of the divorce, what is the original state here? The original state, my brothers, the original state is the non-occurrence of the divorce and that the marriage remains. And scrupulousness is not to divorce, not to proceed with the divorce; scrupulousness is not to proceed with the divorce.
Likewise, Shaytan comes to a person while he is in a state of ablution and says, "You have broken your purity," and perhaps he feels a movement in the two passages and says, "You have broken your purity." So what do we say to him? We say, seek refuge in Allah and remain in your purity, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was told about a man who imagined that he found something in prayer, meaning he found wind or a drop of urine or something similar. So he said: Who can complete the hadith? He said, he said? Please.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : What?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh :Sahih Muslim 361 Complete, meaning until he perceives the thing with his sense, not with his imagination. And perceiving something with the sense is either finding wind or hearing a sound. Now, some people are afflicted with this; they doubt whether they broke their purity or not. Do you know what Shaytan says to them? He diverts them from the truth. He says, "O man, rest; go to the washing place and urinate, and the matter is over." Is this solution correct or not correct? Brothers, is this solution correct? You did not understand the question. A man doubts whether he broke his purity or not, so Shaytan says to him, "Rest from this obsessive doubt; reassure yourself; go and break the ablution and perform ablution and rest." Is this solution correct or not correct? Please, stand up.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : I ask you, is the solution correct or not correct?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you. Listen, listen. The rest of the discussion: Is this solution correct or not? No, it is not correct. Rest. Yes, please.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : The solution is not correct?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : With this certainty?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Why?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Huh?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Okay, well done. Complete. He reasoned with a good reasoning, but there is a better reasoning than that. Please?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : This is a good reasoning, but there is a better one than that. No, the one behind it. That is it. Come on, my brother?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : He is in a state of ablution; he has no problem with that, but he doubts whether he broke his purity or not. So he said to himself, "Rest from this doubt and go to the washing place and break the ablution and perform ablution anew." Is this solution correct or not correct?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Why?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : This is a reasoning, but another one is better than it. Please, here?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : This is a good reasoning, and another one is better than it. Okay, please?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Why do you say the words? Why do you not say, "Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Rest"? How does this escape your minds? Meaning, all the reasonings you mentioned are correct, but if it is possible to bring the evidence from the Infallible (peace and blessings be upon him), that is better. We say, "Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 361 He did not say, 'Go and break the ablution with certainty.' He did not say it this way, did he? May Allah bless you.
And for this reason, I say: Do not exchange the Book and the Sunnah for anything, ever. All reasonings can be refuted, but the Book and the Sunnah cannot be refuted. The best of speech is the speech of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). In any case, the discussion in this chapter is long, and the obsessive doubts are many, but their cure is that you seek refuge in the Lord (Mighty and Majestic)[An-Nas 114:1-6] Okay.
The first issue: A man or a woman is afflicted with obsessive doubts in ablution. You find him coming to perform ablution and then saying, "I did not intend it," or "Does this require an intention or not?" I ask you: A man comes to the washing place and begins to perform ablution; is it conceivable that he came to the washing place and began to perform ablution without an intention? Answer me, people? It is absolutely impossible.
So if he performs ablution and says, "I did not intend it," or if he performs ablution and says, "I did not wash my face," or if he performs ablution and says, "I did not sniff water into the nose," or if he performs ablution and says, "I did not wipe the head," and they have a history of this, you find him performing ablution four or five times or more based on the obsessive doubts. For this reason, we advise our brothers whom Allah has afflicted with this to seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan and to restrict themselves to one time.
If he washes the face and hands, wipes the head, and washes the feet once, is that sufficient or not? Yes, it is sufficient. If he increases by washing a second time, that is better; a third time is better. And what exceeds the third time, he has done wrong, transgressed, and wronged himself. This is how it came in the hadith that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) performed ablution once, once, and twice, twice, and three times, three times, and said:
Whoever exceeds that has transgressed, done wrong, and wronged himself.
من زاد على ذلك فقد تعدى وأساء وظلمSome people are afflicted with obsessive doubts in prayer. He prays, and when he wants to say the takbir and says it, he says, "Perhaps I did not say the takbir," and he repeats the takbir a second, third, and fourth time. And so it is with the recitation, he doubts; and so it is with the bowing and prostration. All of this must be discarded by the person, and he should not pay attention to it, because if he pays attention to it, it will affect his behavior and his mind, and perhaps even his creed. So let him discard this to the side. If he said the takbir, that is it; he does not say, "I did not say the takbir."
Likewise, some people are afflicted with obsessive doubts regarding people in their community. He passes by people, for example, and says, "By Allah, the people are looking at me with a look of anger, a look of dislike." Shaytan whispers to him, saying, "The people do not like you; the people are looking at you with a look of anger, a look of dislike." This is from obsessive doubts. And what a person should believe is that the people are looking at him with a look of what? Satisfaction, joy, and happiness, so that happiness enters his heart and he meets people with a cheerful face and happiness. Some people are also afflicted with obsessive doubts regarding their family, regarding their wife. Shaytan whispers to him that if she picks up the phone to speak to someone, she is flirting. And Shaytan comes to him and says, "Your wife is flirting," even though she is a poor soul who only picked up the receiver to say whether the owner of the house is present or not. But he doubts her. This is also not permissible; it is not permissible to doubt, because the original state is what? The original state is safety, the original state is chastity, and the original state is that a woman protects her honor just as a man protects his honor. And some people are afflicted with obsessive doubts regarding their family in the matter of divorce, and this often happens. A person is whispered to that he has divorced, until some of them say to me that when he sits to read the mushaf and turns the page, he said to his wife, "You are divorced," to this extent. Shaytan says to him, or says, "You said, 'If my wife does such and such, she is divorced,'" and he whispers to him about his wife. Some people, Shaytan says to them, "Rest from this obsessive doubt; divorce her and let her go." Is this permissible or not permissible? It is not permissible, brothers; it is not permissible.
A woman has been contracted in marriage in a valid manner. So what is the original state? The original state is the continuation of the contract and that you have not divorced her. For this reason, the scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) differed regarding if one doubts the occurrence of the divorce: is scrupulousness to proceed with the divorce, or is scrupulousness not to proceed with the divorce? And the correct view is: that scrupulousness is not to proceed with the divorce. The correct view is that scrupulousness is not to proceed with the divorce, but rather the marriage remains, because if a person proceeds with the divorce, he commits two sins: The first sin is depriving her of her husband. And the second sin is making her lawful for others. And the original state is the continuation of the first marriage. So if we doubt the occurrence of the divorce, what is the original state here? The original state, my brothers, the original state is the non-occurrence of the divorce and that the marriage remains. And scrupulousness is not to divorce, not to proceed with the divorce; scrupulousness is not to proceed with the divorce.
Likewise, Shaytan comes to a person while he is in a state of ablution and says, "You have broken your purity," and perhaps he feels a movement in the two passages and says, "You have broken your purity." So what do we say to him? We say, seek refuge in Allah and remain in your purity, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was told about a man who imagined that he found something in prayer, meaning he found wind or a drop of urine or something similar. So he said: Who can complete the hadith? He said, he said? Please.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : What?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh :
He should not return (from prayer) unless he hears a sound or perceives a smell (of passing wind).
لا ينصرف حتى يسمع صوتا أو يجد ريحاThe student: ... .
The Shaykh : I ask you, is the solution correct or not correct?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you. Listen, listen. The rest of the discussion: Is this solution correct or not? No, it is not correct. Rest. Yes, please.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : The solution is not correct?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : With this certainty?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Why?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Huh?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Okay, well done. Complete. He reasoned with a good reasoning, but there is a better reasoning than that. Please?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : This is a good reasoning, but there is a better one than that. No, the one behind it. That is it. Come on, my brother?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : He is in a state of ablution; he has no problem with that, but he doubts whether he broke his purity or not. So he said to himself, "Rest from this doubt and go to the washing place and break the ablution and perform ablution anew." Is this solution correct or not correct?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Why?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : This is a reasoning, but another one is better than it. Please, here?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : This is a good reasoning, and another one is better than it. Okay, please?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Why do you say the words? Why do you not say, "Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Rest"? How does this escape your minds? Meaning, all the reasonings you mentioned are correct, but if it is possible to bring the evidence from the Infallible (peace and blessings be upon him), that is better. We say, "Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
He should not return (from prayer) unless he hears a sound or perceives a smell (of passing wind).
لا ينصرف حتى يسمع صوتا أو يجد ريحاAnd for this reason, I say: Do not exchange the Book and the Sunnah for anything, ever. All reasonings can be refuted, but the Book and the Sunnah cannot be refuted. The best of speech is the speech of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). In any case, the discussion in this chapter is long, and the obsessive doubts are many, but their cure is that you seek refuge in the Lord (Mighty and Majestic)