How the person afflicted with obsessive doubts should perform his ritual purity and prayer

Question:
After this, a message was received for the program from one of the female listeners in Libya. She says: Your sister in Allah (S. L. A.) is asking a long question in which she says: I am a nineteen-year-old girl who suffers from excessive doubt regarding my ritual purity, my ablution, and my prayer. I suffer from intrusive thoughts during prayer, and I have tried to overcome these thoughts, but I have not succeeded. I perform the full ritual bath more than three times for a single prayer, yet I still cannot overcome these thoughts. Sometimes I repeat my prayer several times, but to no avail. Sometimes the situation reaches the point where I spend two hours in a single prayer. Then she continues to describe her condition—Your Eminence—and asks you how she should act, especially during the month of Ramadan? May Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
This is from Shaytan. This affliction you are experiencing with these obsessive doubts, all of it is from Shaytan. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, says in His great Book: [Al-A'raf: 200]. So a person should seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan. And He, Exalted and Majestic is He, says: King of mankind. The God of mankind. From the evil of the retreating whisperer, Who whispers into the breasts of mankind, From among the jinn and mankind. [Al-Nas: 1-6].
It is obligatory for you to seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan and not to submit to the enemy of Allah through these obsessive doubts. When you enter into prayer, perform the prayer that Allah has prescribed. Say the opening takbir first, then begin with the opening supplication by saying: (Glory is to You, O Allah, and praise, and blessed is Your name, and exalted is Your majesty, and there is no god but You). This is the best opening supplication. And if you begin with another opening supplication that is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that is sufficient.
Then you say: I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan. In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Then you recite al-Fatihah: [Al-Fatihah: 2]... to the end of it. Then you recite whatever is easy for you from the chapters and verses along with it. Then you say: Allah is the Greatest. And you bow in the air, upright, placing your hands on your knees, upright, with your head aligned with your back. You say: (Glory is to my Lord, the Most Great, Glory is to my Lord, the Most Great, Glory is to my Lord, the Most Great), (Glory is to You, O Allah, our Lord, and praise, O Allah, forgive me). Then you raise your head and say: Allah hears the one who praises Him. You stand... once. Allah hears the one who praises Him, once.
Then you stand upright and say: Our Lord, and to You is the praise. After standing upright and rising: (Our Lord, and to You is the praise, abundant, good, and blessed praise, filling the heavens and filling the earth, and filling what is between them, and filling whatever else You will of anything after that). And you are standing, calm and humble, placing your hands on your chest while you are standing, before bowing and after it, while you are standing. You place your right hand over your left palm, on your chest, while you are standing, before bowing and after it.
Then you lower yourself for prostration, saying: Allah is the Greatest. You prostrate on your forehead, nose, both palms, both knees, and the toes of both feet, upright, raising your belly from your thighs, upright. And you say: Glory is to my Lord, the Most High. You raise your arms from the ground, resting on your palms on the ground: Glory is to my Lord, the Most High, Glory is to my Lord, the Most High. You supplicate to Allah—Exalted and Majestic is He—in prostration. The Lord—Exalted and Majestic is He—loves supplication in prostration.
And among the causes of acceptance is: supplication in prostration. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ... You say: (Glory is to my Lord, the Most High, Glory is to my Lord, the Most High), (O Allah, forgive me all my sins, the small and the large, the first and the last, the open and the secret)... O Allah, forgive me and have mercy on me... O Allah, protect me from the Fire. (Glory is to You, O Allah, our Lord, and praise, O Allah, forgive me). O Allah, rectify my heart... You supplicate to Allah with whatever is easy for you.
Then you raise your head and say: Allah is the Greatest. And you sit on your left foot, spreading your left foot and sitting on it, raising your right foot upright. You say: My Lord, forgive me, My Lord, forgive me, My Lord, forgive me, while you are calm... O Allah, forgive me and have mercy on me, guide me, heal me, provide for me, and keep me safe... O Allah, rectify my heart—there is no harm—and my deeds.
Then you say: Allah is the Greatest. You prostrate for the second time, the second prostration. You say in it: Glory is to my Lord, the Most High, Glory is to my Lord, the Most High, Glory is to my Lord, the Most High. The best is three times, or more. The obligatory is once. Glory is to my Lord, the Most High, once. But the more you repeat it, the better. And the minimum of perfection, its lowest limit, is three. Then you supplicate to your Lord in this prostration as you did in the first prostration. (O Allah, forgive me all my sins: the small and the large, the first and the last, the open and the secret). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to supplicate with this supplication. And if you supplicate with another supplication, you say: O Allah, rectify my heart and my deeds. (O Allah, O Turner of hearts, make my heart firm upon Your religion). O Allah, forgive me and my parents; if the parents are Muslims. All of it is good in prostration.
Then you say: Allah is the Greatest, standing up for the second rak'ah. You say the name of Allah, and you recite al-Hamd and whatever is easy for you with it. Then you bow like the first bowing, exactly the same... the bowing. And you are calm, placing your hands on your knees, upright, with your head aligned with your back. You spread your fingers on your knees, separating your elbows from your sides. While you are bowing: Glory is to my Lord, the Most Great, Glory is to my Lord, the Most Great. (Glory is to You, O Allah, our Lord, and praise, O Allah, forgive me). Even once. The obligatory is once: Glory is to my Lord, the Most Great. And repeating it three times is better. And whatever more you add is better. And you say with this: (Glory is to You, O Allah, our Lord, and praise, O Allah, forgive me) as mentioned before. (The One who is free from all imperfections, the Holy, the Lord of the angels and the Spirit). And if you say this, it is also good in bowing and prostration. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say it.
Then you raise your head saying: Allah hears the one who praises Him, like the man. Allah hears the one who praises Him, while you are rising from the bowing. And after standing upright, you say: Our Lord, and to You is the praise. Or (O Allah, our Lord, to You is the praise, abundant, good, and blessed praise, filling the heavens, and filling the earth, and filling what is between them of anything after that).
And the obligatory is: Our Lord, and to You is the praise. The rest is a recommended practice. Then you lower yourself saying: Allah is the Greatest... for prostration, as you did in the previous rak'ah. Two prostrations. In each prostration you say: Glory is to my Lord, the Most High, Glory is to my Lord, the Most High. And you supplicate to Allah in it. And you sit between them in a calm sitting between the two prostrations, humble and calm on your left foot, raising your right foot upright. You say: My Lord, forgive me, My Lord, forgive me. Then after rising from the second prostration: you sit for the first tashahhud. You recite the tashahhud, learning it and studying it: (The greetings are for Allah, and the prayers and the good things. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Peace be upon us and upon the righteous servants of Allah. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger). The man and the woman say this. It is upon both the man and the woman (The greetings are for Allah, and the prayers and the good things. Peace be upon you, O Prophet, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Peace be upon us and upon the righteous servants of Allah. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger).
This is how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught the ummah. He taught his ummah this tashahhud. And the best is that you send blessings upon the Prophet: (O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon Ibrahim and upon the family of Ibrahim; indeed You are Praiseworthy, Majestic. O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad, and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent blessings upon Ibrahim and upon the family of Ibrahim; indeed You are Praiseworthy, Majestic). Just like the man, exactly the same. Then you stand up for the third rak'ah: in the Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib, and Isha prayers, you stand up for the third rak'ah. And if you stand up before the prayer, after saying: (I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and His Messenger); that is sufficient. And the man is the same. But the best is to include the sending of blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in this tashahhud.
Then you stand up for the third rak'ah, standing up while saying takbir and raising your hands... when standing up for the third, just as you raise them when entering the state of ihram at the first takbir, and when bowing, and when rising from it, you raise your hands, like a man. You say when rising: Allahu Akbar, when entering the state of ihram, when bowing, and when rising from it, raising your hands at the takbir, and at the tashmi'... praise Him when you rise from the bowing, when you say: "Allah hears the one who praises Him"; you should be raising your hands like a man. And when standing up for the third from the first tashahhud, you raise your hands while saying takbir: Allahu Akbar, raising your hands like a man. Then you complete the prayer; if it is four, you pray the third and fourth, reciting only al-Fatihah, al-Fatihah is sufficient... al-Hamd. Then after completing the fourth, you recite this tashahhud: (At-tahiyyat... to the end), and you send blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
Then you say: (O Allah, I seek refuge in You from the punishment of the Hellfire, from the punishment of the grave, from the trial of life and death, and from the trial of the Dajjal). You also supplicate after this du'a - like a man: O Allah, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and save us from the punishment of the Fire... O Allah, forgive me and my parents, if your parents are Muslims. O Allah, protect me from the Fire... O Allah, rectify my heart and my deeds... O Allah, help me to remember You, thank You, and worship You well. All of this is good... O Allah, I have wronged myself greatly, and no one forgives sins except You; so forgive me with forgiveness from You, and have mercy on me, for You are the Oft-Forgiving, the Merciful. All of this is good, exactly like a man. You supplicate to Allah with whatever is easy for you before the salam.
Then you give the salam twice, to the right and to the left: As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah, As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah. This is what is prescribed, and this salam is obligatory, it is a fard that is required. And with that, the prayer is complete.
And beware of waswas (whispers of doubt). If you have done this, it is finished. Do not repeat the prayer, do not obey Satan, and do not repeat the recitation. Know that it is from Satan. If he whispers in your heart that you did not do it, say in your heart: "You have lied." Lie to him with your heart, do not obey him. Complete the prayer and finish it, and do not repeat it.
Nor the wudu, even the wudu. If you have finished it, do not repeat it, and do not obey Satan. You see that you have washed your limbs, and praise be to Allah. So the prayer is the same; if you have done what we mentioned, then you have prayed. Leave the waswas, and do not obey the enemy of Allah by repeating the prayer. Rather, know that, praise be to Allah, you have finished, and that the enemy of Allah, if he says to you: "You did not pray," or "You did not do such and such," he is a liar. So beware of him, and say: "I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan," even if you are in prayer. If he distracts you, say: "I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan," spit to your left three times, and say: "I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan," even if you are in prayer. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught some of the Companions. Some of the Companions came to him and said: "O Messenger of Allah! Satan has confused my prayer for me." He said: The Companion said: "So I did it, and Allah removed from me what I was feeling. The waswas disappeared."
So you, and others among the people, men and women, who are afflicted with waswas; they must beware of the enemy of Allah, and seek refuge in Allah from Satan, and not repeat wudu or prayer. Rather, they should be content with doing it once, and not obey Satan. If he says: "You did not do it, you did not do it," no, they should lie to him with their heart, humiliate him, and seek refuge in Allah from his evil, and not obey him. This is the obligation of every Muslim man and woman.
May Allah grant us and you steadfastness, and protect us and you from obeying Satan, and protect us and all Muslims as well from obeying Satan. Yes.

The presenter : O Allah, amen. May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good.