How to Deal with Doubt and Whispers in Prayer
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The questioner says about herself: I am a woman of twenty-three years old. I have been praying since I was young, and I am upholding what Allah has made obligatory upon me of matters and duties, praise be to Allah. However, I have been afflicted for the past two years with a condition, which is doubt and whispers. When I recite the Qur'an and remember Allah, I feel comfort and tranquility. But as soon as I finish reciting and neglect the remembrance of Allah, the whispers and doubts take hold of me, causing me great fear. What do you advise me to do? May Allah reward you with good. Does a person sin and be punished because of doubt? Please give us a ruling, and may you be rewarded.
Answer:
We advise you to keep in mind the greatness of Allah and that you are in the presence of Allah in prayer. Prayer is the delight of the eye for the believing man and the believing woman. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I have made the delight of my eye in prayer.
We also advise you to keep in mind the greatness of Allah and that you are in the presence of Allah, who sees you and hears your speech and your recitation. So fear Allah, be present with your heart, and beware of the whispers and thoughts that distract you from prayer. When you are sincere in this, Allah will remove these whispers and thoughts from you, your heart will be upright, and you will be humble in prayer. If this becomes frequent with you, it is prescribed for you to seek refuge in Allah from Satan, even by spitting to your left three times. You spit to your left three times and say: I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) advised some of the Companions to do this, so they did it and it was successful and they were safe. There is no harm in seeking refuge in Allah from Satan and spitting to your left three times in prayer if the whispers become frequent. However, with sincerity to Allah, presence of heart with Allah, humility before Him, and remembering His greatness (Glorified and Exalted is He) , these whispers will disappear.
The questioner says about herself: I am a woman of twenty-three years old. I have been praying since I was young, and I am upholding what Allah has made obligatory upon me of matters and duties, praise be to Allah. However, I have been afflicted for the past two years with a condition, which is doubt and whispers. When I recite the Qur'an and remember Allah, I feel comfort and tranquility. But as soon as I finish reciting and neglect the remembrance of Allah, the whispers and doubts take hold of me, causing me great fear. What do you advise me to do? May Allah reward you with good. Does a person sin and be punished because of doubt? Please give us a ruling, and may you be rewarded.
Answer:
We advise you to keep in mind the greatness of Allah and that you are in the presence of Allah in prayer. Prayer is the delight of the eye for the believing man and the believing woman. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: I have made the delight of my eye in prayer.
We also advise you to keep in mind the greatness of Allah and that you are in the presence of Allah, who sees you and hears your speech and your recitation. So fear Allah, be present with your heart, and beware of the whispers and thoughts that distract you from prayer. When you are sincere in this, Allah will remove these whispers and thoughts from you, your heart will be upright, and you will be humble in prayer. If this becomes frequent with you, it is prescribed for you to seek refuge in Allah from Satan, even by spitting to your left three times. You spit to your left three times and say: I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) advised some of the Companions to do this, so they did it and it was successful and they were safe. There is no harm in seeking refuge in Allah from Satan and spitting to your left three times in prayer if the whispers become frequent. However, with sincerity to Allah, presence of heart with Allah, humility before Him, and remembering His greatness (Glorified and Exalted is He) , these whispers will disappear.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.