Fatwa ID: 07816
Answered by Alimah Humairah Badshah
Question:
This is a bit of a weird question. So, I have been dealing with waswasa a lot recently. I was watching a video about prophets and there was a video about khizar (as). I never heard of him before until very recently. I wanted to know more about him and there was a lot of misinformation about him whether he’s alive or not. there was one video in Urdu, the sheikh was saying something like “We know about isa (as) hyah according to the Quran and sunnah” (as in him being alive). I misheard him and thought to myself he said “We don’t know about isa (as) hyah ( I thought he meant isa (as)’s age)” because I don’t understand Urdu that much. I said to myself that Isa (as) is still alive because Allah saved him. Another video with the same sheikh saying and I heard him this time “Whoever doesn’t believe in isa (as) hyah is a kafir”. what he meant by “hyah” here is isa (as) being alive and I misheard him thinking he said isa (as)s age. after hearing this I had a panic attack. I kept repeating to myself “Of course Isa (as) is still alive because Allah saved him and I believe that”. but I was having waswasa and I thought to myself I disbelieved in my mind for just a millisecond before watching the video and was just saying this to calm myself. I panicked even more. I wanted to see an explanation video about isa (as) just to reassure myself that I am right and searched “is isa (as) alive”. no such videos came and I said to myself “Of course, there isn’t any video about this because Isa (as) is still alive” ” After coming from the masjid praying maghrib I calmed down and recalled everything I thought and I still don’t know why I panicked like that or what I thought that caused me to panic. I read surah an-nisa ayat 157 about certainly Allah saved isa (as) and reassured myself.
so my question is does this mean I acted upon my waswasa by searching that video? or by reassuring myself? was this kufr? I really did not want to search about this. I even said to myself before watching the video that “isa (as) is alive
because Allah saved him”.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
We are not held accountable for fleeting thoughts and waswasa. They have no effect on our belief and are in no way a sign or cause of kufr. Experiencing such waswasa is completely natural to all human beings and, in fact, is a sign of true belief.1
Some Sahabah (ra) once came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and asked him: “Indeed we perceive in our minds that which every one of us considers it too grave to express.” He [the Prophet (ﷺ)] said: “Do you really perceive it?” They said: “Yes.” Upon this he [ﷺ] remarked: “That is the faith manifest.”2
When such thoughts occur, we should not dwell on them. Rather, we should simply affirm our faith and seek refuge in Allah (عز و جل).3
In Surah Fussilaat, Allah (عز و جل) said: “And if there comes to you from Satan an evil whisper, then seek refuge in Allah. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Knowing.” [41:36]
It seems like you experienced quite severe worry and guilt over this incident. If something similar happens again, try to put your mind at ease and trust in the mercy and protection of Allah (عز و جل).
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Allah has accepted my invocation to forgive what whispers in the hearts of my followers unless they put it to action or utter it.”4
You should certainly not feel guilty over doing some research to confirm to yourself that your beliefs were correct. Seeking knowledge is a praiseworthy thing. There is no harm in seeking reassurance in the teachings of trustworthy scholars, and you should hope for reward from Allah (عز و جل) as you do so.
Indeed the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Whoever takes a path upon which to obtain knowledge, Allah makes the path to Paradise easy for him.”5
If you regularly find yourself plagued by these concerns to the extent that you experience panic attacks and your worries affect your daily life, this may be a sign of a condition such as OCD or similar. You should seek the service of a qualified Muslim therapist or counsellor to help you manage your fears and anxieties.
References:
(1)
قَالَ ” إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ يَجْرِي مِنَ الإِنْسَانِ مَجْرَى الدَّمِ، وَإِنِّي خَشِيتُ أَنْ يَقْذِفَ فِي قُلُوبِكُمَا سُوءًا ـ أَوْ قَالَ ـ شَيْئًا
Sahih al-Bukhari (https://sunnah.com) b.59, ch.11, no.90 (3281)
(2)
َالَ جَاءَ نَاسٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَسَأَلُوهُ إِنَّا نَجِدُ فِي أَنْفُسِنَا مَا يَتَعَاظَمُ أَحَدُنَا أَنْ يَتَكَلَّمَ بِهِ . قَالَ ” وَقَدْ وَجَدْتُمُوهُ ” . قَالُوا نَعَمْ . قَالَ ” ذَاكَ صَرِيحُ الإِيمَانِ
Sahih Muslim (https://sunnah.com) b.1, ch.60, no.247 (132a)
(3)
وَالسَّبِيلُ فِي الْوَسْوَسَةِ قَطْعُهَا؛ لِأَنَّهُ لَوْ اشْتَغَلَ بِذَلِكَ لَأَدَّى إلَى أَنْ يَتَفَرَّعَ لِأَدَاءِ الصَّلَاةِ، وَهَذَا لَا يَجُوزُ
Badaai’ Al-Sanaai’ (Daar Al-Kutub Al-‘Ilmiyyah, https://shamela.ws) v.1 p.33
لاَ يَزَالُ النَّاسُ يَتَسَاءَلُونَ حَتَّى يُقَالَ هَذَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ الْخَلْقَ فَمَنْ خَلَقَ اللَّهَ فَمَنْ وَجَدَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ شَيْئًا فَلْيَقُلْ آمَنْتُ بِاللَّهِ
Sahih Muslim (https://sunnah.com) b.1, ch.60, no.250 (134a)
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم “ يَأْتِي الشَّيْطَانُ أَحَدَكُمْ فَيَقُولُ مَنْ خَلَقَ كَذَا وَكَذَا حَتَّى يَقُولَ لَهُ مَنْ خَلَقَ رَبَّكَ فَإِذَا بَلَغَ ذَلِكَ فَلْيَسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ وَلْيَنْتَهِ
Sahih Muslim (https://sunnah.com) b.1, ch.60, no.252 (134c)
(4)
قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم “ إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَجَاوَزَ لِي عَنْ أُمَّتِي مَا وَسْوَسَتْ بِهِ صُدُورُهَا، مَا لَمْ تَعْمَلْ أَوْ تَكَلَّمْ
Sahih al-Bukhari (https://sunnah.com) b.49, ch.6, no.12 (2528)
(5)
حَدَّثَنَا مَحْمُودُ بْنُ غَيْلاَنَ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو أُسَامَةَ، عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ أَبِي صَالِحٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم “ مَنْ سَلَكَ طَرِيقًا يَلْتَمِسُ فِيهِ عِلْمًا سَهَّلَ اللَّهُ لَهُ طَرِيقًا إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ ” . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ .
Jami` at-Tirmidhi (https://sunnah.com) b.41, ch.2, no.2 (2646)
Only Allah knows best.
Written by Alimah Humairah Badshah
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
