Taking Serious Oaths While Being Affected by Insinuating Whispers

I am here to discuss a serious matter that has happened to me and have
tried my best to find someone to help meand this is where I've come.
I have this problem, which my family says is waswasa (satanic
whispers), and that problem is that whenever I recite the Quran I
always think I have made a mistake and when I pray I forget if I did
the 2 sujuud (prostrations) or said salam (exited the prayer), and I
also mix up in saying al tahiyat (salutations) and sometimes forget
what I said...And even during wudhu (ablution) I always feel that I
keep on breaking wind during wudhu and sometimes I forget if I have
washed some parts, for example: sometimes I feel I forgot to wash my
hands, sometimes my face and so on and all this makes me keep on
repeating the wudhu.
This matter has gone to such an extent that during a wudhu, I was
trying to think of a way to stop all this, so duringthat wudhu I said:
"I swear by Allah, if I repeat anything during this wudhu, Allah can
count me as a kafir (non-Muslim)" and at another time I made up
another oath saying:" I swear by Allah, if I repeat the wudhu, Oh
Angels, Jin (spirits) and shayateen, count me as kaafir". I thought
these oaths will keep me scared from repeating wudhu, so I used the
same oaths during prayer to keep me away from repeating the verses of
the Quran again and again. It worked well until at times I repeated
the wudhu and at times I repeated the verses. I amscared that this
oath has made me a kafir; I'm a pious Muslim and Mominand I pray to
and worship Allah every day and my heart is strong with Iman.
I am really sad for what Ihave done, and swore I won't take these
types of oaths, and again I say I am scared if this oath has made me a
kafir, so this is why I tried to contact you for an answer to this
question, has this oath made me a kafir?
I would be very thankful for an answer.
If possible, could you tellme of a way to stop repeating the wudhu due
to the wind breaking feeling and forgetfulness and a way to stop the
forgetfulness in salah (formal prayers) and a way to stop the
continuous repeating of the ayas (verses)?
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
It makes no sense and it is not prescribed in Islamin any way to
expose your religious commitment to the whispers (waswaas) of the
Shaytaan so that he may toy with it as he wishes and make you mess
about with your religious commitment like someone who is gambling by
swearing oaths and making vows. Your religious commitment is too
important and too precious for this kind of risky behaviour. Your
enemy is lying in wait for you and seeks to instil in your heart his
devilish whispers, doubts and bad thoughts, so as to distract you from
worship and weaken your commitment to it. And he seeks to instill
anxiety and distress in your heart. You have seen how you have ended
up with his whispers (waswaas).
The matter is much morestraightforward than that. A person's act of
worship cannot be ended or invalidated on the basis of mere
uncertainty, let alone the waswaas that is attacking you, that is
closer to being a sickness than wellbeing.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:
what if a person does wudoo' and stands to pray, then feels some
wetness (such as a drop of urine etc) whilst he is praying. Does that
invalidate his prayer or not?
He replied:
Merely feeling something does not invalidate wudoo' and itis not
permissible for him to exit an obligatoryprayer on the basis of mere
uncertainty. If he iscertain that urine has been secreted to the
outside of the penis, then his wudoo' is invalidated and he has to
wash himself (istinja'),unless he is suffering from urinary
incontinence. But the prayer is not invalidated by a mere feeling, if
he has done what is enjoined upon him.
End quote from Majmoo'al-Fataawa, 21/219-220
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The believer should not pay any attention to this waswaas (devilish
whisper) because that will make the Shaytaan try harder and seek to
instil even worse waswaas; the Shaytaan is keen to spoil the gooddeeds
of the son of Adam, such as his prayer and other deeds. So it is
essential to be aware of his tricks and whispers, to put your trust in
Allah and to regard whatever happens to you of waswaas as being from
the Shaytaan, so that you will not pay attention to it. If anything
comes out and you are certain of it, without a doubt, then you should
wash yourself again (istinja) and repeat wudoo'. But so long as there
is any uncertainty, even if it is small, you should not pay any
attention to that, so as to maintain that your wudoo' is validand so
as to combat the Shaytaan.
End quote from Majmoo'Fataawa Ibn Baaz, 10/123
What you must do in order to rid yourself of this waswaas is seek
refuge with Allah from the accursed Shaytaan and carry on with your
worship, without payingattention to any whispers that the Shaytaan may
try to put into your mind; you should also offer a great deal of
supplication (du'aa'), asking Allah to keep his plots away fromyou.
Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
As for this waswaas (whispers from the Shaytaan) that happen to some
of the sons of Adam, whether they have to do with beliefs or with
religious matterssuch as prayer, wudoo', purification and the like,the
remedy for this disease that we ask Allahto keep us and our Muslim
brothers safe from is to seek refuge with Allah from the accursed
Shaytaan, and to ignore it (the waswaas) and not pay any attention to
it at all. So if the Shaytaan whispers to him that something is impure
(najis) or that he has nullified his wudoo', when he is not certain
ofthat, he should not pay any attention to it. If he persists in
ignoring it and not paying any attention to it, it will go away with
Allah's help.
End quote from Fataawa Noor 'ala ad-Darb by Ibn 'Uthaymeen, 6/122
Secondly:
With regard to your oathand vow, you made a grievous error by doing
that, unless it was the waswaas that got the better of you to such an
extent that you did not know what you were saying. We hope that you
will be pardoned forit.
You should understand that this vow on its own does not put you
beyondthe pale of Islam; rather it is a vow that was aimed at
preventing the one who made it from doing that, because of his hatred
and revulsion of kufr (disbelief). So you have to offer expiation for
breaking the oath (kafaarat yameen), and also repent to Allah, regret
what you did, and pray agreat deal for forgiveness (istighfaar).
Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The one who swears such an oath is committing himself to something he
dislikes if he breaks his oath, such as if he says: If I do such and
such, I will be a Jew or a Christian, or my wifewill be divorced and
my slave will be free and I will be obliged to walk to the House of
Allah. These and similar phrases constitute an oath. This is unlike
one who intends consequences, such as one who makes a vow or divorces
his wife; he intends to comply with what he committed himself to. In
both cases there is commitment, but the one who is regarded as
swearing anoath is the one who dislikes what he has committed himself
to if the conditions are met, such as if he said: if I do such and
such, I will be aJew or a Christian, because he hates kufr, even if
that condition is met. The one who intends to carry out what he
committed himself to doing, whether it is something he wants to do or
not, is just fulfilling what he committed himself to, but it is not to
be regarded as an oath. In both cases there is a commitment connected
to a condition, but the one who is regarded as swearing an oath does
not like to do the action he has committed himself to do. The
difference between the two is proven from the Sahaabah (companions)
and senior Taabi'een (successors), and is indicated by the Qur'aanand
the Sunnah; it is alsothe view of the majority of scholars.
End quote from Majmoo'al-Fataawa, 33/60
The scholars of the Committee were asked:
What is the Islamic ruling on one who says: If I do such and such I
will be a kaafir – then hedoes that thing time after time? Please note
that I pray regularly and frequently complete readings of the Holy
Qur'aan. Will my previous good deeds be cancelled out? For my part, I
uttered the Shahaadatayn (twin declaration of faith) and did ghusl
(bathed), based on my own understanding, but now I am living in a
state of constant anxiety. Please note that I recite the shahaadah a
great deal and I always pray and doacts of obedience and pray for
forgiveness?
The committee replied: Itis not permissible for theMuslim to swear to
follow a religion other than Islam, because of the proven report from
the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that forbids
that. In as-Saheehayn (Bukahri and Muslim) it is narrated from the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) that he said:
"Whoever swears (if he does something or fails to do something) that
hewill follow a religion other than Islam, falsely and deliberately,
then he is as he said, and if hemeant what he said, he will never come
back to Islam with his faith intact." If he does what he swore not to
do or hefails to do what he swore to do, then he hasto offer expiation
for breaking an oath (kafaarat yameen) and also repent to Allah and
not swear such an oath again. But he does not become a kaafir
thereby;it is sufficient for him to repent and do righteous deeds,
because Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"And verily, I am indeed Forgiving to him who repents, believes (in My
Oneness, and associates none in worship with Me) and does righteous
good deeds, and then remains constant in doing them, (till his death)"
[Ta-Ha 20:82].
His good deeds are not cancelled out, because he did not become a
kaafir; all he wanted to do was make sure that he would do something
or not do something.
End quote from Fataawa al-Lajnah ad-Daa'imah, 23/196-197

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And Allah Knows the Best!

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Published by :->
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