Wasawis is the plural of Waswasah. Wasawis can be loosely translated into “doubts” and these are generally, the whisperings of Shaitaan.
Wasawis are of various categories and affect a person in
Wasawis is the plural of Waswasah. Wasawis can be loosely translated into “doubts” and these are generally, the whisperings of Shaitaan.
Wasawis are of various categories and affect a person in different aspects. Some are more common than others but the cause of all are the same and the remedy is more or less, also the same. It should be noted that not every person is affected by Wasawis and some people are more affected than others. Since these are whisperings of Shaitaan, a person should not be perturbed and he should learn to ignore them. In the Hadith, Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) has consoled us and informed us that Allah will not hold a person accountable for the Wasawis that he is troubled with as long as he does not act on it or verbally express it. (Sahih al-Bukahri, Hadith #: 2528, Narrated by Abu Hurayrah)
Shaitaan inflicts a person with Wasawis to dissuade him from progressing in life and gaining closeness to Allah. He uses this in various aspects of a person’s life. To list all the spheres of life is virtually impossible so we will suffice by listing those that are most common:
a) Wasawis (doubts) pertaining to one’s Imaan- Sometimes Shaitaan plagues a Muslim with various doubts about his Imaan. He begins to think that he is not a true Muslim or he begins to doubt Allah and His Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), or has negative thoughts about Islam and he feels extremely guilty about it. That “am I really a Muslim? How can I be having such doubts about Islam? “And so on…
Whilst this may apparently seem to be a serious offence, this is actually a sign of Imaan. It is recorded in Sahih Muslim that a group of Sahabah (Radiallahu Anhum) once came to Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) and complained to him that they were having these very same doubts and that they feel ashamed to even mention these doubts to anyone.
Nabi (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) enquired from them, “Really? Are you really experiencing such thoughts?”They replied in the affirmative. On this, Nabi (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said, “This is a clear sign of Imaan”. (Sahih Muslim, Hadith #: 357).
، عن أبي هريرة، قال: جاء ناس من أصحاب النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، فسألوه: إنا نجد في أنفسنا ما يتعاظم أحدنا أن يتكلم به، قال: وقد وجدتموه؟ قالوا: نعم، قال: ذاك صريح الإيمان ،
[شرح محمد فؤاد عبد الباقي]
[ش (إنا نجد في أنفسنا ما يتعاظم) أي يجد أحدنا التكلم به عظيما لاستحالته في حقه سبحانه وتعالى (ذاك صريح الإيمان) معناه سبب الوسوسة محض الإيمان أو الوسوسة علامة محض الإيمان]
When Nabi (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said “This is a clear sign of Imaan”, he meant that having these doubts is a result of a person being a true Muslim. Only a person who has Imaan in his heart will experience such doubts.
To understand this better, consider the following example. A thief will not attempt to rob a home or place that is devoid of valuables. A thief will only attempt to rob those homes or places that contain valuables and precious items.
Similarly, the heart of a Mu’min is the home of the most valuable and precious thing in this world and the Aakhirah. Shaitaan will only put doubts in those hearts that have this valuable gift of Imaan and he will try his utmost to unsettle and rob this person of Imaan. Therefore, instead of becoming perturbed and despondent over these doubts, a person should be thankful to Allah for blessing him with Imaan.
What to do when plagued by these doubts:
- Ignore these doubts – The Ulama have mentioned that the remedy for these thoughts is to ignore them. Whenever a person is plagued with these thoughts, he should ignore them and engage in the Zikr and Shukr of Allah. They are just baseless doubts from Shaitaan that don’t deserve any attention at all.
- Reflect over the difference between a Kafir and Mu’min – He should reflect over the difference of a Kafir and a Mu’min. When such thoughts occur in the mind of a Mu’min, he is troubled and perplexed showing that he does not accept such thoughts and this is a clear sign of Imaan. On the contrary, a Kafir is not troubled in the least and actually enjoys, cherishes and propagates such thoughts and beliefs. The fact that a Mu’min is perturbed is ample proof of his Imaan and his pleasure with Islam as his religion.
- Recite the three Quls and abstain from sins – Make it a habit of reciting the three Quls daily after Fajr and Maghrib thrice each and abstain from all types of Haraam, all types of literature and things that may induce thes