She is suffering from waswasah and is asking whether the scholars were affected by waswasah too

Praise
be to Allah

Firstly:

Waswasah (whispers from the
Shaytan) is one of the evil methods of the Shaytan, the whisperer (devil who
whispers evil in the hearts of men) who withdraws (from his whispering in
ones heart after one remembers Allah) (cf an-Nas 114:4). This is always his
way: he whispers into people’s hearts, and strives hard to cause harm to the
believer’s religious and worldly interests. This is something that happens
to all people, despite the differences in the extent to which the Shaytan is
able to reach each one with these whispers,  whether small or great, whether
they strive to ward off the enemy until they defeat him and overpower him,
or they surrender to him and yield to him. 

Muslim narrated in his Saheeh
(2814) that ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The
Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “There
is no one among you but Allah has appointed a companion for him from among
the jinn.” They said: Even you, O Messenger of Allah? He said: “Even me, but
Allah helped me with him and he became Muslim, so he only tells me to do
good.” 

An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy
on him) said: 

With regard to the phrase
translated here as “he became Muslim (aslama)”, there are two well-known
narrations of this phrase. According to one narration, the word is to be
read as aslamu, which means: “I am safe from his evil and
temptation”; according to the other narration, the word is to be read as
aslama, which means “he became Muslim”; what is meant is that the
jinn-companion became Muslim and became a believer, “who only tells me to do
good.” The scholars differed as to which of the two versions is more
correct. Al-Khattabi said: The correct version is “aslamu” whereas
al-Qadi ‘Iyad thought that “aslama” was more correct, because the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “[he] only tells me
to do good.” They also differed concerning the meaning of the word “aslama”.
It was said that what was meant by the word aslama, translated here
as “became Muslim” is that he surrendered and yielded. In a report narrated
in books other than Saheeh Muslim, the wording appears as fa
istaslama (he surrendered). And it was said that what is meant is that
he became a Muslim and a believer, which is the apparent meaning.

 Al-Qadi said: It should be
noted that the ummah is unanimously agreed that the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) was infallible and protected from the Shaytan in
his deeds, thoughts and speech. 

This hadith indicates that the
warning refers to the temptation and whispers of the qareen
(jinn-companion); the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
told us that the qareen is with us so that we may protect ourselves from him
as much as possible.
End quote from Sharh Muslim
(17/292) 

The time when the Shaytan is
most eager to whisper to a person and gain control over him is when he wants
to focus on his prayer and worship. Hence when it was said to Ibn ‘Abbas
that the Jews claimed that they did not experience any waswasah in their
prayers, he said: What would the Shaytan do with a ruined heart?! Al-Wabil
as-Sayyib by Ibn al-Qayyim (40) 

What you should do is not worry
about whether the whispers of the Shaytan came to So and so, or what So and
so did. Rather, what you should do is strive to rid yourself of the tricks
and whispers of the Shaytan and his attempts to gain power over you. 

For information on ways of
dealing with waswas, please see the answers to questions no.

62839 and

39684 

Secondly: 

Part of the etiquette of du‘a
(supplication) and of the means of receiving a response is for a person to
turn to his Lord in his supplication, making his intention sincerely for Him
alone, and being sincere in what he requests from Allah. The minimum level
of sincerity in that request is that he should be focused and clear-minded
in his supplication, understanding its meaning, and intending to seek it
from the Lord of the Worlds. 

Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy
on him) said: One of the greatest of conditions (of du‘a) is presence of
mind and hope of receiving a response from Allah, may He be exalted.
End quote from
Jami‘ al-‘Uloom wa’l-Hikam
(2/403) 

There is a warning to the one
who offers supplication when his heart is not focused and he is turning away
from his Lord, absent-minded in his asking of Him: he deserves not to
receive a response. 

At-Tirmidhi (3479), al-Haakim
(1817) and others narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Call upon Allah when you
are certain of a response, and know that Allah does not accept any
supplication from a heart that is unfocused and distracted.” 

This hadith is narrated via
Salih al-Murri, one of the ascetics, but he is da‘eef (weak) in hadith. 

Al-Bazzar said in his Musnad
(17/307): We do not know of this hadith being narrated from the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) via anyone except Abu Hurayrah in
this isnad, and we do not know of anyone narrating it from Hisham except
Salih al-Murri, who was one of the devoted worshippers, but in our view his
focus on worship distracted him from studying hadith. End quote. 

Therefore at-Tirmidhi classed it
as da‘eef in his comment immediately after quoting the hadith, and he said:
A ghareeb hadith. 

Adh-Dhahabi said: Its isnad
includes Salih al-Murri, who is matrook (abandoned). End quote. 

Some of the scholars classed it
as hasan (good) because of corroborating reports. See: as-Silsilah
as-Saheehah (594); Mukhtasar Talkhees adh-Dhahabi by Ibn
al-Mulqin; Hashiyat al-Muhaqqiqeen (1/371). 

With regard to the person who is
seeking a response to his supplication, if he offers supplication whilst he
is unfocused or absent-minded, then yes, this comes under the heading of the
etiquette of supplication in general terms: that the person should persist
in calling upon his Lord, repeating his supplication, beseeching Him and not
faltering, and he should persist in asking and not cease, until he sees that
his Lord has accepted it. 

Al-Awza‘i said: It is said that
the best of supplication is persisting in calling upon Allah and beseeching
Him. 

This was narrated by Ibn ‘Abd
al-Barr in at-Tamheed (5/343) 

Because it is required to have
presence of mind when offering supplication, and because that is one of the
conditions of it being accepted, the best times, when there is greatest hope
of receiving a response to supplication, are when it is most quiet and when
one is most able to focus his thoughts on his Lord. 

Al-Tirmidhi (3499) narrated –
and classed the report as hasan – from Abu Umamah: It was said: O Messenger
of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), which supplication is
most likely to be heard? He said: “(That which is offered) in the latter
part of the night and following the obligatory prayers.” 

In Saheeh al-Bukhari
(5962) it is narrated in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased
with him): “Our Lord, may He be blessed and exalted, descends to the lowest
heaven every night when the last third of the night remains, and says: ‘Who
will call upon Me, so that I may answer him; who will ask of Me, so that I
may give him; who will ask forgiveness of Me, so that I may forgive him?” 

Ibn Battal (may Allah have mercy
on him) said in his Sharh (10/89-90): This is a noble time at which
it is highly recommended to offer supplication. Allah, may He be exalted,
has singled out this time to descend therein and bestow favour upon His
slaves by answering those who call upon Him and giving to those who ask of
Him, because it is a time when people are alone, and heedless, and sleeping
deeply, and enjoying their sleep, and giving up comfort and pleasure is
difficult for people, especially people who live a life of ease, when it is
cold, and for people who are tired and exhausted, at times when the night is
short. 

If a person gives precedence to
getting up to converse with his Lord and beseech Him to forgive his sins and
ransom him from the Fire, and ask Him for mercy at this difficult time, over
his own pleasure, comfort and relaxation, that is indicative of the
sincerity of his intention and the seriousness of his desire for that which
is with his Lord. This guarantees a response, for it is accompanied by
sincerity and sound intention in supplication, for Allah does not accept
supplication from any heart that is unfocused and heedless. The Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) referred to this when he said: “…
and prayer at night when the people are asleep.” 

Hence Allah drew people’s
attention to offering supplication at this time, when a person is free of
worldly thoughts and concerns, so that a person will be more able to strive
hard with sincerity in his worship of his Lord. As a result, Allah, may He
be exalted, will respond to his supplication out of kindness and mercy
towards them. To Him be praise always, and much thanks, for what He has
taught His slaves of what is in their best interests and for calling them to
that which will benefit them; there is no god but He, the Most Generous, the
Giver. End quote. 

And Allah knows best.