Sources of Waswas and Accountability

Praise
be to Allah

Firstly:

The waswas which people
experience is not all of the same type or degree, either in terms of the
type of sickness or in terms of its source and effect. 

The kind of waswas which tempts
a person to listen to or look at haram (unlawful) things or to commit
immoral actions, and makes such things appear attractive to him, comes from
three sources: the nafs (or self), which is inclined to evil, the devils
among the jinn (demons), and the devils among mankind. 

Allah says, describing the first
source, which is the nafs (interpretation of the meaning):  

{And We have already created man and know what his soul whispers to him, and
We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein}(Qaf 50:16) 

Allah says, describing the
second source, which is the devils among the jinn (interpretation of the
meaning): 

{Then Satan whispered to him; he said, “O Adam, shall I direct you to the
tree of eternity and possession that will not deteriorate?”} (Ta-Ha 20:120) 

And Allah says, describing the
third source, which is the devils among mankind (interpretation of the
meaning): 

{Say, “I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind,

The Sovereign of mankind.

The God of mankind,

From the evil of the retreating whisperer –

Who whispers [evil] into the breasts of mankind –

From among the jinn and mankind.”} (al-Naas 114:1-6)

So these waswas may come from
the jinn or from the sons of Adam (human beings). 

Please see question no.

59931 

What happens to a Muslim
regarding his wudu and prayer, where he does not know how many times he
washed during wudu or how many rak’ahs (units of prayer) he did in prayer,
comes from the Shaytan. If he seeks refuge with Allah from the Shaytan,
Allah will suffice him against him. But if he gives in to him and responds
to the waswas, the Shaytan will gain power over him, and that waswas will
become a chronic problem. This is what is called al-waswas al-qahri
(overwhelming waswas or OCD). This kind of waswas – as one of those who are
specialized in this field said – “is a sickness which befalls some people
like any other kind of sickness. It refers to repeated thoughts, movements,
ideas or notions which are of a loathsome nature that a person would
ordinarily reject and strive to resist. He also realizes that they are wrong
and have no meaning, but there is something that is pushing him towards them
and he usually fails to resist them. The strength of these waswas may vary,
so much so that they appear – to non-specialists – to be very strong and it
seems that the sick person is doing that willingly. This kind of waswas may
also affect a person in his worship and in his worldly affairs.” 

The waswas of the Shaytan may be
dispelled by seeking refuge with Allah. 

The waswas that comes from one’s
own self may also be dispelled by seeking refuge with Allah, and by
strengthening the connection between a person and his Lord by doing acts of
worship and obedience and by giving up evil things. 

As for al-waswas al-qahri (OCD),
it is a kind of sickness as stated above. 

The difference between the
waswas that comes from the Shaytan and the waswaas that comes from the nafs
is subtle, as was quoted by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have
mercy on him) from some of the scholars. He said: 

Abu Haazim made a comparison
between the waswasah caused by the nafs and that caused by the Shaytan, and
said: Whatever your nafs hates for your nafs is from the Shaytan, so seek
refuge with Allah from it. And whatever your nafs likes for your nafs is
from your nafs, so forbid it from it. (Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 17/529, 530) 

i.e., the nafs usually whispers
concerning things which are connected to its whims and desires, which people
usually like. 

Some of the scholars pointed out
another important difference, which is that the waswas that comes from the
Shaytan makes sin appear attractive until the Muslim falls into it; if the
Shaytan is unable to achieve that, he moves on to another sin, and if that
does not work he moves on to a third, and so on. He does not care about
making the Muslim fall into a particular sin, rather what he cares about is
making the Muslim disobey his Lord, and it is all the same to him whether he
makes him do something that is forbidden or omit something that is
obligatory, for all of it is sin and disobedience. As for the waswas that
comes from the nafs, it is what urges the person to commit a specific sin
and repeatedly seeks to make him do it.  

The Muslim will not be punished
for the waswas that comes from the Shaytan or from his own nafs, so long as
he does not speak of it or act upon it. But he is commanded to resist it,
and if he neglects to resist it and gives in to it, then he will be punished
for that neglect. 

He is commanded not to pay any
attention to the waswas of the Shaytan, and to proceed on the basis of the
smaller number (of rak’ahs) in prayer if he is not sure how many he has
done. He is commanded to seek refuge from the Shaytan and spit drily to his
left three times if the waswas of the Shaytan comes to him whilst he is
praying. He is commanded to keep company with good people and avoid bad
people. Whoever is negligent with regard to any of these matters will fall
into the traps of his nafs which is inclined to evil, or will respond to the
devils among the jinn and mankind, in which case he will be held
accountable. 

As for overwhelming waswas (OCD),
it is a kind of sickness – as mentioned above – so the Muslim will not be
harmed by it and Allah will not hold him accountable for it, because it is
beyond his control. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

{Allah does not charge a soul except [according to] what He has given
it.} (al-Talaaq 65:7) 

{So fear Allah as much as you are able} (al-Taghaabun 64:16) 

And the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah will forgive my ummah
(followers) for whatever crosses their minds so long as they do not speak of
it or act upon it.” Narrated by al-Bukhari, 4968; Muslim, 127 

The one who is afflicted with
this kind of waswas must always read Quran and recite the dhikrs (words of
remembrance) prescribed in sharee’ah (Islamic law), morning and evening. He
must strengthen his faith by doing acts of worship and shunning evil. He
must occupy himself in seeking knowledge, for although the Shaytan may gain
power over a worshipper, he cannot gain power over one who has knowledge. 

The Shaytan may come and whisper
evil things to a Muslim about Allah, or His Messenger, or His sharee’ah,
things that the Muslim hates and does not approve of. The fact that he
resists these waswas and hates them is a sign of the soundness of his faith.
So he should strive to control his nafs and not respond to the one who calls
him to evil. 

Ibn Katheer (may Allah have
mercy on him) said: 

The phrase: {Whether you show what is within yourselves or conceal it, Allah will
bring you to account for it.} (al-Baqarah 2:284 – interpretation of the meaning) means
that even if He brings you to account and questions you, He will not punish
you except for that which a person is able to ward off. As for that which he
cannot ward off, such as the waswas of the nafs, no one is accountable for
that, and hating evil waswasah is part of faith. (Tafseer Ibn Katheer,
1/343)

Al-Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baz
(may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: 

Waswas and ideas may cross a
person’s mind, especially to do with tawheed (the oneness of Allah) and
faith; will the Muslim be held accountable for that? 

He replied: 

It is narrated in al-Saheehayn
and elsewhere that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) said: “Allah will forgive my ummah (followers) for whatever
crosses their minds so long as they do not speak of it or act upon it.”
(Agreed upon) And it is narrated that the Sahabah (may Allah be pleased with
them) asked the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) about the
kinds of waswas and thoughts referred to in the question crossing their
minds. He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) replied: “That is a
clear sign of faith.” (Narrated by Muslim) And he (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) said: “The people will keep on wondering until it is
said, ‘This was created by Allah, but who created Allah?’ Whoever
experiences any of that, let him say, Amantu Billaahi wa rusulihi (I believe
in Allah and His messengers).’” (Agreed upon)  According to another report:
“Let him seek refuge with Allah and stop it.” (Narrated by Muslim in his
Saheeh) 

Tuhfatal-Ikhwan bi Ajwibah
Muhimmah tata’allaq bi Arkan al-Islam (question no. 10). 

In the answer to question no.

62839, you will find important information on waswasah and the remedy
for it. 

In the answer to question no.

25778, we have described the remedy for one who is worried about waswas
and passing thoughts. 

Please see the answer to
question no.

12315, for important advice. 

And Allah knows best.