How Can I Remove Anxiety about Passing Wind during Salat?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
Whenever I perform wudu or start praying, I get anxious about the discharge of wind. I feel something coming out; I cannot focus on salat properly. Sometimes I repeat salat.
It makes me more anxious and depressed.
What should I do? It only happens whenever I try to pray. Please help me out.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question and for seeking guidance.
I want to suggest you do the following:
Say the ta‘awwudh, which is:
“أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ”
(I seek refuge in Allah from the rejected devil)
Make dua abundantly when anxious before prayer. You can also recite Surat al-Nas, a Sura and dua, for protection against misgivings. Also, keep your tongue moist with this dua:
“.اَللّٰھُمَّ اجْعَلْ وَسَاوِسَ قَلْبِیْ خَشْیَتَكَ وَ ذِکْرَكَ وَاجْعَلْ ھِمَّتِیْ وَھَوَایٰ فِیْمَـا تُـحِبُّ وَ تَرْضٰی”
(O Allah! Render the thoughts and inclinations within my heart, to be Your fear and remembrance, and let my endeavor and desire be devoted to what You love and are pleased with) [Daylami, Musnad al-Firdaws]
Time Limit
Set a time limit to perform wudu and stick to them: 1 shower a day for 5 minutes max, wudu per prayer for 1 minute maximum (5 seconds on each limb), 10 seconds for washing your hands maximum, and so on. Once the timer is up, you stop the action, assume wudu, and move on.
Decisiveness
Do not look back. Go straight into your prayer after wudu, or continue with your day. In other words, busy yourself and your mind before Shaytan tries to take over.
Trust in Allah
Trust in Allah that your wudu and prayer are accepted. Remember that the companions also suffered from misgivings, and they challenged and continued because the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said they (misgivings)are clear and pure faith.
May Allah help you in your time of difficulty, cure you of your misgivings, and give you – and all of us – good health. Do not worry; in time, you will be relieved from the whisperings in sha ‘Allah.
Read and watch the following links and sign up for this course: Satanic Tactics: Seven Tricks of the Devil.
Related:
- Prayer Reader: The Ultimate Guide To Prayer in Islam
- Devil’s Tricks – The Path of Muhammad: Birgivi’s Manual of Taqwa Explained
- Doubts – IPD Session #3 | COJ – an ISIP Youth Chapter Initiative
- The Application of Islamic Psychotherapy for the Treatment of OCD
- Key Principles Relating to Certainty, Doubt, and Baseless Misgivings (waswasa)
- A Reader on OCD and Waswasa (Baseless Misgivings) (seekers.flywheelstaging.com)
- The Application of Islamic Psychotherapy for the Treatment of OCD
- Satanic Tactics: Seven Tricks of the Devil
- Being Balanced – Emotional and Mental Health
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
