Confusion about ADHD and the Effect of Sins
Answered by Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Question
I am a teenager who has ADHD. This condition negatively affects my life and the lives of my family as I often forget things, am inconsistent with routine, and struggle heavily with keeping focus. I also am struggling with trying to quit my habitual sins. Whenever something negative happens, especially as a result of my ADHD symptoms, I always get scared and confused if it is due to my ADHD or the effects of my sins. This often leaves me feeling very depressed and spiritually confused. How can I differentiate when something is due to the difficulties my ADHD causes or something spiritual, like the effects of my sins?
Answer
I pray that Allah gives you ease and clarity.
Don’t worry about what is the cause of the things you do. Your AHDH is a test from Allah, so see it as that. You may well be excused for anything wrong you do because of it.
All you should do is maintain the adab Islam teaches us: patience and gratitude when faced with difficulties and blessings and tawba when you make a mistake. It doesn’t matter whether the mistake is because of your ADHD – in which case the tawba is a display of adab with Allah – or if the sin was because of human weakness in general. Repent and keep trying to get closer to Allah.
Allah doesn’t demand perfection from us. Rather, He wants people who try, and when they make a mistake, they turn back to Him. Don’t overthink the matter beyond this trying to analyze the cause of a mistake. Do the above and you’ll be fine.
Remember, the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “Indeed, [the practice of] the religion is ease itself.” (Bukhari) Bear that in mind and keep things simple.
May Allah make things easy for you.
[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Checked and approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History he moved to Damascus in 2007 where, for 18 months, he studied with many erudite scholars. In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years in Sacred Law (fiqh), legal theory (Usul al-fiqh), theology, hadith methodology, hadith commentary, and Logic. He was also given licenses of mastery in the science of Quranic recital and he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Quranic sciences, tafsir, Arabic grammar, and Arabic eloquence.
