Does Social Anxiety Nullify Prayers?
Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick
Question
I have social anxiety and can’t pray in front of other people, is my prayer valid? Have I committed shirk?
Please note that this also happened at the mosque where everyone was praying, but I still had this problem where I was nervous and couldn’t focus even though nobody was watching me. (this doesn’t only happen with praying but also with talking in front of people, eating in front of people, etc.)
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
May Allah alleviate our difficulties and guide us to that which is pleasing to Him. Amin.
You have not committed any sin in this regard. Allah does not burden us with that which we have no control over. However, you should seek spiritual and professional mental-health expertise to help you through your test, which Allah knows best.
Allah says: “Allah does not require of any soul more than what it can afford. All good will be for its benefit, and all evil will be for its own loss. ˹The believers pray,˺ “Our Lord! Do not punish us if we forget or make a mistake. Our Lord! Do not burden us like the one you placed on those before us. Our Lord! Do not burden us with what we cannot bear. Pardon us, forgive us, and have mercy on us. You are our ˹only˺ Guardian. So grant us victory over the disbelieving people.” [Quran, 2:286]
Please refer to our helpful comprehensive reader:
A Reader on OCD and Waswasa (Baseless Misgivings)
I pray this is of benefit and that Allah guides us all.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar, Shaykh Taha Karaan.
Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Mawlana Yusuf Karaan, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.
He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has served as the Director of the Discover Islam Centre and Al Jeem Foundation. For the last five years till present, he has served as the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.
Shaykh Irshaad has thirteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic online learning and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy living and fitness.
