What Should I do About Doubts Concerning Purity?
Shafi'i Fiqh
Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick
Question
I was peeing when I felt some urine deflect to my boxers and my leg, and when I looked, I saw a drop on my leg on two drops on my boxers. I did instinja, left my boxers on my knees, and changed the bathroom so I could shower.
After I went to the first bathroom again, I noticed the carpet was wet when I stepped there, so I thought this was water from my instinja since I didn’t put on my boxers and my private part was dripping.
But I got waswasa that I should be sure and smell it, which I did, and I found a weird smell but wasn’t sure that it was urine smell or another smell or maybe waswasa that it was smelly. Since I wasn’t sure it was a urine smell, I applied the rule of certainty over doubt and went to sleep. Now I got waswasa that I spread urine in my house.
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.
Satanic Whispers – Waswasa
What you described is called waswasa, also called OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder). The specific type of waswasa is called religious scrupulosity. Waswasa is one means the devil uses to misguide people and distract them from Allah by casting doubts and whispers (waswasa) into their hearts. You should categorically ignore these, and Allah knows best.
We strongly advise you to oppose the devil by simply ignoring these distractions. If you do not follow through with this, you will find more and more doubts until your life becomes unbearable, Allah forbid.
Seeking a Fiqh ruling will not assist you in your problem as it is not a fiqh problem but a spiritual cum psychological one. The only rule you should be concerned with is categorically ignoring doubts and proceeding as though they never happened.
Please see the answers below for more details and solutions to this severe affliction:
How Can I Deal With Waswas Regarding the Prayer? [Shafi‘i]
How Can I Overcome Excessive Waswasa (Misgivings) Concerning Purity?
How Can I Overcome My Fear of Falling into Kufr and My OCD of Constantly Apologizing?
Does Repeating Verses of Surah Fatiha out of Waswas Breaks Continuity?
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.
