What Should I Do About My Extreme Anxiety in Matters of Religion?

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Question: Assalam alaykum

What should I do about my extrem anxiety in matters of religion?

I know I must ignore waswasa but sometimes it takes me almost 1 hour to perform a prayer.

Answer: Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,

You should read: The OCD Workbook, by Bruce Hyman, and work through it with a close friend or loved one. This should be supplemented with visits to a therapist so that you can be cured from this mental unbalance by the Grace of Allah Most High.

Try to pray with others, if reasonably possible, and under no circumstances should you leave the prayer altogether. Ask Allah Most High for facilitation and success, and with sincerity and steadfastness, you will get through this. Don’t lose hope.

Allah Most High says, “Say, ‘[God says], My servants who have harmed yourselves by your own excess, do not despair of God’s mercy. God forgives all sins: He is truly the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.” [39.53]

Please also see: A Reader on Waswasa (Baseless Misgivings) and: How Do You Distinguish Between a Test From Allah and Punishment? and: Satanic Whisperings (Waswasa) as a Trial from Allah: Punishment or Blessing?

And Allah Most High alone knows best.

[Ustadh] Tabraze Azam

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Tabraze Azam holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Leicester, where he also served as the President of the Islamic Society. He memorised the entire Qur’an in his hometown of Ipswich at the tender age of sixteen, and has since studied the Islamic Sciences in traditional settings in the UK, Jordan and Turkey. He is currently pursuing advanced studies in Jordan, where he is presently based with his family.