Waswasa After Salah and Solutions
After performing Fard namaz, I smell something foul around me for about a minute or two. It's not a coincidence since I have often observed this. It happens to me only after fard, not nafila nor sunnah and only when I’m alone in the room. Why is this happening to me? Does anyone else face such things?
Dear Brother,
The situation you described in your question is not a commonly faced event and you say that it doesn’t come out of a physical reason. And besides, it happens when you are alone. Regarding these points, as far as we are concerned, your situation is a kind of “waswasa”.
What Does Waswasa Mean?
Waswasa means suspicion, delusion, misgiving. Baseless possibilities.
Waswasa literally means “sounds like whisper,rustle”. In this aspect; a secret word repeated and continuing endlessly in heart is called waswasa, misgivings and whispers of Satan.
Seek refuge in Allah from the misgivings, because it is a trap of satan to tire Muslims of worship
“And say : “O my Master! I seek refuge in you from the misgivings (suggestions) of the satans. “O my Master! I seek refuge in you even from their being near me.” “ (Surah al Mu’minoon: 97-98)
Whoever suffers from waswasa should seek refuge with Allaah and turn away from the misgivings. Because waswasa comes from the shaytan, according to scholarly consensus, and shaytan has no other desire than to make the believers go astray, make them confused, make their life a misery, cause them distress to the extent that they leave worship and Islam. Waswasa is a trap of satan to exhaust the Muslims, tire them and discourage from worship.
As stated in the hadith, satan struggles to distract man from his prayer
Narrated Abu Hurayrah (ra):
“When the call for prayer is given, shaytan runs away, breaking wind loudly so as not to hear the adhan. When the adhan ends, he comes back. When the iqamah is made, he runs away, then when the iqamah ends, he comes back to distract a man from his prayer, saying, “Remember such and such,” things that the man did not remember, until he does not know how many rak’ahs he has prayed. If one of you does not know how many rak’ahs he has prayed, whether it is three or four, then let him do two prostrations whilst he is sitting.” (Bukhaari , 1231; Muslim, 389)
Solutions to Get Rid of Waswasa
- 1. Never overrate the waswasa, Ignore it!
Never exaggerate the misgiving and certainly ignore it. Man should not consider him in a big danger and should not panic. This kind of panic may harm him a lot. The only thing and best thing to do is to stop thinking on it and end it, because overrating increases the waswasa. Misgivings are similar to balloons. The more you blow, in other words, the more importance you give them, the more they expand. And the more you ignore them, the more they get smaller.
- 2. Do not repeat the waswasa
An important point to get rid of misgiving and overcome satan’s trap is not to repeat it; because if they are repeated again and again, they will strengthen. Whereas the misgiving is just a weak whisper of satan, its being thought and repeated again and again will make it firm. Pay no attention to it and behave as if that smell does not exist.
- 3. Duas to Recite
“And if a whisper from the devil reach thee (O Muhammad) then seek refuge in Allah. Lo! He is the Hearer, the Knower.” (Surah al Fussilat, 36)
Doubtlessly, the best way to seek refuge in Allah is to recite “Auzu Basmala”.
It is narrated to be a remedy for waswasa to recite this dua 7 times in the morning and 7 times in the evening for at least 3 days and 7 at most.
Narrated Ibn Abbas that, “Who suffers waswasa will get rid of it if he repeats:
Scholars also stated that it is useful to recite a part from Quran, Lailahaillah, the 97th and the 98th verses of surah al Muminun to get rid of waswasa.
We ask Allaah to take away the waswasa that you are suffering and to increase us and you in faith, righteousness and piety.
And Allah knows the best…