How Should I Deal With Waswasa About Kufr?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul Rashim Reasat

Question

I suffer from waswasa about kufr. I experience intrusive thoughts of disbelief and sometimes become confused about whether they reflect my beliefs. I regret them immediately, but they leave me anxious and fearful for my faith.

Answer

In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful.

All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of all beings, and may peace and blessings be upon our master Muhammad (Allah bless him and give him peace).

May Allah give you ease and well-being.

Kufr is an active choice, just like a vegetarian would make an active choice to start eating meat. The fact that you’re distressed shows that you have Iman. Some of the companions disliked thoughts about such matters, and the Prophet, may Allah bless him and give him peace, called that clear faith. [Muslim]

Meaning, the fact that they don’t like it shows that they have true Iman, so do not worry about this. The bigger issue is that you have intense OCD symptoms, and you need to see a therapist and possibly a doctor.

Some medication may help you in this situation, but therapy is the means that will actually help you heal this issue.

Fighting it, trying to ignore it, endless searching for answers online, and forcing yourself not to think of a particular thought – none of these things are solutions. The solution is to find a good therapist.

Ask Allah for help, and pray in istikhara, and proceed insha’Allah. You’ll have some relief from this soon.

May Allah grant you ease and well-being.

And Allah knows best.

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Related Answers

How Should I Deal with Waswasa Concerning My Faith? – Explains how to distinguish intrusive doubts from genuine disbelief and provides practical guidance for overcoming waswasa and strengthening faith.

How to Deal with the Waswasa of Blasphemous Thoughts? – Offers practical steps for ignoring blasphemous intrusive thoughts, reassuring believers that such thoughts do not constitute disbelief.

How Do I Deal with Fear of Having Fallen into Kufr? – Explains how obsessive fears of disbelief should be treated, emphasizing certainty of faith and avoiding baseless self-judgment.

How Can I Overcome Thoughts of Kufr in My Everyday Life? – Clarifies that involuntary thoughts do not affect one’s faith and outlines practical strategies for resisting recurring waswasa.

How Should I Deal with Waswasa? – Explains the general Islamic approach to waswasa, encouraging believers to ignore baseless doubts and rely on certainty in acts of worship and belief.
Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began studying Arabic Grammar and Morphology whilst studying for a degree in English and History. After graduating, He traveled to Damascus and studied Arabic, Hanafi Fiqh, Usul al-Fiqh, Theology, and Logic with Shaykh Adnan Darwish, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman Arjan al-Binsawi, Shaykh Husayn Darwish, Shaykh Muhammad Darwish, the late Shaykh Rashad Shams, and others. He then moved to Amman to continue his studies in those fields, as well as in Tafsir, Quranic Sciences, Hadith Methodology and Commentary, Prophetic Biography, Prophetic Perfections and Traits, Rhetoric, Arabic Literature, and Tajwid. His teachers include Shaykh Ali Hani, Dr. Hamza al-Bakri, Dr Salah Abu al-Hajj, Dr Mansur Abu Zina, Shaykh Ahmad Hasanat, Shaykh Ahmad Jammal, and others.