Question:
Assalamualaikum Mawlana Shaykh Hisham and all eshaykh staff, thank you for this very useful website.
I am worried about my daily prayers. I am often unsure about the validity of my wudu’ and this makes me worry that my prayers may not be valid. After prayers I often don’t feel good (I feel bad for even saying this) because I’m very uncertain about wudu’ and whether or not I broke it. I also feel very sinful because my focus when I pray is on the validity of wudu’ instead of sincerely focusing on worshipping ALLAH swt. Sometimes I repeat my prayers even though I have already done them because I don’t feel certain. This is causing me a lot of distress and weighs very heavily on my mind. I am very afraid that if my prayers are not valid, then I’m not fulfilling one of the pillars of Islam. Please help.
Answer:
Wa alaikum salam,
Bismillahi-r Rahmani-r Rahim
If you have done your best to perform you wudu and your prayers then there is nothing to worry about. Always thinking and worrying if your wudu is valid or your prayers are valid is wiswas which comes from Shaytan. Some scholars say that to beat it is by having knowledge and certainty. If you have studied the rules of wudu and what annuls it under the guidance of a good teacher, then you should be firm in implementing it . Wiswas is like a barking dog. It will bark and bark, but if you are not giving it any attention, it will get tired and stop.
It is one of the tricks of Shaytan to stop a servant from being close to his Lord. It will be good to recite the ta`awwudh: “a`udhu billah mina ‘sh-shaytani ‘r-rajeem” and also Surat an-Nas before you make wudu and your prayers.
May Allah guide us and save us by the barakah of Prophet (s).
Muhammad Razib
