Waswasa (misgivings) in worship

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Question:

I am a sunni. I have been having problems doing ghusl. Sometimes I cannot get the niyat instilled correctly, sometimes I cannot get the sincerity especially when there are intrusive thoughts, sometimes, I cannot feel the water touching especially hard to reach parts, sometimes doubts abt thoroughly cleansing the body. I tried to ignore these feeling and thoughts but I am not always successful. When it is very bad, I repeat the ghusl. In the past, I felt good after repeating a ghusl. Recently, I donâ€™t feel completely purified after repeating for one reason or another or just a general feeling of not purified.

Answer:

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

The intention is straightforward: it is the resolve to perform an action, and its sign is to know in your heart what you're doing. It is not normally conceivable that one would perform a specific action (such as fasting or prayer) without having intended it. Thus, you should ignore the misgivings about lack of intention, and simply continue, assuming--as Prophetic guidance entails--that your intention and resultant action are sound.

Please see the following related SunniPath Answers (http://qa.sunnipath.com):

Baseless Misgivings (Waswasa): Some General Principles

Misgivings: the fiqh of doing one’s best…

Severe Doubts & Misgivings

Misgivings (waswasa) on toilet matters

And search for more related SunniPath Answers on http://qa.sunnipath.com
Jazakum Allah khayr.
And Allah alone gives success.

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Waswasa (misgivings) in worship

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