Waswas — intrusive thoughts

There is a particular kind of suffering that comes with intrusive thoughts — and it is made worse, not better, by the fact that you are a person who cares about your faith.

You are in prayer and a thought enters your mind that horrifies you. You are making dua and something unspeakable appears. You are going about your day and your brain produces an image or a sentence that you would never choose, and your stomach drops. And then the second arrow comes: what kind of person thinks this?

Here is what nobody tells you enough: that second question — the shame spiral that follows the thought — is not about the thought. It is about you caring so much that even the possibility of having thought something wrong feels like a catastrophe. A person who does not care would simply move on. You don't move on. And that itself is a sign of something intact in you.

The companions of the Prophet ﷺ came to him with this exact experience. They described thoughts so disturbing they said they would rather fall from the sky than speak them aloud. His response was not one of horror or rebuke. He said: 'That is pure faith.' Let that land for a moment. Not despite those thoughts. Because of the distress they caused. The fact that the thought repels you is itself the sign of a living conscience.

Modern psychology calls this ego-dystonic intrusive thought — thought that is experienced as foreign, unwanted, and contrary to who you are. Research shows that over 90% of people experience intrusive thoughts. The difference is not in whether the thought appears, but in how much distress it causes. People with OCD and those with heightened religious sensitivity tend to attach enormous significance to these thoughts, which paradoxically gives them more power, not less. If intrusive thoughts are frequent enough to disrupt your daily life, that pattern has a name — OCD — and it is a well-understood, treatable condition, not a reflection of your character or your faith.

The Islamic understanding is remarkably aligned with this. The Prophet ﷺ said: 'Allah has forgiven my nation for what their souls whisper, as long as they do not act upon it or speak of it.' The thought is not a sin. The thought is not you. It is something that passes through — and what matters is that you do not chase it.

The practical advice from both traditions is the same: do not engage. Do not analyse the thought, reassure yourself about it, or try to push it away with force — because all of those responses keep the thought alive. Acknowledge it, name it for what it is, and return your attention elsewhere. This is not ignoring it. It is refusing to give it a seat at the table.

You are not what your thoughts say you are. You are the one who was disturbed by them. That matters.