I suffer from a horrible strong waswas and I doubt everything!

Question:

 I have question regarding waswaas qahri it overwhelms me. I doubt Allah’s existence, Astaghfirullah. I know he’s there but still these thoughts come suddenly and try to confuse me. I miss my prayers due to waswaas as I take long time in making wudoo and relieving oneself I take lot of time to make intention for wudoo. I feel it’s incomplete, it has become a burden for me but I want to pray. I commit sins, I feel because of this I have strong waswaas. I have deep regret after sinning but I return back to it every time.

Answer:
This is a fatwa written by Sheikh Ibn Baz regarding above, one if the sisters has kindly translated it for us.

The fatwa is long but the topic is extremely important so I urge every sister to read it.

I will post it below:
Know! -May Allah ﷻ grant me success, you, and the rest of the Muslims in understanding this religion and firmness upon it- Know that verily the Devils of jinn and mankind have not stopped and will not stop throwing doubts at the Muslims and non-Muslims alike in order to cause them to be uncertain regarding the truth and lead them astray and to keep the kaafir upon his falsehood. And all of this is from Allah’s knowledge and will that he put us here and we will be tried and tested and made to struggle between truth and falsehood. Up until the seeker can differentiate between guidance and other than it, and between the truthful one and the liar and between the believer and the hypocrite.[29:2-3] Do people think that they will be left alone because they say: “We believe,” and will not be tested? And We indeed tested those who were before them. And Allah will certainly make (it) known (the truth of) those who are true, and will certainly make (it) known (the falsehood of) those who are liars, (although Allah knows all that before putting them to test.
[47:31] And surely, We shall try you till We test those who strive hard (for the Cause of Allah) and the patient ones, and We shall test your facts (i.e. the one who is a liar, and the one who is truthful) [6:121]. And certainly, the Shayatin (devils) do inspire their friends (from mankind) to dispute with you, and if you obey them [by making Al-Maytatah (a dead animal) legal by eating it], then you would indeed be Mushrikun (polytheists) [because they (devils and their friends) made lawful to you to eat that which Allah has made unlawful to eat and you obeyed them by considering it lawful to eat, and by doing so you worshipped them, and to worship others besides Allah is polytheism].
[6:112] And so We have appointed for every Prophet enemies – Shayatin (devils) among mankind and jinns, inspiring one another with adorned speech as a delusion (or by way of deception). (The Above is the translation of the meanings of some verses of Qur’an):

 If your Lord had so willed, they would not have done it, so leave them alone with their fabrications.
So Allah ﷻ makes clear in his ayaat that he will try the one who claims to Imaan with something from tribulations to clarify the truthfulness of his Imaan or the lack of it.  As Allah ﷻ informed us, so that we can know the truthful one from the liar. And these tribulations include: wealth and poverty, sickness and health, the enemy, and that which Devils from mankind and the Jinn from the types of doubts and other than that from the many types of tribulations. So it is brought to light the truthful one in his Imaan in comparison to the liar or the claimant. And Allah ﷻ has knowledge of the result because his knowledge precedes everything. As is mentioned in the (translation of the meaning of the) Ayah:
[65:12]It is Allah Who has created seven heavens and of the earth the like thereof (i.e. seven). His Command descends between them (heavens and earth), that you may know that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah surrounds (comprehends) all things in (His) Knowledge.
[Hadeeth reported by Abdullah bin Amr bin Al-As] I heard Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) as saying: Allah ordained the measures (of quality) of the creation fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth, as His Throne was upon water. [Saheeh Muslim]


However, Allah ﷻ does not rebuke the slave for this previous knowledge that he holds rather he punishes them based off of what their own hands have earned.


And it’s mentioned in the aayat that the Devils, they whisper to their companions with different types of doubts and beautified speech to deceive the people of truth so that they will listen attentively and their hearts will be turned to it. So now the ones that are fooled by this speech  and pleased with it will roam the earth seeking to cover up the truth with falsehood and try to block the people from the Allah’s straight path. And Allah ﷻ is not unmindful of what they do. And from His mercy ﷻ He predestined for those Devils and their companions that their falsehood would be uncovered and their doubts would be removed with clear proofs and decisive evidences cutting
off every excuse and he sent down a book to clarify every issue. 

(Translation of the meanings of Qur’an):
[16:89] And We have sent down to you the Book (the Quran) as an exposition of everything, a guidance, a mercy, and glad tidings for those who have submitted themselves (to Allah as Muslims)
[25:33]  And no example or similitude do they bring (to oppose or to find fault in you or in this Quran), but We reveal to you the truth (against that similitude or example), and the better explanation thereof.


Some of the Salaf said that this verse is general for evidence that the people of falsehood come with until the Day of Resurrection.


It has been established in authentic narrations that some of the companions رضي الله عنهم said to the Prophet ﷺ Verily we perceive in our minds that which every one of us considers it too grave to express. He (the Holy Prophet) said: Do you really perceive it? They said: Yes. Upon this he remarked: That is the faith manifest. [Saheeh Muslim]


Some of the people of knowledge have mentioned regarding the explanation of the (previous narration) that the Shaytaan will cast a doubts into a person and whispers which would be too difficult to speak with because of the great ugliness and the evil to the point where a person being thrown out of the sky is easier than to speak (with that which Shaytaan casted in him of doubt and whisper). As a result a slaves rejection and severe dislike of these whispers and his waging a war of them is his clear Imaan (belief), because true belief in Allah ﷻ and in His perfect names and attributes, having belief that there is nothing similar to Him and that He has no rival; that He is The Creator The All-Knowledgeable, The All-Wise, He is well-Acquainted with what you do. All of this requires one to reject these doubts and whispers and to wage war against them whilst believing that they are false.


Imaam An-Nawawi رحمه الله said in his explanation of Sahih Muslim regarding the two previous narrations: “As for the meaning of these narrations and its understanding (as follows). ‘The being clear belief’ and ‘pure belief’, its meaning is that you find that speech is something too great to speak with then this is ‘clear belief’.


Finding something too great to speak with and the severe fear from it and from pronouncing it as well as having belief in it, only comes from someone who has perfected Imaan and disapproved of any uncertainty and doubts.


Know that the second narration even if finding it great is not mentioned then it is intended because the 2nd narration is a summary of the 1st narration so this is why Imaam Muslim رحمه الله has given precedence to the first narration and mentioned that its meaning is that, the Shaytaan only whispers to one whom he has lost hope in seducing and annoys him with whispers because of his inability of seducing him. As for the disbeliever then he comes to him; however he wishes, without limiting it only to whispers. Rather he plays/manipulates with him however he desires.


The meaning of this Hadeeth and the reason (for one being) whispered (to) is pure Imaan or the whisper, whispers are a sign of pure Imaan. This statement is also the choice of al-Qaaadi Iyaad, as for the speech of the Prophet ﷺ “whoever finds that with him then let him say I believe in Allah and in a another narration let him seek refuge in Allah and it will finish”. Then it means to turn away from this false notion/idea and to seek refuge in Allah the Most High so it will vanish.


Imaam al-Maarizi said that the apparent meaning of this Hadeeth is that he ﷺ commanded them to ward of these ideas by turning away from them and he also said that these thoughts are categorized in two categories


1)As for the doubt which does not settle nor establish itself then it is warded off by turning away from it. The hadeeth is applied to this type and the likes of this called whisper, if the likes of this comes then it is warded off without turning to the evidences nor turning to it because there is no foundation for it.


2)The thoughts which settle firm which come by way of a doubt then it is not warded off except by way of extrapolating the evidences and looking into that which will nullify it and Allah knows best.


As for his statement ﷺ “so let him seek refuge in Allah so that it ends” its meaning is:  is that if whispers are presented to him then let him seek refuge in Allah the most High to ward of the evil from him and then let him turn away from thinking about that (whisper).


He should know that this is from the whispers of the Shaytaan and he is only striving to corrupt and seduce (the individual) so let him then turn away from listening to his whisper and haste in cutting completely off and busying himself with that, than it (the whispers) and Allah knows best.


source: http://www.binbaz.org.sa/node/8176