Fatwa: # 17131
Category: Misc. Fiqh
Country: United Kingdom
Date: 17th September 2008

Title

Unanswered

Question

I am suffering from very bad waswasa of divorce thoughts lately, which come to me without my will or intention.

 Because i am suffering from waswasa everything i say becomes a real struggle of the mind. If i say something to anyone or read quran or a book, something in my head makes me believe that i am saying these things to my wife. For example i might be getting angry towards my brother but something in my mind makes me believe that i am saying these words to my wife. Or if I have a book or papers or clothes in my hand and something in my head makes me feel that there is a metaphor on there and makes me feel there is intention. What do I do?

At one point I was at my in-laws and I was standing by the door waiting for my wife. My sister in law asked me if I was going, it was just a general question. At first I didn’t reply because of these thoughts, because they make me feel that I am aiming it towards my wife, but really I have no intention. So she asked me again and I said ‘yes/yeah’.  At that moment something in my head made me feel that I am saying ‘yes/yeah’ to  divorce. But really I have no intention and I don’t intend to. I would like to know what the ruling would be IF there was intention to the saying of ‘yes/yeah’ to a normal general question, would that count?

Could you also please tell me how to solve this problem of unintentional thoughts?  Everytime I talk or write, something makes me feel that there is intention, but in reality I have no intention. I am struggling.

Answer

DISCLAIMER - AskImam.org questions
AskImam.org answers issues pertaining to Shar'ah. Thereafter, these questions and answers are placed for public view on www.askimam.org for educational purposes. However, many of these answers are unique to a particular scenario and cannot be taken as a basis to establish a ruling in another situation or another environment. Askimam.org bears no responsibility with regards to these questions being used out of their intended context.
  • The Shar's ruling herein given is based specifically on the question posed and should be read in conjunction with the question.
  • AskImam.org bears no responsibility to any party who may or may not act on this answer and is being hereby exempted from loss or damage howsoever caused.
  • This answer may not be used as evidence in any Court of Law without prior written consent of AskImam.org.
  • Any or all links provided in our emails, answers and articles are restricted to the specific material being cited. Such referencing should not be taken as an endorsement of other contents of that website.
The Messenger of Allah said, "When Allah wishes good for someone, He bestows upon him the understanding of Deen."
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim]