Waswasah must be ignored

22-3-2016 | IslamWeb

Question:

A friend and I were walking home after the Fajr prayer and he related that he saw a dream in which an already dead friend told him that he was going to take him with him. He said that he was afraid of dying the whole day. He was talking about punishments and said that we had no hope. He also said that he prayed out of fear. Now, if I laughed, I do not know about what I laughed. Is it kufr (an act of disbelief) or waswasah (obsessive whisperings)? Please answer, I am about to go mad; and do not recommend other answers as I have already gone through them.

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

Nothing of what you mentioned is considered kufr; rather, it is only waswasah (obsessive whispering), and you should disregard it and not get carried away with it so as not to allow Satan to have any control over you. Waswasah is a serious disease, and indulging in it leads to confusion, pathological doubts, difficulty, and hardship. Just as the Muslim is enjoined to avoid all acts of kufr and sins, he is also enjoined to avoid waswasah and accusing himself of kufr every time that he does something doubtful.

Allaah knows best.