Waswasah about using singular and plural forms in supplication
7-7-2017 | IslamWeb
Question:
Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu, Shaykh. It is true that a person must be honest; my question is the following: is what I am doing (an act of honesty) right, or is it extremism? I get irritated by the devil and supplicate that Allaah protects me from the devil and does not let 'his' evil whispers reach me. When I say 'his', I get confused, for maybe it was a female devil, and would that mean that I am not honest then? Or when I am reciting the Quran and a verse is about the devil and I want to supplicate for protection from the devil, I am confused on whether I can say, "Oh Allaah, protect me from him," or not since 'him' is what I get confused about. I also want to seek Allaah's forgiveness for evil thoughts that I had; I get confused if it was a single evil thought or multiple, so what word must I use, singular (thought) or plural (thoughts), while seeking Allaah's forgiveness? And when I supplicate by saying, for example, "Oh Allaah, help me in understanding the reason behind it," I get confused about whether I should use the word 'reason' or 'reasons' as there might be several reasons for it. The same goes for seeking forgiveness of my sins by saying, "Oh Allaah, forgive me for the sin that I did in that matter." Or should I say, "Oh Allaah, forgive me for all sins that I did in that matter;" again, I have the same confusion on whether it should be singular or plural. These are just examples; there are other, similar ones, but please answer this question and mentioning your answer to these two examples; that will be helpful for me, Allaah willing, in order to get out of this confusion. Also, when a person is alone, not talking to anyone else but themselves, should one be careful about honesty? Like, if I am talking to myself, do I say, for example, "Yes, I did the task;" or should I say, "I almost did the task" (if it has not been fully completed yet)? May Allaah reward you, Shaykh.
Answer:
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
We ask Allah, The Exalted, to safeguard you from this Waswasah (obsessive doubts), and we advise you to disregard it and try hard to overcome it. Please, refer to fatwa 199253 about the useful remedies for Waswasah.
As for the pronouns and the plural and singular forms in supplication, this is a flexible matter and does not require much concern and overthinking. In fact, concentrating on such issues is a consequence of Waswasah. It was reported that the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to seek refuge from Satan using the masculine pronoun, and he used to seek refuge from the evil of the self using the singular form at times and the plural at others. It is prescribed for us to seek the forgiveness of Allah for a particular sin or for all sins in general. It was narrated that the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said in the Farewell Hajj, “...And we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and our misdeeds.”
Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “O Messenger of Allah, command me with words that I may say in the morning and evening.” He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, “Say, ‘Allahumma faatir-as-samaawaati wal-ardh, ‘aalim-al-ghaybi wa-sh-shahaadah, rabba kulli shai’in wa maleekah, ash-hadu alla ilaaha illa ant, a‘oothu bika min sharri nafsi wa min sharri ash-shaytaani wa-shirkih.’ (which means: O Allah, Originator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of the Unseen and the Seen, Lord of everything and its Possessor! I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship but You, I seek refuge with You from the evil of my soul and from the evil of the devil and his Shirk [polytheism].) Recite this Thikr [expression of remembrance of Allah] in the morning and the evening and when you go to bed.’” [Abu Daawood - At-Tirmithi graded it hasan saheeh (good or sound)]
Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to say in his prostration, “Allahuma ighfir li thanbi kullahu, diqqahu wa jillahu, wa awwalahu wa akhirahu, wa ‘alaniyatahu wa sirrah.” (which means: O Allah! Forgive all my sins, the small and the great, the first and the last, the open and the secret.)
Abu Moosa Al-Ash‘ari, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to supplicate:
“Rabbi ighfir li khatee'ati wa jahli wa israafi fi amri, wa ma Anta a‘lamu bihi minni. Allahumma ighfir li khataayaaya wa ‘amdi wa jahli wa hazli wa kullu thaalika ‘indi. Allahumma ighfir li ma qaddamtu wa ma akhkhartu, wa ma asrartu, wa ma a‘lantu, wa ma Anta a‘lamu bihi minni. Anta Al-Muqaddimu wa Anta Al-Mu'akhkhiru wa Anta ‘ala kulli shai'in Qadeer.” (which means: O Allah! Forgive my errors, ignorance, and immoderation in my affairs. You are better aware of my faults than me. O Allah! Forgive my sins, my faults which I committed in seriousness or in fun deliberately or inadvertently. O Allah! Grant me pardon for all those sins which I committed in the past and which I may commit in the future, which I committed in privacy or in public, and all those sins of which You are better aware than me. You are The Expediter, and You are The Delayer, and You are over all things Omnipotent.)
Allah knows best.