IBN TAYMIYYAH SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED THIS. HE SAID THE SHAYTAAN PLOTS AGAINST THE PEOPLE OF INAABAH (SINCERITY ) MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE, AND HE PLOTS AGAINST THOSE WHO PRAY MORE THAN THE ONES WHO DO NOT AND HE PLOTS AGAINST THE PEOPLE OF KNOWLEDGE MORE THAN HE DOES THE LAYMEN. THAT IS A REASON WHY SOMETIMES STUDENTS OF KNOWLEDGE AND WORSHIPPERS GET WISWAAS (وسواس) AND THEY GET DOUBTS. THEY GET DOUBTS MORE THAN WHAT OTHERS WHO DO NOT FOLLOW THE GUIDANCE GET. THE ONES WHO FOLLOW THE RIGHT PATH GET MORE WISWAAS (WHISPERS FROM THE SHAYTAAN) THAN THEM.
Imaam Ahmad in Az-Zuhd (الزهد), Abu Na’eem in Al-Hulyah (الحلية), Ibn al-Qayyim in Al-Waabil As-Sayyib (الوابل الصيب) and Ibn Taymiyyah mentioned it throughout the Fataawa, they narrated a story that someone went to Ibn Abbaas and he said the Jews are teasing us. They say we have Khushoo’ in our Salah and we feel no Wiswaas. We have no doubts in our Salah, yet you believers have Wiswaas. Ibn Abbaas said what does the Shaytaan want with a desolate house? What does the Shaytaan want with a doomed and abandoned house? So Ibn Taymiyyah warned that among the most to get plotted against by the Shaytaan are those who achieve the level of Inaabah.
It is normal for the Shaytaan to attack with doubts. The Sahaabah complained of this issue. What is wrong is for one not to resist it. The Shaytaan starts with small matters and if one does not overcome these small matters of doubts and resist them, they get worse and worse. Uthman Ibn Abu al-‘Aas went to the Messenger sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and he said O Messenger of Allah, the Shaytaan intervenes between me in my prayer and my recitation of the Qur’an and confounds me. The Messenger sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said that is the Shaytaan who is known as al-Khunzab (الخنزب) and that is his task, that is his duty. When you perceive its affect, seek refuge with Allah from it and spit three times to your left. Uthman said I did that and Allah dispelled that problem from me. So if the Sahaabah complained of the Wiswaas of the Shaytaan, of course everyone after them is going to face something like that.
When Ibn Abbaas mentioned:
مِن شَرِّ الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ
From the evil of the whisperer (devil who whispers evil in the hearts of men) who withdraws (from his whispering in one’s heart after one remembers Allah). (Surat an-Naas: 4)
He said:
الشَّيْطَانُ جَاثِمٌ عَلَى قَلْبِ ابْنِ آدَمَ ، فَإِذَا سَهَا وَغَفَلَ وَسْوَسَ ، فَإِذَا ذَكَرَ اللَّهُ خَنَسَ
The Shaytaan squats on the hearts of the sons of Adam. When one is mindless of the remembrance of Allah, the Shaytaan does Wiswaas (whispering). If he remembers Allah, the Shaytaan withdraws from the whispering.
That is why it is called:
الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ
Those of Inaabah must be in constant remembrance of Allah at all times because the Shaytaan is after them. Some get mild doubts, some get average doubts and some get extreme doubts. Some get them in the matters of worship and some get them in the matters of belief.
A man went to the Faqeeh Ibn ‘Aqeel and he said Imaam, I take a dive in a pool tens of times and every time I come out of the pool I doubt whether I am on Wudhu or not. Ibn ‘Aqeel said go home, you do not have to make Salah. He was trying to make a point right here. He said what are you talking about Shaykh? He said a man who dives that many times in the pool and he keeps going back and forth doubting whether he made Wudhu or not, that is a mentally ill man.
رُفِعَ الْقَلَمُ عَنْ ثَلَاثَةٍ
The pen has been lifted from three and one of them is a mentally insane person.
What he meant is you need to stop that doubt, otherwise you are on the path of becoming insane. I elaborated on this point in Inaabah longer than I should because it is a matter Ibn Taymiyyah warned of in particular to those of the level of Inaabah. And also secondly, it is among the topics I get a lot of questions on. Many people are suffering from this and the longer you let it go without curing it, it gets worse and worse. It gets to the point of someone becoming insane, disliking the Ibaadah or even wal-‘Iyaathu Billah disliking Islam. You have to continue in remembrance of Allah and you do Isti’aadhah (إستعاذة) like in the Hadith of Uthman Ibn Abu al-‘Aas. And when Wiswaas comes try to think of different matters, whether it may be Deen matters (which is preferable) or beneficial Dunya matters to get your mind off that Wiswaas. In addition to that, among the cures for it is you say:
آمَنْتُ بِاللَّهِ
When you get your mind off of it, you say Aamantu Billah. In Sahih Muslim Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Messenger sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said a person will continue to question until he says Allah created all things but who created Allah subhaanahu wa ta’aala? And whoever is confronted with such a situation should affirm his faith and say Aamantu Billah.
لَا يَزَالُ النَّاسُ يَتَسَاءَلُونَ حَتَّى يُقَالَ هَذَا : خَلَقَ اللَّهُ الْخَلْقَ فَمَنْ خَلَقَ اللَّهَ ؟ فَمَنْ وَجَدَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ شَيْئًا فَلْيَقُلْ : آمَنْتُ بِاللَّهِ
COMMENTING IN THIS HADITH, AN-NAWAWI SAID IT MEANS WHEN WISWAAS COMES TO YOU, TURN TO ALLAH IMMEDIATELY AND OCCUPY YOUR MIND IN OTHER MATTERS BECAUSE THAT IS THE SHAYTAAN COMING AT YOU. REMEMBRANCE OF ALLAH IS THE BEST CURE. HAVING THE QUR’AN AND THE ADHKAAR ON THE TIP OF YOUR TONGUE AND WHEN YOU ARE NOT READING QUR’AN AND ADHKAAR, EVERYONE HAS A PHONE WHERE THEY COULD ALWAYS LISTEN TO QUR’AN. IT IS A CURE FOR THAT AND IT IS REWARD AND A PURIFICATION FOR THE HEART. YOU CANNOT LISTEN TO THE INSTRUMENTS OF THE SHAYTAAN AND THEN COME COMPLAIN AND SAY I HAVE WASWASAH IN MY SALAH. OF COURSE YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE IT BECAUSE YOU WERE LISTENING TO THE INSTRUMENTS OF THE SHAYTAAN. HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO BE CURED OF THE WASWASAH OF THE SHAYTAAN?
For those struggling with this, remember the Sahaabah faced this issue and remember the reward for resisting it. You get reward for resisting it and fighting it. Abu Hurayrah said a group of Sahaabah told the Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam we perceive in our minds that which we consider too grave to even express and tell you (meaning we cannot even tell you what through our minds O Messenger of Allah).
إِنَّا نَجِدُّ فِي أَنْفُسِنَا مَا يَتَعَاظَمُ أَحَدُنَا أَنْ يَتَكَلَّمَ بِهِ . قَالَ : وَقَدْ وَجَدْتُمُوهُ ؟ قَالُوا : نَعَمْ . قَالَ : ذَاكَ صَرِيحُ الْإِيمَانِ
The Prophet sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said do you really perceive it? They said yes. He said that is the faith manifest (that is true Imaan). He did not mean that the Waswasah is Imaan, he meant the fact that they hated it, resisted it and considered it so bad that they did not even want to mention it. Once they hated it and resisted it, then that is the true Imaan surfacing (that is manifest Imaan).
That is what Ibn Taymiyyah warned of when you get to the level of Inaabah. And like we said, when you get to the level of Inaabah, the Shaytaan tends to come at you more. You have to shield yourself from the Waswasah of the Shayaatan.