What Should I Do? I Doubt Too Much!

1. Details about the situation

Hassan is a 22-year-old university student who takes his religious obligations very seriously. Before every prayer, he performs wudu with great care. However, he often struggles with doubts:

Did I wash my face completely? Did I wipe my head properly? What if I forgot to wash the entirety of my left arm?

Sometimes he repeats his wudu three or four times until he feels satisfied. This makes him late to class, and occasionally he misses congregational prayer at the mosque. His friends have noticed his habit and tell him he is overthinking, but Hassan worries that if his wudu is invalid, his prayers will be as well.

2. Background

In fiqh, doubts in acts of worship are treated carefully. Sayyid Ali al-Sistani explains that excessive doubts (kathrat al-shakk) should not be given importance. 

Kathrat al-Shakk [an excessive doubter] is someone who doubts excessively, (ie. an individual who frequently doubts in wudu, ghusul or once in every 3 prayers). An excessive doubter is not only someone who has already made a habit of doubting excessively; rather, it is sufficient for one to be in a state of developing a habit of doubting.

The reasoning is that constant doubt can become a form of waswasa, otherwise understood as those with OCD (ie: obsessive compulsive disorder), which believers should strive to protect themselves from.

3. Ruling

If a person frequently and excessively doubts in wudu, or ghusl, for example, they must ignore such doubts and assume their wudu or other ritual obligation is valid.

Once a person has finished wudu and moved on, any doubt afterward has no value.

Repeating wudu unnecessarily is discouraged, as it burdens the believer and goes against the ease with which God has prescribed the religion. In addition, it contributes to waste in various dimensions; in water, time and energy, all of which are disliked by the Creator. 

4. Action

Hassan decides to listen to Sayyid Sistani’s guidance. He learns that his repeated wudu is actually not required, and by ignoring doubts, he is acting according to Islamic law.

The next day, Hassan performs wudu once with calmness, and when the familiar thought comes, “I wonder if I did it right,” he reminds himself to ignore these harmful doubts. 

Slowly, Hassan gains confidence. He attends prayers on time, no longer delayed by unnecessary repetition. He feels lighter in his faith, realizing that God does not want hardship but ease in his religious practice.