What is the ruling on repeating a prayer when one experiences excessive waswas (whispers/intrusive thoughts) during it?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
A servant must attain khushu' (devotional humility) in prayer and avoid being carried away by whispers () and thoughts. This is because thinking about things that contradict thew prayer diminishes or eliminates khushu'. Nevertheless, thinking about matters outside of prayer does not invalidate it, even if it is extensive or concerns something forbidden. The remedy for waswas is to completely disregard them.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/111361
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 111361
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy