The Practising Muslim · Repentance & the Heart

Tawbah and Overcoming Shaytan's Influence

Test your knowledge of repentance and strategies against Shaytan's whispers.

4 questions · Medium · about 2 minutes

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4 questions, about 2 minutes.

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Show questions and answers Spoilers: every answer and explanation for all 4 questions.

1. What should a Muslim do when affected by waswas?

  • Seek refuge with Allah, remember Him, resist the thoughts, and keep away from their causes. (correct answer)
  • Act on the thoughts so they disappear.
  • Keep analysing the thoughts until they grow stronger.
  • Assume every passing thought is a sin.

Why

Passing bad thoughts are not counted against a person if they are not acted upon or spoken of. The way to fight waswas is to seek refuge with Allah, remember Him often, recite adhkar, resist the thoughts, avoid evil company, keep good company, seek beneficial knowledge, and focus on righteous deeds.

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2. What does Shaytan try to do at times of severe weakness, including near death?

  • Exploit weakness and try to spoil a person’s faith. (correct answer)
  • Stop tempting people once death approaches.
  • Tempt only people who never worshipped Allah.
  • Guarantee that every dying person sees him in a specific form.

Why

Shaytan seeks to mislead people throughout life and may try to exploit distress, weakness, and the hardship of death. The source warns against attributing unproven details to Islamic teaching, such as claiming that Shaytan inevitably appears to every dying person in a specific form. What is established is the need to seek refuge with Allah from the trials of life and death.

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3. What did the Prophet ﷺ recommend for someone who cannot afford marriage and fears temptation?

  • Fasting. (correct answer)
  • Looking at temptation until desire weakens.
  • Keeping bad company for practice.
  • Avoiding all worship at home.

Why

Marriage is a protection from temptation for those who are able to marry. For those who cannot afford marriage, fasting is recommended because it weakens desire and acts as a shield. This is one practical method among several, alongside faith, lowering the gaze, warding off bad thoughts, avoiding places of temptation, and keeping good company.

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4. What is the majority scholarly view about the repentance of someone who killed deliberately and unlawfully?

  • Their repentance may be accepted, while the victim’s rights still matter. (correct answer)
  • Their repentance can never be accepted in any sense.
  • Their repentance is valid only by saying words without regret.
  • Their repentance removes every right of the victim automatically.

Why

The majority view is that a person who committed deliberate unlawful killing may repent, just as other major sinners may repent. But this does not erase every consequence automatically. The rights of the victim or the victim’s heirs still matter, and the person must turn sincerely to Allah with regret, humility, righteous deeds, and repentance.

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A note on these answers

These questions are for learning and self-testing. Explanations are drawn from the sources linked on each question and are not a fatwa. For a ruling on your own circumstances, please consult a qualified scholar.

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