Question: I am unmarried and twenty-two years old. For the past four months, I have been having dirty thoughts. It started off by thinking of images of the male genitalia, but now I think of images of people having sex. Sometimes, I will imagine being sexually abused by any male in front of me. I can no longer face my brother, my father, or anyone. These thoughts arise during my salah, so I break my salah & pray again which takes so long. The same thing occurs when I read Qur’an.
Answer:
Assalamu alaykum,
Thank you for your question. Truly you are afflicted by these annoying thoughts and you must take some action. You cannot sit idly by and let these thoughts consume you.
Thought Control
No one is perfect and one cannot always control what comes, but do cast the thought out as soon as it comes and make dhikr. The Shaytan will eventually tire of giving you these thoughts because you just end up remembering Allah. It will take practice but you will get it, so make a sincere intention to not let these thoughts lounge around, but throw them out, seek refuge from the Devil, and make dhikr. Eventually, the thoughts will go, trust me.
Repeating the Prayer
As for repeating your salah, I think that this is another trick of the Shaytan in getting his grip on you. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, did not teach us to do this, so you should not repeat your salah, but go forward and do not let the devil have his way. Cast off the thoughts immediately and focus on the meanings of your recitation and prayer. Do the same when you read Qur’an. Make sure that you recite the ta’awwudh before you start reading the Qur’an.
Consider taking this course for the enormous deep meaning of the Fatiha:
https://seekersguidance.org/courses/the-divine-opening-surah-al-fatiha-explained/
Marriage
I can see that as a young Muslim lady, you have a need to get married. Please consider marrying someone that is appropriate for you and your family soon so you can safeguard your chastity and thoughts. You can continue to study or work while married, if that is what you want, and ask Allah to help you find the right person. I also encourage you to fast. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said, “He who can afford to marry should marry, because it will help him refrain from looking at other women, and save his private parts from committing illegal sexual relation; and he who cannot afford to marry is advised to fast, as fasting will diminish his sexual power.“ [Bukhari]
Please see these excellent answers as well, regarding thoughts:
https://seekersguidance.org/answers/general-counsel/react-sexual-thoughts/
https://seekersguidance.org/answers/marriage/do-sexual-fantasies-constitute-as-masturbation/
[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Ustadha Shazia Ahmad lived in Damascus, Syria for two years where she studied aqidah, fiqh, tajweed, tafseer, and Arabic. She then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she completed her Masters in Arabic. Afterward, she moved to Amman, Jordan where she studied fiqh, Arabic, and other sciences. She recently moved back to Mississauga, Canada, where she lives with her family.