Question: I frequently have negative thoughts; like someone will harm or do magic on me and those around me. Because of this, I am unable to concentrate on my work; I wonder if someone has done magic on me. Over the years, I have developed a habit of saying “Auzubillah” {just Auzubillah, and not Auzubillahi min ash-shaitanir rajim} whenever such thoughts come. It makes me feel safe, and after saying this, I can concentrate. Since this happens all day, and I cannot recite du`as or surahs every time, I just say Auzubillah. Is saying just Auzubillah permissible? How do I get rid of such thoughts and increase my focus?
Answer:
Assalamu alaykum,
Thank you for your question. It is permissible for you to recite A`udhu BiLlah by itself. If you recite the complete ta`awwudh (the saying “A`udhu BiLahi min ash-Shaytan ir-rajeem), it would be even better.
A du`a
I thought this hadith and du’a would benefit you:
The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and give him peace, used to teach them the following words in the case of alarm, “I seek refuge in Allah’s perfect words from His anger, the evil of His servants, the evil suggestions of the devils and their presence.” `Abdullah ibn `Amr used to teach them to those of his children who had reached puberty, and he wrote them down (on some material) and hung on the child who had not reached puberty [Abu Dawud].
The Arabic of the above du`a:
أَعُوذُ بِكَلِمَاتِ اللَّهِ التَّامَّةِ مِنْ غَضَبِهِ وَشَرِّ عِبَادِهِ وَمِنْ هَمَزَاتِ الشَّيَاطِينِ
وَأَنْ يَحْضُرُونِ
The thoughts that you are getting are pure waswasa (baseless misgivings), and you must train your mind for thought-control and ignore them. Paying attention to them only makes them stronger and more frequent. Seeking refuge from the devil is good, but your ultimate goal is to reduce their frequency to little or none. I feel that your thoughts stem from stress and worry. Please make a habit of doing more dhikr and filling your life with more knowledge, learning, reading, and dhikr. Use for free time for these things and you will find that your thoughts go directly to the last thing that you read or learned. Keep doing this until it becomes your perpetual state.
Steps and resources
The absolute best steps that you can take are in this excellent article, please read it in full:
https://seekersguidance.org/answers/living-religion/how-do-i-calm-my-worries/
Please see these links as well. The more informed you are, the more you can control what to do about it.
https://seekersguidance.org/answers/general-counsel/distinguishing-between-thoughts-from-ourselves-shaytan-and-allah/
https://seekersguidance.org/tag/seeking-refuge-from-the-devil/
Magic
I don’t think that anyone has done magic on you. I feel that the thoughts you are having are from yourself and it’s better to train yourself to get rid of them. This will give you self-control and confidence, a tool that is very useful in life. Please see this video about magic and the related articles linked under it:
https://seekersguidance.org/articles/prophetic-guidance/jinn-sihr-black-magic-protect/
May Allah give you the best in this world and the next, and help you overcome every difficulty.
[Ustadha] Shazia Ahmad
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani