Firstly:
You should realise that the source of this fear is the Shaytan, for he is the one who is scaring you. So you must seek the help of your Lord, may He be exalted, against him, beware of his evil schemes and plots, and constantly seek refuge from him with Allah, may He be Exalted.
Allah, may He be Exalted, says:
{That was only the Shaytan, who tries to instil [in you] fear of his followers. Do not fear them, but fear Me, if you are [truly] believers} [Al ‘Imran 3:175].
Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
That is, when he prompts you to become afraid and makes you imagine things that are not real, then put your trust in Me and turn to Me, for I will suffice you and support you against him. As Allah says elsewhere:
{Is not Allah sufficient for His slave? Yet they try to frighten you with those [whom they worship] besides Him. Whomever Allah has caused to go astray, no one can guide, and whomever Allah guides, no one can cause to go astray. Is not Allah Almighty, an Avenger?
If you ask them who created the heavens and the earth, they will surely say: Allah. Say: Tell me about those on whom you call besides Allah: if Allah wills that some adversity should befall me, can they relieve that adversity? Or if He wills that mercy should be bestowed on me, could they withhold His mercy? Say: Allah is sufficient for me; in Him let all that trust put their trust} [Az-Zumar 39:36-38]
{So fight against the allies of Shaytan. Indeed, the plot of Shaytan has ever been weak} [An-Nisa’ 4:76]
{Those are the party of Satan. Unquestionably, the party of Satan - they will be the losers} [Al-Mujadilah 58:19]
{Allah has written, “I will surely overcome, I and My messengers.” Indeed, Allah is Powerful and Exalted in Might} [Al-Mujadilah 58:21]
{And Allah will surely support those who support His cause} [Al-Hajj 22:40].
{O you who have believed, if you support Allah’s cause, He will support you and plant firmly your feet} [Muhammad 47:7]
{We will surely cause Our Messengers and those who believe to prevail in the life of this world and on the day when the witnesses come forward,
the day when no excuse will benefit those who did wrong; upon them will be the curse and for them will be a wretched end } [Ghafir 40:51-51].
Tafsir Ibn Kathir, 2/172.
Shaykh `Abd ar-Rahman as-Sa`di (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
This verse [Al `Imran 3:175] speaks of the obligation to fear Allah alone, and tells us that this is one of the requirements of faith. A person’s fear of Allah will be commensurate with the level of his faith; this is the praiseworthy kind of fear that deters a person from doing that which Allah has forbidden.
End quote from Tafsir as-Sa`di, p. 157.
Secondly:
Whoever takes Allah as his ally and close friend, the Shaytan will not be able to harm him, but whoever turns away from taking Allah as his ally, the Shaytan will become his ally.
Allah, may He be Exalted, says:
{When you recite the Quran, seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shaytan.
Verily, he has no power over those who believe and put their trust in their Lord;
he has power only over those who take him as an ally and, under his influence, ascribe partners to Allah} [An-Nisa’ 4:98-100].
Shaykh `Abd ar-Rahman as-Sa`di (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
That is, when you want to recite the Book of Allah, which is the noblest and most sublime of books, in which there is a prescription for spiritual well-being and a great deal of knowledge, then the Shaytan shows a great deal of interest (in harming a person) when he starts to do righteous deeds, and he tries to divert him from the purpose and goal for which he does those deeds.
The way to keep oneself safe from his evil is to turn to Allah and seek refuge in Him from his evil. So the reciter should say: A`udhu Billahi min ash-Shaytan ir-rajim (I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Shaytan),” pondering the meaning thereof and relying in his heart upon Allah to divert the Shaytan from him, striving hard to resist his insinuating whispers and bad thoughts, and seeking the strongest means of warding him off, which is resorting to faith and depending on Allah.
For the Shaytan {has no power} or control {over those who believe and put their trust in their Lord} alone, with no partner or associate. Allah wards off from the believers who put their trust in Him the evil of the Shaytan, so he has no power or control over them.
Rather he {has power} and control {only over those who take him as an ally} that is, they take him as an ally by turning away from Allah and starting to obey the Shaytan and joining his party. Therefore they are the ones who make him their ally, then he goads them into committing sin and leads them to the Fire.
End quote from Tafsir as-Sa`di, p. 49.
Thirdly:
Our Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) has taught us how to protect ourselves from worries and anxiety, and he has taught us how to rid ourselves of that if we suffer from it.
With regard to protection, we can protect ourselves by having faith and doing righteous deeds. Allah, may He be Exalted, says:
{Whoever does righteous deeds, male or female, and is a believer, We will surely grant him a good life, and We will surely grant them their reward according to the best of their deeds} [An-Nahl 16:98].
With regard to the remedy, that may be achieved by means of the supplications that are narrated in the sound hadith texts. These include the following:
-1-
It was narrated that `Abdullah ibn Mas`ud said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “There is no-one who is afflicted by distress and grief, and says: ‘Allahumma inni `abduka ibn `abdika ibn amatika nasiyati bi yadika, madin fiyya hukmuka, ‘adlun fiyya qada’uka. As’aluka bi kulli ismin huwa laka sammayta bihi nafsaka aw anzaltahu fi kitabika aw `allamtahu ahadan min khalqika aw ista’tharta bihi fi `ilm il-ghayb `indaka an taj`al al-Qur’na rabee`a qalbi wa noora sadri wa jila’a huzni wa dhihaba hammi (O Allah, I am Your slave, son of Your slave, son of Your maidservant; my forelock is in Your hand, Your command over me is forever executed and Your decree over me is just. I ask You by every name belonging to You which You have named Yourself with, or revealed in Your Book, or You taught to any of Your creation, or You have preserved in the knowledge of the Unseen with You, that You make the Quran the life of my heart and the light of my breast, and a departure for my sorrow and a release for my anxiety),’ but Allah will take away his distress and grief, and replace it with joy.” He was asked: “O Messenger of Allah, should we learn this?” He said: “Of course; everyone who hears it should learn it.”
Narrated by Ahmad, 3704; classed as authentic by al-Albani in Sahih at-Targhib, 1822.
-2-
It was narrated that Anas ibn Malik said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to say: “Allahumma inni a`udhu bika min al-hammi wa’l-hazan, wa’l-`ajzi wa’l-kasal, wa’l-jubni wa’l-bukhl, wa dala` id-dayni wa ghalabat ir-rijal (O Allah, indeed I seek refuge with You from worry and grief, helplessness and laziness, cowardice and miserliness, and being burdened with debt and being overwhelmed by men).”. Narrated by al-Bukhari.
“Being burdened with debt” means being overwhelmed with heavy debts.
-3-
It was narrated that Sa`d (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “The supplication of Dhu’n-Nun when he called upon Allah when he was in the belly of the fish, is: ‘La ilaha illa anta subhanaka inni kuntu min al-zalimin (There is no god worthy of worship except You. Glory be to You; I have indeed done wrong).’ No Muslim calls upon Allah with these words for any need but Allah will answer his prayer.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 3427; classed as sahih by al-Albani in Sahih at-Targhib.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-`Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked:
Any person may sometimes suffer from worries and anxiety. What are the things that will bring relief from worry and anxiety that befall the Muslim? Is it prescribed for him to do ruqyah for himself?
He replied:
Firstly: You should understand that the worries and anxiety that befall a person are among the things that expiate his sins and reduce his burden of sins. So if he bears that with patience and seeks reward with Allah, he will be rewarded for that. However, there is nothing wrong with a person reciting supplications that are narrated in the sound religious texts, seeking relief from worries and anxiety, such as the hadith of Ibn Mas`ud (may Allah be pleased with him) – and he quoted the hadith mentioned above – for this is one of the means of seeking relief from worries and anxiety.
Similarly, he may recite the verse {La ilaha illa anta subhanaka inni kuntu min al-zalimin (There is no god worthy of worship except You. Glory be to You; I have indeed done wrong)} [al-Anbiya’ 21:87]. For Yunus (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said these words, and Allah, may He be Exalted, said:
{So We answered his prayer and delivered him from his distress; thus do We deliver the believers} [Al-Anbiya’ 21:88].
There is nothing wrong with a person doing ruqyah for himself, because the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to do ruqyah for himself by reciting the Mu`awwidhat before going to sleep. He would blow into his cupped hands, then wipe his face with them and whatever he could reach of his body.
End quote from Majmu` Fatawa ash-Shaykh al-`Uthaymin, 17/answer to question no. 493.
For more information, please see the answer to question no. 21677.
Fourthly:
The source of fear is the Shaytan, who is plotting and scheming against you in order to bar you from following the religion of Allah, may He be Exalted. Hence he seeks to spoil your prayer, and your acts of worship in general. So beware of his schemes and plots, and put your trust firmly in your Lord, may He be Exalted, and turn to Him so that He may avert from you the schemes and turmoil of the Shaytan.
Focus of mind and reflection when praying require strong faith and trust in your Lord, may He be Exalted. This is what will help you to overcome the obstacles that prevent you from having focus of mind in prayer and reflecting on what you are reciting.
Whatever the Shaytan whispers to you, push it away and never give in to it, for the scheme of the Shaytan is weak, and if Allah is with you, you will always be victorious.
We ask Allah, may He be Exalted, to enable you to do that with which He is pleased, and to make goodness easy for you wherever it is.
And Allah knows best.
