Understanding OCD, Anxiety and Waswasa

UNDERSTANDING OCD, ANXIETY AND WASWASA

An Islamic Psychology Approach to Intrusive Thoughts, Doubt and Compulsive Behaviours

"Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest." (Qurʾān 13:28)

COURSE AT A GLANCE

• Format: 10 live sessions on Zoom, recorded in your dashboard
• Starts: Friday 30 October 2026
• Schedule: Every Friday and Sunday, 1 PM (UTC/GMT)
• Duration: 5 weeks, 1 hour per session, 10 hours in total
• Instructors: Faiza Aziz and Amal Farha, clinical psychologists
• Fee: $130
• Certificate: CPD-accredited Certificate of Completion

ABOUT THE COURSE

A doubt about whether your wuḍūʾ was valid. A fear that your prayer did not count. An unwanted thought about Allah that arrives uninvited and will not leave. A need to check, repeat or ask again until the fear settles for a moment.

Many Muslims live with this in silence. Some repeat wuḍūʾ until their hands are raw. Some stop praying because the doubt has become unbearable. Islam has a clear answer for them, and it is full of hope.

This course joins psychology and faith. Psychology explains the cycle that keeps intrusive thoughts and compulsions going, and how that cycle is broken. Faith gives the struggle meaning and brings peace, hope and strength into it. The Companions brought these very thoughts to the Prophet ﷺ, and he called their distress at them a sign of clear faith. (Muslim)

Feeling anxious, afraid or tormented by doubt is normal. Trusting Allah, following His command of ease and seeking the help He has provided is how a believer finds rest.

WHO THIS COURSE IS FOR

Anyone troubled by intrusive thoughts, persistent doubt, anxiety or repetitive checking, and the family members, teachers, imams, coaches and counsellors who support them. This course is for you if you have ever thought:

• "I repeat my wuḍūʾ and my prayer again and again and still feel it was not accepted."
• "Terrible thoughts come into my mind and I am terrified of what they mean."
• "I keep asking the same question, and the answer only calms me for a few minutes."
• “Someone I love is stuck in this and I do not know how to help without making it worse.”

WHAT YOU WILL GAIN

• Faith as an active source of peace, hope and strength when the mind will not settle
• A clear understanding of anxiety, intrusive thoughts, the OCD cycle and religious OCD
• Certainty that a thought is not a sin, and that distress at unwanted thoughts is a sign of faith
• The Islamic rulings that free the person with waswasa from endless repetition
• Practical tools to respond to intrusive thoughts without checking, reassurance or avoidance
• Clarity on when to seek treatment and how faith and treatment work together
• A personal plan for lasting stability, anchored in worship and hope

HOW EACH SESSION WORKS

Every session follows the same three parts:

1. What you will learn: the psychology of the topic, explained clearly
2. From the Qurʾān and Sunnah: guidance that brings faith into the struggle
3. Practical takeaway: a tool you can use the same day

COURSE CURRICULUM

WEEK 1

Session 1 | Friday 30 Oct | Faith, Fear and the Anxious Mind
Instructor: Faiza Aziz
"I pray, I make duʿāʾ, I try to trust Allah. So why does my mind race over things I cannot control?"

• Learn: how anxiety works in the body, ordinary fear versus an anxiety disorder, where OCD fits, and the Islamic view of the self as body, mind, heart and soul.
• Faith: "Fear not, indeed I am with you both." (Qurʾān 20:46)
• Takeaway: a grounding practice pairing slow breathing with the Prophetic duʿāʾ for anxiety, and a private map of your main fears.

Session 2 | Sunday 1 Nov | The OCD Cycle
Instructor: Amal Farha
"The thought comes, the panic comes, I do the thing that makes it stop. Ten minutes later it is back."

• Learn: what OCD is and is not, the cycle of thought, distress, compulsion and relief, and why relief makes the problem stronger, including silent mental rituals and avoidance.
• Faith: "If an evil suggestion comes to you from Satan, seek refuge in Allah." (Qurʾān 7:200)
• Takeaway: mapping one of your own loops, and asking: does my compulsion keep its promise?

WEEK 2

Session 3 | Friday 6 Nov | A Thought Is Not a Sin
Instructor: Faiza Aziz
"If I can think such a thing about Allah, what kind of Muslim am I?"

• Learn: why unwanted thoughts are universal, the difference between a thought, an intention and a belief, and why pushing a thought away makes it louder.
• Faith: The Prophet ﷺ called the Companions' distress at such thoughts "clear faith." (Muslim 132) Allah has pardoned what the soul whispers. (al-Bukhārī, Muslim)
• Takeaway: three questions for any intrusive thought: Did I choose it? Do I want it? Would I act on it?

Session 4 | Sunday 8 Nov | Checking, Reassurance and the Need for Certainty
Instructor: Amal Farha
"I ask my husband, then the sheikh, then I search online. Each answer helps for an hour."

• Learn: why checking and asking calm fear briefly and feed it over time, how family get drawn into the cycle, and the difference between a real question and compulsive asking.
• Faith: "Whoever relies upon Allah, He is sufficient for him." (Qurʾān 65:3)
• Takeaway: a one-week reassurance log, and a kind script for family members who want to help.

WEEK 3

Session 5 | Friday 13 Nov | Waswasa in the Islamic Tradition
Instructor: Faiza Aziz
"Every time I begin my prayer the doubt comes. I start again, and again."

• Learn: the Qurʾānic account of the whisperer, the Prophetic remedy, the principle that certainty is not removed by doubt, and the scholars' rulings for the person with persistent doubt.
• Faith: "Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship." (Qurʾān 2:185)
• Takeaway: the "What am I certain of?" worksheet, and one prayer completed through the whisper without repeating it.

Session 6 | Sunday 15 Nov | Changing Your Relationship with Thoughts
Instructor: Amal Farha
"I know the thought is not me. But the moment it comes, the fear is total."

• Learn: how ordinary thoughts become obsessions, how to notice a thought without arguing with it, and the difference between dhikr for rest and words repeated as a ritual.
• Faith: "When a thought from Satan touches them, they remember Allah and at once they have insight." (Qurʾān 7:201)
• Takeaway: an intrusive-thought record and a sixty-second noticing practice.

WEEK 4

Session 7 | Friday 20 Nov | Religious OCD: Purity, Prayer, Intention and Faith
Instructor: Faiza Aziz
"I wash until my skin cracks. I pray each prayer three times."

• Learn: how religious OCD appears in Muslim lives, and the Islamic ruling that releases the person from each form.
• Faith: "The religion is easy, and no one makes it hard except that it overcomes him." (al-Bukhārī 39)
• Takeaway: the function test: am I doing this to come closer to Allah, or to make the doubt stop?

Session 8 | Sunday 22 Nov | Breaking the Cycle
Instructor: Amal Farha
"I prayed once and did not repeat it. The fear faded, and nothing happened."

• Learn: exposure and response prevention, the best-evidenced treatment for OCD, and how it works within the Islamic rulings of ease and certainty. No exposure ever involves sin.
• Faith: The Prophet ﷺ always chose the easier of two matters, so long as it was not a sin. (al-Bukhārī, Muslim)
• Takeaway: a five-step plan for one religious compulsion, and one act of worship done once this week and left with Allah.

WEEK 5

Session 9 | Friday 27 Nov | Scholar, Psychologist or Both? When to Seek Help
Instructor: Faiza Aziz
"Should I see a sheikh or a psychologist?"

• Learn: what scholars, clinicians and coaches each offer, the warning signs that need assessment now, and how to support a loved one without feeding the cycle.
• Faith: "Allah has not sent down any disease without sending down a cure for it." (al-Bukhārī 5678)
• Takeaway: a "Who do I need?" checklist and a one-page guide for family members.

Session 10 | Sunday 29 Nov | Living with Hope
Instructor: Amal Farha
"The thoughts still come sometimes. But they no longer run my day."

• Learn: recovery as a direction, early signs of relapse, meeting setbacks without despair, and the daily practices that keep the heart steady.
• Faith: "Do not despair of the mercy of Allah." (Qurʾān 39:53)
• Takeaway: your one-page personal plan for lasting stability.

YOUR INSTRUCTORS

Faiza Aziz, Clinical Psychologist: faith and the anxious mind, the nature of thoughts, waswasa in the Islamic tradition, religious OCD, and the roles of scholars and clinicians.

Amal Farha, Clinical Psychologist: the OCD cycle, checking and reassurance, working with thoughts, exposure and response prevention, and lasting recovery.

CERTIFICATION

Attend the live sessions, or watch all recordings in your student dashboard, to receive a CPD-accredited Certificate of Completion from Sakeena Institute, recording your CPD hours for your professional portfolio.

ENROL NOW

"Verily, with hardship comes ease." (Qurʾān 94:6)

Allah has forgiven what the soul whispers, and He intends ease for you. Take the first step today.

www.sakeenainstitute.com | [email protected]