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Finding comfort with OCD in surah 2 verse 286

The whole Quran has this unbelievable way of amazing me. Its beautifully poetic verses and breath taking words just settle in my heart and mind so warmly. Though the whole Quran has the power to make me feel like everything will be okay, there is one verse that absolutely wins my heart. That verse is "On no soul doth Allah place a burden greater than it can bear" 2:286. (This verse is also repeated in 6:152, 7:42 and 65:7).

I can not think of any other verse in the Quran that empowers me as much as this one does. This is a verse I often reflect on in times of stress, sadness and need. Think about it. Just repeat the words.

On NO soul does Allah place a burden GREATER than it can bear.

Now, tell me, what is it that we can not overcome? What test is too much to bear? What final exam, what major decision, what grief of a loved one passing away, do we not eventually overcome? The answer is simple - none.

This verse really hit me at a time I needed it most. For the last couple of years, I have been suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, OCD. It is a disorder that effects millions of people, and is due to a chemical imbalance in the brain.

This disorder caused me to have many unnecessary thoughts. I would repeatedly replay incidents over and over in my head. The type I have is more of a mental OCD, rather than a physical type. However, I would sometimes encounter physical anxiety. For example, sometimes I felt I had to touch something a certain amount of times or repeat things.

The hardest challenge was when I came to have difficulties in making wudu, the purification washing before performing a prayer. I was always under the impression that my wudu was not good enough or that I missed washing a spot. I would literally stand in front of the sink repeating my wudu until I thought I had it perfect. The same would happen with my prayers. I would pray the same prayer 3 times just to make sure it was "perfect".

Little did I know that on one particularly rough day, I would be inspired. I was feeling very down because of the OCD. I just could not handle it. It is hard to explain to someone who does not have it, it is just so frustrating because it seems like an easy thing to handle, but for one who has OCD it is incredibly exhausting.

So, I am standing in front of the sink, wondering to myself why it is so difficult to just be content with the things I do. I was so angry. So upset. Until the phone rang. It was my brother, calling from his college dorm.

My mom picked up the phone and spoke with him. I assume she told him that I was having a rough day, so he asked to talk to me. When I got on the phone, all he said was, "Go look in the Quran in chapter 2, verse 286".

So I went and picked up my Quran that he had recently bought me. I flipped through the pages until I came to the verse. Then I stared at the words and read them in my head. "On no soul does Allah place a burden greater than it can bear." I had to fight back tears. I actually felt like Allah had written those words just for me.

It was that day that I really understood what those words meant. I still reflect on the words every time I need to. So I want to tell you all, my brothers and sisters, let those remarkable words settle in your hearts and minds. Always remember that there is nothing we can not overcome. Allah said so. J

(By the way, OCD can be controlled, please reach out to a doctor if you feel you need too. Always remember Allah is watching over you).

Your Comments

Rafay, Florida - wrote on 2/21/2006 5:04:28 PM
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Comment: Assalamu alaikum, i want to say JazakAllah Khair to everybody for all the beneficial information they have posted, may Allah accept our service, ameen. I too have been suffering with OCD but these posts are really good and are also true. Wasalam

Musafir, Omaha, NE - wrote on 2/19/2006 4:53:53 PM
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Comment: Salam brothers and sisters, Special thanks to "Negar" for pointing to this amazing verse in Quran (could not stop my tears for 5 minutes). May Allah lessen your burdens caused by OCD. I myself is suffering from it since puberty. I am quite familiar with the situations some of you guys been thru. Lets talk about more important thing - "The Cure for OCD". I have spent and still spend countless hours searching for a reliable cure of OCD. It took me 7 years to figure out that OCD is more of a PHYSICAL disease. A research paper published recently by "The National Mental Health Association, USA" points to the possibility that OCD can be caused by "Streptococcus" bacteria infection. This bacteria is reponsible for diseases like "Strep Throat" (a common disease in childhood), and how your immune system reacts to the disease has something to do with developing OCD. Please do a research on "Google" with the key words: "strep throat and OCD", and also have your doctor take a look at the article at "http://www.empoweredparents.com/pages/pr8.doc". With more scientific knowledge and spiritual guidance we can find a cure for OCD, and get rid off those satanic disturbances, INSHALLAH ! Feel free to email me for any concern.

shu, uk - wrote on 5/7/2005 8:15:43 AM
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Comment: salaam people, what a great website for ocd suffers.

julz, australia - wrote on 3/17/2005 6:47:34 AM
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Comment: assalamu-alaikum, i am a 13 year old student in year 9, i have just recently completed a project on OCD. As soon as i read this article, i knew i had to include it in my project. alhamdulillah, i go to an islamic school, so teachers aswell as students appreciated this article. i'd like to thank negar, for sharing this experience with us all, for i know it has touched our hearts greatly, and made us appreciate our lives the way it is. may Allah (swt) the eternal and the absolute, bless all of us and inshaAllah make us better muslims. remember, in any time of stress or hardship,turn to Allah, for he is the only One you can put your trust in, for he is Our Lord.Ameen

faheemah, trinidad - wrote on 3/3/2005 9:04:09 AM
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Comment: salaams i have had ocd for alomst six years,i never finished school because of it .i am 21 and i feel like 10 .eveytime i use the washroom i feel onclean and i have to bathe ,i cant really go anywhere because if i see a dog or alochal i get sick ,i feel on clean even thought nothin toched me i somethimes spend hours in the bathroom , i get angry fast and use bad words alot in front of my parents somethimes when am done agurin and few mins later i dont cant remember feelin like that ,i have a lot of bad thought .only my mother and doctor understands how i feel i `m so tired i feel i have no porpose in life i act i a 3 year old and dont know how to act grownup i feel small in front of my little cuzs ,some of my family tells me its all in my mind.i never know that more muslims have this and have been of zolif on and off until recently have been on it everyday.i miss alot of sallah because of this when i have to keep goin to the batheroom to bathe.

Abdullah, UK - wrote on 1/12/2005 12:21:25 AM
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Comment: Salaaams everyone!!!.. i was comforted upon reading all ur articles..i too have OCD. i guess we're all not as alone as we thought!!! OCD affects 30 percent of people here in England or UK alone unfortunately OCD is a crushing disorder , however the more we respond to it (mentally or physically) the worse it gets... GUILt plays a vital role, but we have to remind ourselves that Allah does not punish someone for an act committed under COMPULSION!! and we should therefore be comforted in this fact and go on trusting the logical parts of our brains which fortunately even OCD sufferers still recognise within us.... the WHAt IF?? question that plagues many OCD minds is a never ending question that has no final answer..for example... what if i haven't locked teh door and when i get back home everything has been robbed... or what if i forget to switch off something and the house gets burnt down or what if i haven't said this part of my salaah properly... but trust me... if u hadn't done something u would conceretely remmebered that u haven't done it and ur mind would have told u .. YOU HAVEN'T DONE IT like it NORMALLY DOES.. and not .. WHAT IF ! i haven't done it ... that's y u'll always find that when u go back to "check a switch or whatever ur compulsion may be, you will always find that ur doubt what wrong... so my "personal" RULE IS learn to ignore ANY OCD-RELATED THOUGHT that may enter ur mind and do not even mentally , respond to it .. by responding to it u make things worse .. just straight away think about what ur logic tells u and try to obey it coz u know it makes sense ... even try to ignore the anxiety which may follow at times.. coz that too is OCD- related....because ur LOGIC would have alrealdy told y if u had forgotten something which may have been very important.. u simply do what YOU wanna do .. not what ur OCD tells u to ..leave the rest to ALlah's will and do not fear disease , death , etc ... only fear Allah!! coz u are the victim here and have done nothing wrong.. the good news is though u may be a victim u now have the power to make ur siatuation better !!!!! I hope people get what i'm tryin to say .. this approach after, i find to work for me .... coz if we analysed our anxiety, we will see that it's actually the fear itself that we tend to fear .. . please leave comments if u thought this was helpful or just plain old greek .. lol !!! Allah -Hafiz ... Abdullah. P,s- reciting YA Quddus(One of Allah's names) 100 times daily is said to reduce anxiety.. and eating cool water melon too is said to help.(but easy on the melon) lol!! please feel free to also ask any questions if there is anything i can try to do for anyone.. salaams..

Ghata, Singapore - wrote on 5/27/2004 9:18:55 AM
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Comment: Hi, Assalam-alaikum I have written earlier too. I go regularly for my therapy sessions for OCD and it has been extremely useful. I am aware that this disease is becoming known more and more now-a days. One technique I use is THE DISTRACTION TECHNIQUE, it may not sound as a technique but I feel this alone is enough to conquer OCD. All u do is when u get the feeling of 'repeating', take Allah's name and carry on with the next immediate task instead of repeating. For more details mail me Allah-hafiz

sister, usa - wrote on 5/17/2004 11:57:25 AM
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Comment: I can't believe that there are so many people in this same situation.I am one of them.After reading the comments by negar, I just started to cry.I feel so sad.Praying is so hard. I keep repeating the prayer. I keep washing my hands. Hope negar can write to me. May Allah reward her for helping others.Ameen.

omar, chicago - wrote on 5/12/2004 12:19:59 AM
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Comment: assalamu-alaikum. i was amazed reading this article how much it mirorred what i am going through. it takes me long amounts of time to do wudu, i repeat prayers at least twice in fear that i made a mistake and that they wont be accepted, and i am continously changing my clothes in fear of najasat or impurities. this article has been beneficial and i know i have to control my problem but it is very difficult. if ne one else has any other suggestions or advice to help me conquer this problem i would GREATLY appreciate it. jazakallah wa alaikum assalam

negar, ky - wrote on 5/11/2004 8:11:20 PM
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Comment: Hello :) I saw the comment you left on the SoundVision site on an article I wrote about OCD. One of the moderators e-mailed me and asked if I could get in touch with you. I hope you don't mind. I just wanted to say a few things because I hate to hear that your husband is going through this struggle. I can understand why he doesn't think this is an illness. Some of the actions people do are completely normal (such as checking the stove many times etc). However, it becomes an illness when it starts affecting your daily life. I think the word "illness" scares some people. It would help your husband if he knew that literally millions of Americans (alone) suffer from OCD. It's purely due to a chemical imbalance in the brain. There is nothing to be embrassed or ashamed of, it's not anything that he got due to childhood etc. It's inherited. After he realizes that, he needs to know that there are many treatment options. That will be difficult since you said that he doesn't want to take mediciation or counseling - but hopefully if he talks to someone, a doctor, they can presuade him. There is a hadith (a saying) in Islam that says "God did not send down a disease that he didn't send a cure for". So there is no shame in medication etc. As far as him praying over and over - that hit me hard, because that definately happened to me too. If nothing else, this is something he will need to work on. Please assure him that one of the beauitful things about Islam is that fact that we are judged by our intentions. That is why, before we pray, we have to make our intention. What I did was, I made a dua (prayer) and made a promise with God that I would simply say my intention before every prayer and pray it to the best of my ability and then say "okay, that's it" and walk away. Because if he continues to do this, he will probably stop praying all together because it's a burden. And prayer is not suppose to be a burden. Ask him if he would rather do his prayer over and over and over til he gets it "perfect" or do it once, with the intention of doing it the best, and enjoying it? I was truely surprised by the responses I got from that article. It's neat though because when I read them..I'm like see, if only I had reached out and talked to someone, brought it up, I would have realized how many people actually went through/go through the same things. Therefore, I'm definately postive that your husband knows at least one other person with OCD, but they just don't know that each other have it. Well I think I made this really long! :) I just wrote down some thoughts. I wish you and your husband the best, I will keep you guys in my prayers. If there is anything you need, want to know, or need help looking for a doctor, please feel free to e-mail me. Sincerely, Negar Sadeghian

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