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Seeing Name of Allah Everywhere, Am I Sick?

27 December, 2017
Q As-salamu aleikum, I have one question that has been raised many times on different websites and it concern OCD, but it relates to a different kind of OCD that in our fate has been defined al-waswas al-qahri (overwhelming waswas or OCD). In my case, it is related to a visual problem that in psychology was defined as Pareidolia (type of apophenia). Pareidolia is a psychological phenomenon in which the mind responds to a stimulus, usually an image or a sound, by perceiving a familiar pattern where none exists. Pareidolia can cause people to interpret random images or patterns of light and shadow and it often has religious overtones. Saying this, my pareidolia consists of seeing the name of Allah written in Arabic language almost everywhere I look. The real problem is that I can see it written, unfortunately, in not appropriate places. I know that these images of shapes and scripture are created by my brain working against my will. I have found a lot of reading on the internet talking about this, where people saying how they see Allah's name written on human ear, or on human palm, but then again, my logic refuse to accept it because we use our palm to clean our body (especially in the WC), so it would be inappropriate to an attribute name of Allah,or it arabic form to our palm, or shape in human ear because there is hadith saying: "Satan urinates in the ear(s) of the one who sleeps till the sunrise missing the obligatory morning (fajr) prayers". I have found following hadith dealing with waswasa or this kind of pareidolia: It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah has forgiven my ummah for whatever whispers [waswasah] cross their minds so long as they do not act upon it or speak of it.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (2391) and Muslim (127). My question are: 1. Does seeing the name of Allah, written in Arabic on different things, animals or (in NOT appropriate places) is something to ignore and act as we have not seen it? 2-. Do we commit a sin if we act upon (or not act upon) of our pareidolia? As you might imagine, my fear lies in showing disrespect to Allah and his name. I know it is complicated but please help me understand. I will give you an example: Recently "I have seen" the name of Allah on the surface of body lotion. So what would be the sin: 1. use the lotion on an entire human body or 2. not use the lotion at all? The hadith expression "so long as they do not act upon it " can be interpreted as disregard/neglect what have we seen and behave as nothing happened, or the opposite?

Answer

Aisha Mohammad
27 December, 2017

In this counseling answer:

“You may wish to start now with some tips to try to change or limit the way in which the image/name appears. Insha’allah, brother when you see Allah’s name in places where you know it is an illusion, close your eyes for a moment and replace that image with another one-for instance a big red stop sign.It may take time and patience but insha’Allah you make be successful with this technique. ”

As-salamu alaykum,

Shokran brother for writing to our live session. While I am not an Islamic scholar, I cannot provide scholarly responses to your questions regarding hadiths and the applications herein. I encourage you to write to our section “Ask the Scholar” for further help and clarification.

I can kindly suggest however that you insha’Allah begin to focus on your mental health especially concerning your self-assessed pareidolia.  You have done some very good research on the topic and you appear to have excellent insight as to what may be going on.

Accordingly,  pareidolia is an illusionary experience formed by imagination and “is found in many psychotic disorders”.   It can also be a manifestation of hypervigilance or neurosis. I am wondering brother, as you spoke of OCD, have you ever been diagnosed with OCD before?  Have you ever seen a counselor or psychiatrist for this  or any other mental health issues?

If not, I would kindly suggest that you do seek out a therapist in your area insha’Allah for consultation and evaluation.

Please do make notes of when this started, how long it has been going on, when does it occur the most (times of stress, times of relaxing, etc), how many times a day do you see this and how do you feel when you see it.  Please list any other symptoms you may be having (both mental and physical) such as nervousness, high energy, sleeplessness, depression, and so on.

Also, make an appointment with your family doctor to have a full physical health exam to rule out any issues.  While I am sure you are healthy dear brother, a physical exam is always good to start with.  You may have something going on with your endocrine system or another body system that is causing this.

As your pareidolia concerns the name of Allah (swt) it most likely is not a spiritual issue but possibly a mental health concern.  As you are a devoted and pious Muslim insha’Allah, your mind-loving Allah so much has turned-created His name into a constant visual.

Please know that Allah is most merciful brother and that this condition is out of your control thus you are not held responsible for any unknowing wring doing on your part.  You are responsible, however, for seeking the proper treatment for the pareidolia which includes getting a diagnosis as to the underlying etiology and following up with treatment.

In the meantime, you may wish to start now with some tips to try to change or limit the way in which the image/name appears. Insha’allah, brother when you see Allah’s name in places where you know it is an illusion, close your eyes for a moment and replace that image with another one-for instance a big red stop sign.

It may take time and patience but insha’Allah you make be successful with this technique.  Another tip to try would be to introduce sounds in the form of utilizing ear-plugs with white noise, an educational lecture, a TV show or other distracting phenomenon. This may insha’Allah, decrease the illusion ‘s frequency and intensity in order to be able to focus on the auditory stimuli being introduced.

While these are a few tips that may or may not help for the short term while you seek out professional help, please do make an appointment as soon as possible, brother, so you can go on to resolve this issue and live a more peaceful and worry free life serving Allah.

You are in our prayers, we wish you the best.

***

Disclaimer: The conceptualization and recommendations stated in this response are very general and purely based on the limited information provided in the question. In no event shall AboutIslam, its counselors or employees be held liable for any damages that may arise from your decision in the use of our services.

Read more:

How to Overcome My Religious OCD?

Hearing Voices That Are Not Real: How to Cope?

I’m Afraid My Thoughts Come True, Please Help!

Mental Health OCD illusion
About Aisha Mohammad
Aisha received her PhD in psychology in 2000 and an MS in public health in 2009. Aisha worked as a Counselor/Psychologist for 12 years for Geneva B. Scruggs Community Health Care Center in New York. Aisha specializes in trauma, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, marriage/relationships issues, as well as community-cultural dynamics. She is certified in Restorative Justice/ Healing Circles, Conflict Resolution, Mediation, and is also a certified Life Coach. Aisha works at a Family Resource Center, and has a part-time practice in which she integrates healing and spirituality using a holistic approach. Aisha plans to open a holistic care counseling center for Muslims and others in the New York area in the future, in sha' Allah. Aisha is also a part of several organizations that advocate for social & food justice. In her spare time she enjoys her family, martial arts classes, Islamic studies as well as working on her book and spoken word projects.