Ignore Shaytan's Whispers

Question :

Although I am a young practicing Muslim, I am often beset with doubts. When I perform ablution, I doubt that I have performed it well, so I perform it a second time. During prayer, I feel that I may have passed wind, so I stop my prayer to perform ablution another time. When I go out to eat, I avoid meat sometimes because I am afraid that the meat was not slaughtered properly according to Islamic guidelines. I even avoid eating cookies, for example, because I am afraid that some meat substance may have been used from meat that was not slaughtered according to Islamic guidelines. My brother - as he became aware of this problem advised me not to doubt so much, but his advice has not really had an effect on me. I have another problem as well: When I sleep I am not mindful about waking up to pray.

Answer:

Doubts-that beset the mind concerning worship or matters of belief, even the essence of Allah - are all from the Shaytan. When the Prophet's Companions complained to him about doubts that sometimes entered their hearts, doubts they thought too wicked to speak about, the Prophet told them that, that was because of the clarity of their faith, meaning its purity.

That is because Shaytan whispers doubts about faith only in those hearts that are free from any doubt, hoping that those hearts will obey him. Meanwhile, Shaytan does not need to whisper into a heart that is already beset with doubts because he has already successfully completed his work on that heart.

I advise you to seek refuge in Allah Almighty from Shaytan; ignore his whispers, regardless whether they come to you during prayer, during ablution, or at any other time. Although these>doubts indicate a pure faith, if they continue, they may also indicate weak willpower.

Try your utmost to ignore his whisperings. When you bring an item home from the store, do you doubt that it is in your hands? The answer is obviously no. This is because the Shaytan does not whisper to man in these kinds of affairs; he only whispers to him about his worship so that he can ruin it for him. Also, when you have completed an act of worship, don't have doubts about whether it was performed correctly, unless you are sure that there was some defect.

You mentioned your doubts about food; the general ruling on food is that it is permissible, so your doubts are not valid. A Jewish woman gave the Prophet ﷺ some lamb to eat at Khaybar, and he ate it. A Jewish man invited him to eat and presented him with barely bread and some other food and he ate it.

In Sahih Al-Bukhari it is reported that some Muslims who hadnrecently accepted Islam gave some meat as a gift to a group of Muslims, who said, "O Messenger of Allah, some people brought us meat, and we do not know whether they said Allah's Name over it (when they slaughtered it) or not?" The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said to them:
"Say the Name of Allah and eat."

Therefore, the general rule concerning meat slaughtered by people whose slaughtered animals are lawful is that it is lawful, unless there is proof indicating the contrary. To forbid what Allah Almighty has made lawful is making restrictions over people without reason.

The last problem you mentioned is also from the Shaytan. In a Hadith recorded in Sahih Al-Bukhari, a man was described to the Messenger of Allâh a man who would not wake up to pray on time. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"That is a man in whose ears the Shaytan has urinated."

Shaytan sometimes makes sleep very heavy for somebody, so that he doesn't wake up for the morning prayer. You can overcome this problem by using an alarm clock or by asking somebody to wake you up.