Lesson 2 of 6 · Certainty is not removed by doubt
The standard the Prophet, peace be upon him, gave
A man brought exactly this doubt to the Prophet, peace be upon him, in the middle of prayer. One of the two reports below names the situation as imagining that something had happened, which is the reader's situation exactly. Notice what he was given. Not a method for becoming sure. A threshold. A sound, or a smell. Something he could actually verify. Anything short of that does not count.
Qur’an and Sunnah
The report that names your situation exactly. The complaint is of imagining that something had happened, which is the doubt itself rather than an event.
Abbad b. Tamim reported from his uncle that a person made a complaint to the Apostle (ﷺ) that he entertained (doubt) as it something had happened to him breaking his ablution. He (the Holy Prophet) said:He should not return (from prayer) unless he hears a sound or perceives a smell (of passing wind). Abu Bakr and Zuhair b. Harb have pointed out in their narrations that it was 'Abdullah b. Zaid
Sahih Muslim 361graded sound, sahihaynthe Arabic and its grading
He should not leave his prayer unless he hears a sound or smells something. The same case in a second collection, and what he was given is a threshold rather than a method for becoming sure. Anything short of that does not count.
Narrated `Abbad bin Tamim:My uncle asked Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) about a person who imagined to have passed wind during the prayer. Allah's Apostle replied: "He should not leave his prayers unless he hears sound or smells something
Sahih al-Bukhari 137graded sound, sahihaynthe Arabic and its grading