Lesson 3 of 6 · Why checking makes it louder
The finding
The instruction in the reports below is short, and it ends. Seek refuge, turn away, get on with the prayer. It is not a procedure to be perfected and there is nothing in it to be repeated until it feels right.
Qur’an and Sunnah
Seek refuge, and the sentence ends there. The instruction is short and finishes, with nothing in it to be repeated until it feels right.
وَإِمَّا يَنزَغَنَّكَ مِنَ ٱلشَّيۡطَٰنِ نَزۡغࣱ فَٱسۡتَعِذۡ بِٱللَّهِۚ إِنَّهُۥ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ
If Satan should prompt you to do something, seek refuge with God- He is all hearing, all knowing
Qur’an 7:200
The one about the prayer specifically, which is where getting on with it comes from. Seek refuge, turn away, and carry on.
Uthman b. Abu al-'As reported that he came to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and said:Allah's Messenger, the Satan intervenes between me and my prayer and my reciting of the Qur'an and he confounds me. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said:, That is (the doing of a) Satan (devil) who is known as Khinzab, and when you perceive its effect, seek refuge with Allah from it and spit three times to your left. I did that and Allah dispelled that from me
Sahih Muslim 2203graded sound, sahihaynthe Arabic and its grading
The same two moves for the thought that comes for God Himself. Seek refuge, and give up the thought.
Narrated Abu Huraira:Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Satan comes to one of you and says, 'Who created so-and-so? 'till he says, 'Who has created your Lord?' So, when he inspires such a question, one should seek refuge with Allah and give up such thoughts
Sahih al-Bukhari 3276graded sound, sahihaynthe Arabic and its grading
When it reaches who created your Lord, seek refuge in Allah and keep away from such thoughts. The same two moves again, in Muslim. The three reports are shown together because the claim here is about the shape of the instruction rather than about any one of them. It is short, and it ends.
(It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah may peace be upon him) observed:The Satan comes to everyone. of you and says: Who created this and that? till he questions: Who created your Lord? When he comes to that, one should seek refuge in Allah and keep away (from such idle thoughts)
Sahih Muslim 134graded sound, sahihaynthe Arabic and its grading
Translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, The Qur'an, Oxford University Press, 2004.
What the research says
After repeated checking, confidence, vividness and detail in the memory all dropped while accuracy did not improve at all. You are not checking because your memory is bad; your memory feels bad because you are checking.
After repeated checking of the same object, memory confidence, vividness and detail were all lower than after a single check, while accuracy did not improve. Checking manufactures the doubt it is meant to settle.
Radomsky AS, Gilchrist PT, Dussault D (2006). Repeated checking really does cause memory distrust. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(2), 305 to 316 doi
Asking for reassurance works exactly like checking a lock: it lowers the distress now and keeps the doubt alive over time. That is why the relief never lasts as long as you expect it to.
Reassurance seeking behaves like overt checking. It lowers distress in the moment and sustains the doubt over time.
Parrish CL, Radomsky AS (2010). Why do people seek reassurance and check repeatedly? An investigation of factors involved in compulsive behavior in OCD and depression. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 24(2), 211 to 222