Why You Are So Confused About Whether Something Is From Allah

A lot of us struggle with a question that sits so heavily on the heart.

Is this from Allah

Is this a sign

Is this my own thoughts

Is this Shaytan

We go in circles until we feel drained and overwhelmed. But the truth is that confusion is not our natural state. Allah created us on a fitra that is pure, clear, and deeply intuitive. We were created with a heart that naturally recognises what brings us closer to Allah and what pulls us away. The Prophet ﷺ said that sin is what causes uneasiness in the heart, while righteousness brings peace. This shows that clarity is part of our natural makeup. The problem is not the lack of intuition. The problem is everything that drowned it.

Many of us grew up around people who constantly made us doubt ourselves. They questioned our decisions. They dismissed our feelings. They belittled what we felt sure about. Over time we learned to silence our own inner knowing. When you live in environments that confuse you, you lose your ability to trust the fitra Allah placed within you. And then when something from Allah comes your way, you cannot recognise it because you have been trained to doubt your own clarity.

Most times we do not even have to express our thoughts out loud to feel that doubt. We already hear people’s voices in our minds before we even speak. We imagine their reactions. Their comments. Their judgements. We are so used to negativity or criticism that the voices are already in our heads even when no one is speaking. Many times the thoughts we think are not even our own. They are echoes of the people around us and the environment we grew up in. We grew up with these voices. So now when Allah places something in the heart, it gets buried under layers of internalised noise that never belonged to us in the first place.

Sometimes it looks like this.

You want to apply for a new job because your current workplace is draining you. You feel a deep sense of peace when you think about leaving, but without even speaking to anyone, you already hear the voices in your head. “Are you sure you can manage that” or “What if you fail.” You hear it even though no one actually said it this time. So you doubt what felt clear inside you.

Or you begin to feel that someone in your life is not good for your wellbeing. Your heart feels heavy around them. But you hear echoes of past comments from family or friends saying you are too sensitive or overreacting. Even before you share your feelings, you are already doubting your own clarity because you hear their voices in your mind.

Or you make du’ā for something your heart genuinely longs for, but you immediately hear the familiar inner commentary. ”Do not aim so high. What makes you think Allah will give you that.” These voices were planted in childhood or through past relationships. They become louder than the still, clear guidance Allah placed within you.

Shaytan takes full advantage of that. Allah tells us that Shaytan threatens you with fear and makes you fall into doubts. Confusion is one of his most powerful tools because a confused heart is an inactive heart. A confused heart does not move. It does not decide. It does not act. It stays stuck. And that is exactly what he wants. So the whispers become stronger. What if you are wrong. What if you misunderstood. What if this is not from Allah. The more you spin, the weaker you feel.

But Allah did not leave you without guidance. Allah says in the Qur’ān,

“Allah will not mislead a people after He has guided them until He has made clear to them what they should avoid.”

This ayah shows that confusion is not the nature of guidance. When Allah guides, He also clarifies. So the clarity is there. It is just buried under years of doubt created by people, environments, conditioning, trauma and the whispers of Shaytan.

When you begin to heal and reconnect with Allah, you begin to feel that intuition again. The more you talk to Allah and rely on Him, the more your heart becomes a place where truth settles easily. Your heart will always feel at ease with what comes from Allah. It may still feel fear, but it will not feel the uneasiness of something being wrong. You will feel alignment. You will feel openness. You will feel a quiet certainty that does not shout but rests softly.

Another example.

You think of a decision, and even though you feel scared, you feel calm inside when you imagine taking that step. That calmness is often a sign of Allah’s ease. But the moment you imagine telling someone, you hear their criticism in your head and suddenly you become confused. The confusion came from the voices you internalised, not from Allah.

Or you make istikhara and your heart leans gently toward something, but when you think of how others will react or what someone once said to you, your heart immediately tightens. Again, the doubt came from people, not from the guidance Allah was placing in your heart.

Confusion fades when you distance yourself from the people and environments that make you doubt your own heart. Clarity grows when you surround yourself with people who help you return to Allah rather than return to your fears. And certainty strengthens when you purify your heart and seek guidance from the One who never confuses His servant.

If you ever feel lost, remember that Allah knows where you are. Ask Him. Place everything in front of Him. Sit with your heart and say, “Ya Allah guide me to the truth and protect me from my own doubts.”

The Prophet ﷺ taught us a beautiful du’ā to say,

“O Allah show me truth as truth and grant me the ability to follow it, and show me falsehood as falsehood and grant me the ability to avoid it.”

Your heart was not created to live in constant confusion. It was created to recognise Allah. When you return to Him, the noise falls away. And what remains is a clarity that feels like home.