Feeling shiver up the spine
Question
What does it mean if someone gets shivers up their spine?
بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم
Answer
There could be a variety of reasons why a person gets shivers up their spine. If this occurs when a person is reciting the Qurʾān or listening to an Islamic lecture or when thinking about the hereafter, this is commendable as it is a result of the fear of Allah. We are advised to combine between Allah’s fear and hope in His mercy and compassion, thus, whilst a person should fear Allah, he should also have hope in His mercy, and this hope should increase as a person becomes elderly.
If this feeling, however, occurs due to the fear of a person or fear of something, a person should constantly engage in the remembrance of Allah. Allah Almighty says in the Qurʾān (13:28) “Listen, the hearts find rest by the remembrance of Allah.” There also specific masnūn supplications for protection from various illnesses and calamities as well as protection from oppressors and tyrants. A very comprehensive supplication is transmitted by ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (d. 73/693, may Allah be pleased with him) who said, “The Prophet ﷺ would not abandon these words in the evening and the morning:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الْعَافِيَةَ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الْعَفْوَ وَالْعَافِيَةَ فِي دِينِي وَدُنْيَايَ وَأَهْلِي وَمَالِي، اللَّهُمَّ اسْتُرْ عَوْرَاتِي وَآمِنْ رَوْعَاتِي، اللَّهُمَّ احْفَظْنِي مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيَّ، وَمِنْ خَلْفِي، وَعَنْ يَمِينِي، وَعَنْ شِمَالِي، وَمِنْ فَوْقِي، وَأَعُوذُ بِعَظَمَتِكَ أَنْ أُغْتَالَ مِنْ تَحْتِي
‘O Allah, I ask You for wellbeing in this world and the hereafter. O Allah, I ask You for forgiveness and wellbeing in my religious and worldly affairs, and my family and my wealth. O Allah, conceal my faults and keep me safe from my fears. O Allah, protect me from the front and from behind, and on my right and on my left and from above, and I seek refuge in Your greatness from receiving unexpected harm from beneath me.’” (Sunan Abī Dāwūd, 5074; Sunan Ibn Mājah, 3871).
Allah knows best
Yusuf Shabbir
30 Jumādā al-Ūlā 1441 / 25 January 2020
Approved by: Mufti Shabbir Ahmad and Mufti Muhammad Tahir