Concerning the ritual prayer for guidance in choosing the best option [Salat al-Istikhara]
According to
a traditional report transmitted on the authority of Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir,
it was Jabir ibn 'Abdi'llah (may Allah be well pleased with him and with
his father) who said:
"Allah's Messenger
(Allah bless him and give him peace) used to teach us how to seek guidance
in choosing the best option available in a practical enterprise [al-istikhara
fi 'l-amr], just as he would sometimes teach us a Chapter [Sura] from the
Qur'an. :
"'If one of
you is concerned about some practical undertaking, or about making plans
for a journey, he should perform two cycles of ritual prayer [rak'atain],
not as an obligatory observance [farida], but voluntarily. Then he should
say:
'"O Allah,
I ask You to show me what is best, through Your knowledge, and I ask You
to empower me, through Your power, and I beg You to grant me Your tremendous
favor, for You have power, while I am without power, and You have knowledge,
while I am without knowledge, and You are the One who knows all things
invisible.
Allahumma
inni astakhiru-ka bi-'ilmi-ka wa astaqdiru-ka bi-qudrati-ka wa as'alu-ka
min fadli-ka 'l-'azim fa-inna-ka taqdiru wa la aqdiru wa ta'lamu wa la
a'lamu wa Anta 'Allamu 'l-ghuyub
O Allah,
if You know that this undertaking is in the best interests of my religion,
my life in this world, and my life in the Hereafter, and can yield successful
results in both the short term and the long term, then make it possible
for me and make it easy for me, and then bless me in it.
Allahumma
in kunta ta'lamu anna hadha 'l-amra khairun li fi dini wa dunyaya wa akhirati
wa 'aqibati amri wa 'ajili-hi wa ajili-h :fa-'qdir-hu li wa yassir-hu li
thumma barik li fi-h
If not,
then turn it away from me, and make it easy for me to do well, wherever
I may happen to be, and make me content with Your verdict, O Most
Merciful of the merciful.'"
wa illa
fa-'srif-hu 'an-ni wa yassir liya 'l-khaira haithu kana ma kuntu wa raddi-ni
bi-qada'i-ka ya Arhama 'r-rahimin
More questions
on how to perform isthikhara
Question:
I
have prayed isthikhara numerous times and never get clear dreams or feelings.
I sometimes get a good or bad feeling, but they are not usually consistent.
Several people I know are confused on the topic of salatul-Istikhara. Is
it meant to be prayed several days in a row until a decision is made, or
only once? Is it meant to be prayed after one has pretty much made up their
mind, or when someone hasn't really figured out what to do? Are their various
valid opinions?
Answer:
When one is
not clear about the result of the istikhara, the fuqaha mention that it
is recommend to repeat it, upto seven times if necessary (usually done
on separate occassions). [cf: Radd al-Muhtar]
It is not necessary
that you get a dream or even a "feeling." Rather, the istikhara is a prayer
that Allah guide you towards that which is best (khayr) for you. If you
do the prayer of guidance (istikhara) with the proper manners, the most
important of which is to truly consign the matter to Allah and suspend
your own inclinations, then Allah will make events unfold in the direction
that is the best for your worldly and next-worldly affairs.
In general,
when it is not possible to perform the istikhara prayer itself (such as
when one is out on the road, or in one's menstrual period), it is recommended
to simply read the dua itself. [Radd al-Muhtar]
The istikhara
prayer may be made for a specific matter or be made for a general seeking
of all that is best. Some scholars, including Imam Abd al-Wahhab al-Sha`rani
and Ibn `Arafah before him saw this kind of istikhara prayer as being superior.
Others, including Shaykh Ibn al-Arabi, recommended performing a general
istikhara prayer for all that is good every day, ideally at the time of
the Duha prayer (after sunrise).
Imam al-Nawawi
mentioned that before the istikhara prayer, one should seek advice (istishara)
from those whose knowledge, wisdom, and concern one is confident. Ibn Hajar
al-Haytami and others mentioned that one of the benefits of this is to
further distance oneself from the desires of one's own egotistic inclinations.
It is recommended
to open the dua of istikhara [below], with praise of Allah and sending
blessings on the Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace), and to
close it in this manner, too.
Like other
duas, it is recommended that one face the qibla.
It is disliked
to 'hasten' in seeking the answer to one's istikhara, like other duas,
because the Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace) said, "Your
prayers are answered, unless you hasten, saying, 'I prayed, but no answer
came.'"
One should
be pleased with what Allah chooses for one, and not seek to follow one's
whims after the answer to one's supplication becomes clear.
Answered
by Sidi Faraz Rabbani
Someone
else wants to do istikhara for me
Question:
There is a pious lady in our community who has offered to pray istikhara
for me to help me make a decision for marriage...[..] my question to you
is if you know if this idea of relying on someone else's istikhara is a
good idea and compatible with the teachings of Islam on how to make dua
and decisions. Should I follow her advice (according to her dreams and
feelings) to me on this issue or not?
Answer:
This is one
means you can take: to seek the istikhara of a pious person. The permissibility
of this was mentioned explicitly by the Malikis and Shafi`is. The Hanafis
do not appear to have discussed this issue [al-Mawsu`a al-Fiqhhiyya, Kuwait],
but there is nothing in it that would indicate its impermissibility. Rather,
it is merely the taking of a means, which is permitted as long as one knows
that the one who gives and takes, benefits and harms is Allah alone.
In such cases,
though, one should not leave doing the istikhara oneself.
Answered
by Sidi Faraz Rabbani
Follow-up
question on istikhara
Question:
I
received an email regarding istikhara and I had further questions regarding
it if you could please clarify. I too have attempted to do istikhara
regarding marriage and was unable to get some sort of dream or "feeling"
as people commonly say. You had responded that one should do istikhara
7 times. Is this 7 times in a row? Also when is an appropriate
time to perform istikhara? Some places I have read after isha, others
after fajr. What is advisable? Must one also memorize the duaa or
is it ok to read it from a book? It would be very helpful to me if you
could perhaps provide elaboration on the correct manner in which to perform
istikhara.
Answer:
1. 7 times
on separate occasions. When possible, on separate nights (e.g. for big
non-urgent issues);
2. Any time,
but after isha, before sleep is best.
3. After fajr???
It is not permitted to pray anything after the fard of fajr except makeup
prayers until sunrise. And after fajr time comes in, one only prays 2 rakats
of the sunna of fajr. All other prayers (including the prayer of greeting
the masjid) are disliked, besides the fard of fajr itself, until sunrise.
4. It is best
to memorize the dua, and to actually be ASKING Allah with it, not just
reading it out or merely SAYING it. Allah's turning to one is commensurate
to one's turning to Him.
5. The best
way to know how the istikhara prayer works is to pray it regularly, for
big and small specific matters and for general guidance. It becomes a knack,
the scholars say.
And Allah alone
gives success.
Answered
by Sidi Faraz Rabbani
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