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For those who are seeking marriage, making the right decision is imperative
and our prophet has stressed this when he (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said:
"The whole world is a place of enjoyment and the best enjoyment is a
righteous wife." He also said : "If somebody comes to you and you are
pleased with his character and religion then marry him.
More often than not, we are limited in our ability to
verify the character and religion of others and this is the problem we face
when choosing a marriage partner. Many people suffer from a Jekyll and Hyde
syndrome whereby they portray themselves to be so pious, loving and caring
before marriage but quickly become the opposite after marriage.
So what can the unsuspecting Muslims do to ensure their
choice is the right choice.
Like everything else in this noble religion Allah has
given the believers clear instructions to put their trust in him whenever
decisions are to be taken. When trust is placed in Allah’s divine decree a
sense of contentment and happiness is sure to follow.
Salaatal-Istikharah
The salaat al-Istikhaarah is an
immense prayer, endowing the Muslim with tranquillity and restfulness. A prayer
in which a servant if concerned with an affair or is faced with a worldly
problem or intends to do something recommended or obligatory in which he has a
choice, or when two recommended or obligatory actions conflict each other –
which one should he do? Which one should he put forward? He should pray two
Rakaa’hs of al-Istikharah prayer, then make a Du’aa
'Allahumma inni astakhiruka bi'ilmika, Wa astaqdiruka bi-qudratika,
Wa as'alaka min fadlika al-'azlm Fa-innaka taqdiru Wala aqdiru, Wa ta'lamu Wala
a'lamu, Wa anta 'allamu l-ghuyub. Allahumma, in kunta ta'lam anna hadha-l-amra
Khairun li fi dini wa ma'ashi wa'aqibati amri (or 'ajili amri wa'ajilihi)
Faqdirhu wa yas-sirhu li thumma barik li Fihi, Wa in kunta ta'lamu anna
hadha-lamra shar-run li fi dini wa ma'ashi wa'aqibati amri (or fi'ajili amri wa
ajilihi) Fasrifhu anni was-rifni anhu. Waqdir li al-khaira haithu kana Thumma
ardini bihi.'
(O Allah! I ask guidance from Your knowledge, And Power from
Your Might and I ask for Your great blessings. You are capable and I am not. You
know and I do not and You know the unseen. O Allah! If You know that this job is
good for my religion and my subsistence and in my Hereafter--(or said: If it is
better for my present and later needs)--Then You ordain it for me and make it
easy for me to get, And then bless me in it, and if You know that this job is
harmful to me In my religion and subsistence and in the Hereafter--(or said: If
it is worse for my present and later needs)--Then keep it away from me and let
me be away from it. And ordain for me whatever is good for me, And make me
satisfied with it).
What is Salaat al-Istikharah?
Linguistically al-Istikharah comes from the verb Istikharah
which means ‘seeking / requesting guidance in what is good.’ So, al-Istikharah
is the noun for request or action. While in the Islamic terminology al-Istikharah
means that a servant seeks guidance from his Lord upon the manner described by
the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) by praying two rakaahs of
supererogatory prayer, then supplicating with the specific Du’aa for al-Istikharah.
Since, the servant is weak in his comprehension, ignorant of
the unseen and indecisive about his actions, Allah, the Most High and the Most
Merciful, ordained Salaat al-Istikharah for him whenever he faces an obstacle or
is concerned about an affair: he consults his Creator and seeks His guidance
with regard to it because Allah Alone is the Knower of Ghaib (unseen), He Alone
is the most knowledgeable about the reality of the affairs and their results,
their benefits from their harms, their good from their evil, in this world and
the Hereafter: "And with Him are the keys of Unseen, none know them but
He. And He knows whatever is there in the earth and in the sea. Not a leaf falls
but by His knowledge; there is not a grain in the darkness (or the depth) of the
earth, nor any flesh or dry (green or withered) but is written in a Clear
Record." [ Soorah al-An’aam (6): 59]
Hence, when the servant is concerned
about an affair or decided upon a matter, or a problem arises in his mind and he
wishes to act upon it, then he should seek guidance from his Lord before
embarking upon it according to the manner prescribed in the Sunnah of the
Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam).
Benefits of Salaat al-Istikharah
Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu
alaihi wa-sallam) said: "From the prosperity of an individual is his seeking
guidance from his Lord and his contentment with what He has ordained and from
the misfortune of an individual is his abandoning seeking guidance from his Lord
and his displeasure after what is decreed (for him) comes to pass" [Saheeh
at-Tirmidhee, Ahmad, al-Haakim and other] Here, the slave of Allah requests His
Lord to make Him content with His choice by His Power, Ability and Immense Favor,
since, the slave’s ability is from the Ability and Power of Allah, otherwise he
is weak. Making matters easy is from the Ability of Allah and the Great Favor
from Him that He has bestowed upon His slaves, if He doesn’t make things easy
for His slave, they will turn difficult and he may dislike what Allah chooses
for him, unaware of the good that is placed in it for him. So, he requests Allah
from His immense Favor keeping in view the following statement of Allah:
"And it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like
a thing which is bad for you. Allah knows but you do not." [Soorah
Baqarah (2): 216]
One of the manifestations of this great fact is the treaty of
Hudaybiyah. The year of Hudaybiyah, when the pagan Arabs of Quraish tribe
prevented the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) and his Companions (radhi
allahu anhu) from entering Makkah to perform Umrah. Instead of the severe
conditions imposed by the Mushriks and great dislike of the treaty by his
Companions, Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) accepted them, being
confident that Allah would not abandon him and that He will grant him victory.
Allah knew that the treaty of al-Hudaybiyah was the beginning of victory. On the
way back to Madinah Allah revealed the verse: "Verily! We have given you
(O Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam), Fathan Mubeen, a manifest victory."
[(48): 1] And indeed, due to the treaty, many good things regarding the
manifestation of Deen and retreat of Kuffr took place. People came nearer and
entered discussions with each other, Muslims could speak about Islam with proofs
and evidences and there came in the fold of Islam as many people as the people
who entered before.
Istikharah is dependant on three things
1. The
Absolute Knowledge of Allah
2. Allah’s Ability and Power of decreeing
3. Allah’s
Blessings, which does not diminish, and His generosity, which is not repelled.
For theses reasons, it is appropriate to start the Du’aa with seeking a means of
approach by His Knowledge in choosing what is good for him, then follows that
which is required for his choice to be attained, by seeking help through His
Power – the ability to enact the action. Then, because the affair requires the
blessing of Allah and His favours so that the choice is blessed and so is the
benefit from it – it is appropriate that he asks Allah for His blessings, which
encompass everything. Then, since the slave is short-sighted, his affairs
unsettled, not being pleased with what is given to him and not content with what
is ordained for him, it is appropriate that he should end his Du’aa by asking
for contentment in what will be ordained for him.
How to perform the Salaat al-Istikharah
First – Fulfill all the conditions of supererogatory
prayer – which are the same conditions of the obligatory prayer except the
condition of the entering time for that particular prayer.
Second –
Praying two rakah’s of supererogatory (Nafl) prayer with the intention of al-Istikharah
(Seeking Guidance). The prayer does not have any particular time before which
one must make al-Istikharah for a particular affair. Neither does it have a
favored time [1] nor any specific Soorah is prescribed for this prayer. But
there is nothing wrong if one strives to perform it in times in which a du’aa is
more likely to be answered, since al-Istikharah is a du’aa.
It should bear born in the minds that al-Istikharah is made
after concern and when one has made the intention and resolve to do something
Third – After the completion of two rakaahs prayer (i.e. after the Salaam)
particular for Istikharah, one should make the following supplication and it
should be born in minds that it is necessary to stick to this specific Du’aa:
Translation ‘O Allah, I seek Your counsel by Your knowledge and I seek Your
assistance by Your Power and I ask You from Your immense favor, for verily you
are able while I am not, and verily You know and I do not, and You are the
knower of the unseen. O Allah if You know this affair is to be good for me in
relation to my religion, my life and end (or he said my present and my future),
then decree and facilitate it for me and bless me with it. And if You know this
affair to be detrimental for me concerning my religion, my life and end (or he
said my present and my future), then remove it form me and remove me from it and
decree for me what is good wherever it be and make me satisfied with it."
Fourth
– He should have a strong assurance in his Lord and truthful reliance upon
his Lord, being sure of guidance, waiting for the answer.
Fifth – Avoid
all obstacles that prevent the supplication from being answered Al-Istikharah is
a Du’aa, so one should adhere to the etiquettes of Du’aa and avoid all obstacles
and barriers that prevent a Du’aa from being answered, they being: -
(a) Haraam
Earnings
(b) Requesting something, which is sinful or involves oppression
(c)
Abandoning the act of enjoining what is good and forbidding the evil
(d)
Exceeding the limits in making Du’aa (e) Being heedless of Allah and the Deen in
the times of ease
(f) Contradicting some Shari’ah Ruling
(g) Praying at the prohibited times
What should be done after al-Istikharah?
After performing the Istikharah prayer, one should firmly
resolve to do that which he thinks to be correct, after placing the trust in
Allah, the Al-Knower: "Then when you have taken the decision, put your
trust in Allah." [Soorah Aal Imraam (3): 159] "And whosever puts
his trust in Allah, He is sufficient for him…" [Soorah at-Talaaq (65):
3] One should be truthful in his intention, sincere in the actions in which he
sought the guidance, while he does that which appears to him correct without
hesitation and sadness, sluggishness or fear, whether his heart is happy or not
about the affair, because the affairs are not determined by the constriction of
the heart, but rather it is determined by Allah granting and making the affair
easy for him.
As He says:"And
it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allah knows but you do not."
[Soorah Baqarah (2): 216] And
since, none of the creation whoever it may be, can prevent good if Allah intends
it for him, nor can they turn away evil if Allah – the Most High – decreed it
for him: "And if Allah touches you with hurt, there is none who can
alleviate but He; and if He intends any good for you, there is none who can
repel His favor, which he causes to reach whomsoever of His slave He wills. And
He is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful." [Soorah Yunus (10): 107]
Does the one making al-Istikharah also seek the council of
People (Istikharah)?
Yes! The one making al-Istikharah should also seek help
from those whom he knows to be righteous and who can give the appropriate advice
and it makes no difference whether this is before al-Istikharah or after it. For
there is no contradiction whatsoever between al-Istikharah and Istiharah
(seeking the advice of the people) because al-Istikharah is from Allah and
Istiharah is from the people. And this was the practice of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu
alaihi wa-sallam), he used to consult his Companions (radhi allahu anhu) and
even sometimes his wives – so he sought their counsel at the Battle of Uhud, he
sought their counsel at the battle of Ditch and he also sought their counsel
with regards to the prisoners of the Battle of Badr and in many other
situations.
Is the outcome of Istikharah related to Dreams?
The idea
behind performing al-Istikharah is that the matter is determined by Allah making
the affair easy and Him granting it. So, having a dream or not makes no
difference, rather if it is assumed that one has a dream how does he know that
the dream is from the Most Merciful or from Shaytaan or from talking souls: The
Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said: "Dreams are of three types; glad
tidings from Allah, whispering of the soul or frightening thoughts from Shaytaan"
[Saheeh al-Bukharee (eng. trans.) vol.8, no.595 and Saheeh Muslim (eng.
trans) vol.4, no.6404] Unfortunately, contrary to the instructions of the
Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam), Muslims today depend entirely on
the prayer to make their decisions. That is, they make the prayer and
supplication prior to making any decision, and rely on dreams to provide the
answers for them. The prayer is often repeated before sleeping for a set number
of days and dream books are consulted to interpret symbols in their dreams. All
this has no basis in the methodology taught by the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi
wa-sallam). However, this is not to say that a good dream may not be acted upon
as a confirmation of a decision, about which istikharah was made.
What are the Affairs in which one can make al-Istikharah?
One can make al-Istikharah only in those affairs that are
allowed (Mubah: action which neither brings about reward if performed nor brings
about punishment if abandoned) like worldly affairs for e.g. travelling, the
modes of transport, business dealings, trade, places and time in which one has a
choice etc.
Al-Istikharah cannot be made in obligatory, recommended,
disliked and forbidden actions, since obligatory actions are forbidden to leave
and forbidden actions are obligatory to leave, for e.g. performing obligatory
Hajj, abandoning of alcohol or other acts of disobedience. Rather, one can make
al-Istikharah in those obligatory and recommended affairs in which there is a
choice e.g. marriage is obligatory but since one has a choice with respect to
whom one should marry, a man may seek guidance (i.e. perform al-Istikharah) with
regard to a particular woman, and a women may seek guidance in regard to a
particular man – but not in marriage itself. Also al-Istikharah can be made if
one is faced with two obligatory duties or conflicting recommended duties, e.g.
the case of marriage and Hajj for the one who only possesses enough money for
either of them. Thus, al-Istikharah can be made in all these affairs, whether
one is sure of them or not, since the purpose of al-Istikharah is asking Allah,
the guidance and ability to do something, and having resolve to do something
does not contradict making al-Istikharah.
Can al-Istikharah be made in those affairs whose result is
known? Yes, since Allah alone knows the reality of Affairs and their
consequences and the saying of Allah should be enough for us: "And it may be
that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which
is bad for you. Allah knows but you do not." [Soorah Baqarah (2): 216]
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Qur'an Translation
Nasheeds, Recitations & Lectures
