Benefits From al-Istikharah Prayer
Compiled & translated
By Abbas Abu Yahya
Jabir bin Abdullaah –RadhiAllaahu
anhu- said the Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa
sallam- used to teach us al-Istikharah (a prayer said
for seeking blessings in carrying out a decision) for all matters, just like he
used to teach us a chapter from the Qur’aan, he would say: If any of you
intends to undertake a matter then he should pray two Rakah other
than an obligatory prayer then he should say
اللَّهُمَّ
إِنِّي أَسْتَخِيرُكَ بِعِلْمِكَ وَأَسْتَقْدِرُكَ بِقُدْرَتِكَ وَأَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ
فَضْلِكَ الْعَظِيمِ ، فَإِنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ وَلَا أَقْدِرُ ، وَتَعْلَمُ وَلَا
أَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتَ عَلَّامُ الْغُيُوبِ ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ
هَذَا الْأَمْرَ خَيْرٌ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي أَوْ قَالَ
عَاجِلِ أَمْرِي وَآجِلِهِ فَاقْدُرْهُ لِي وَيَسِّرْهُ لِي ثُمَّ بَارِكْ لِي
فِيهِ وَإِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرَ شَرٌّ لِي فِي دِينِي
وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي أَوْ قَالَ فِي عَاجِلِ أَمْرِي وَآجِلِهِ
فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي وَاصْرِفْنِي عَنْهُ وَاقْدُرْ لِيَ الْخَيْرَ حَيْثُ كَانَ
ثُمَّ أَرْضِنِي بِهِ
O Allaah I request of You
with Your knowledge, and by Your Power I seek capability, and I ask of you of
your great favour, since indeed You are the One who is able while I am not, and
You know and I do not, and You are the One who knows the unseen. O Allaah if
You know that this matter – here he mentions his need - is good for me in this
world and for my living and for the matters of my Hereafter – or he said, for
my affairs now and the future – then decree it for me and make it easy for me
and bless it for me. And if You know that this matter is evil for me in this
world and for my life and for the matters of my Hereafter – or he said, for my
affairs now and the affairs of my future – then turn it away from me and turn
me away from it, and decree goodness for me where ever it may be and make me
pleased with it.
[Taken from: ‘Kalimah
Tayyib’ by Shaykh-ul-Islaam Ibn Taymeeyah p.115, collected by Bukhari (d.256
A.H.)]
Benefits:
1- Shaykh ul-Islaam Ibn
Taymeeyah (d.728) -Rahimullaah- said :
‘The one who seeks
guidance from the Creator and he consults the creation and is firm in his
issue, will not have any regret.
Allaah Ta’ala said:
<< and consult them
in the matter. Then when you have taken a decision, put your trust in Allaah,
certainly, Allaah loves those who put their trust (in Him). >> [3:159]
Qatada -Rahimullaah- said:
‘There are not a people who
consult over an issue desiring the Face of Allaah except that they are guided
to what leads them to their matter.’
[Hadeeth Salaatul
- al-Istikharah by Dr. Aasim Qurutee p.50 ]
[The Connection with Tawheed]
2 - Shamsuddeen
Muhammad bin Abee Bakr Ibn Qayyim aj-Jawzeeyah (d.751) -Rahimullaah- said:
‘Allaah
compensated the Muslims by giving them this supplication, which is Tawheed, and
it is being in need of Allaah, servitude of worship, reliance upon Allaah,
asking the One in whose Hand is all goodness, Who Alone can turn away evil.
He Alone who, if He opens
up Mercy for His slave then there is none who can seclude a person from that
mercy, and if He (Allaah) withholds it then none can send mercy to a person
whether it is using omens, astrology or lucky stars.
This Dua’ is
the good fortune for the happy person, it is good fortune for the people of
happiness and success, those for whom Allaah gave them happiness before, and it
is not good fortune for the people of Shirk and wretchedness,
those whom associate another deity with Allaah, then soon will they come to
know.
This Dua’ includes
the confirmation and testification of the existence of Allaah –
Subhanahu wa Ta’ala. The confirmation and testification of His Perfect
Attributes, from the perfection of Knowledge and Capability and universal Will.
And it includes the confirmation and testification of Allaah’s Lordship and
entrustment of this matter to Him – Ta’ala – and seeking aid
from Him, and relying upon Him, and a person leaves the responsibility from
himself and acquits himself from any capability and strength except that it is
with Allaah Ta’ala. It also includes the acknowledgement of the
slave of Allaah of the weakness of his knowledge and his own interests and his
own capability upon these things, and his desire for them, and that all of
these things are in the Hand of his Guardian and his Originator and his true
Lord. . . . .’
Ibn al-Qayyim -Rahimullaah- continues:
‘So the purpose of al-Istikharah is
to rely upon Allaah and entrustment to Him and the capability to fulfill the
action with Allaah’s Capability, His knowledge. And that Allaah chooses good
for His slave, and this is from those things which necessitate being pleased
with Allaah as the Lord. As a person will not taste the flavour of Eemaan if
he does not have these things (reliance, entrustment etc), and if he is pleased
with destiny after al-Istikharah then that is a sign of
happiness.’
[Taken from ‘Za’ad
al-Ma’aad’ by Ibn al-Qayyim 2/443-445]
Regarding the importance
of al-Istikharah
3 – The author: Abdullaah
bin Muhammad al-Hamadi says:
‘Indeed the human being has
been created weak, and is in need of Allaah -Ta'ala- in all
his matters and that is because a human does not know from where good and evil
will occur in the future from incidents and events.
This is why, from the
Wisdom of Allaah - Subhanahu - and from His Mercy to His
slaves, He legislated for them this Dua’ so that they can come
closer to their Lord and that they can seek refuge with Him, and that He will
direct them to the path leading towards good and benefits.
Indeed the Muslim slave of
Allaah is upon certainty in which there is no doubt that the management of all
matters and the execution of them is in the Hand of Allaah -Subhanahu
wa Ta'ala - and He is the One who destines and executes whatever He
wills in His creation.
As Allaah Ta’ala says:
<< And your
Lord creates whatsoever He wills and chooses, no choice have they (in any
matter). Glorified be Allaah, and exalted above all that they associate as
partners (with Him). And your Lord knows what their chests conceal, and
what they reveal. And
He is Allaah; Lâ ilâha illa Huwa (none has the right to be
worshipped but He). His is all praise, in the first (i.e. in this world) and in
the last (i.e. in the Hereafter). And for Him is the Decision, and to Him shall
you (all) be returned. >> [al-Qassas: 68-70]
‘Allaama Muhammad bin Ahmad
al-Qurtubi al-Maliki (d. 671 A.H.) -Rahimullaah- said:
‘Some of the scholars have
said: It is not appropriate for anyone to precede upon a matter from the
matters of the Duniya until he asks Allaah for guidance in the
matter by praying twoRakat Salaat -ul-Istikharah.’
[al-Jamia' al-Hakaam
al-Qur'aan (13/202)]
[Following the Sunnah &
the Salaf]
Indeed the Salaf as-Salih
understood this meaning and would seek guidance from their Lord in all their
matters.
[The author brings an
example of when Zaynab –RadhiAllaahu anha- married the
Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- and she
prayed al-Istikharah. The scholars mention that she did this fearing
her shortcomings in fulfilling the rights of the Messenger of Allaah.]
Then he continues:
‘This is how the
Companions –RadhiAllaahu anhum- were eager to follow the
Sunnah and to rely upon Allaah -Subhanahu wa Ta’ala- and seek
aid from Him in preceding with their matters.
And we follow the
methodology of the Companions and those who came after them from the Salaf
as-Salih that is why it is upon us to revive this Sunnah in our lives and rely
upon our Lord - Subhanahu - for He is The Best Master and The
Best Guardian, Disposer of affairs.’
[Taken from ‘Kashf
as-Sitaarah an Salatul-Istikharah’ p.15-17]
4 – Shaykh Muhammad Hayaat
As-Sindi -Rahimullaah- (d. 1163 A.H.) said:
‘Regarding the saying in
the Dua’: ‘If you know that this matter’: This is not a doubt
about the knowledge of Allaah Ta’ala, rather it means; the slave’s absence of
knowledge compared to Allaah’s Knowledge -Subhanahu wa Ta’ala-,
since it is impossible for something to be good, and The all-Knowing and The
All-Aware not have knowledge of it.’
[Hasheeyat as-Sindi ‘ala
Nisa’ee (6/80) [Hadeeth Salaatul -Istikharah by Dr. Aasim
Qurutee p.40 ]
[After the Decision has
been made]
Shaykh Muhammad bin Umar
Bazmool said:
‘That al-Istikharah is
not done when a person is uncertain about the matter at hand; because the
Prophet -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said: ‘If any of you
intends to undertake a matter’ and that the whole of the Dua’ indicates
to this point.
So if a Muslim is uncertain
about a matter, and he intends to pray al-Istikharah , then he
should make a choice between the two matters and then pray al-Istikharah ,
and then after al-Istikharah he executes that matter, and if
it was good then Allaah will make it easy for him and bless him in that, and if
it was not good for him, then Allaah turns it away from him and makes easy for
him that in which there is good by the permission of Allaah -Subhanahu
wa Ta’ala.
[Taken from: ‘Buggeeyat al-Mutattawa’
fee salat at-tattawa’ p.105]
5 - What should be done
after al-Istikharah?
Shaykh ‘Aasim al-Qurutee
said:
‘Shaykh Kamal uddeen
Muhammad bin Ali bin AbdulWahid bin az-Zamalakaani (d.771 A.H.) said:
‘If a person prays
two Rakah al-Istikharah for a matter, then he
should after that do what appears to him, whether his soul becomes delighted to
his own-self or not, since praying al-Istikharah is good, even
if it does not cause one to be happy with his own self. ……. And there is
nothing in the hadeeth that indicates that the soul should become relaxed as a
condition for al-Istikharah to be accepted.’
[‘Tabbaqqat ash-Shafa’eeyah
al-Kubra’ (9/206)]
And Shaykh Muhammad Badr
‘Aalaam said:
‘And know that the scholars
of the past and the present indeed pointed out that it is not conditional
for al-Istikharah that the person who made al-Istikharah sees
a dream or that someone speaks to him or something occurs to his heart and
mind. But rather Allaah Ta’ala makes his heart incline or lean to the side
which causes his heart to be happy and is resolute upon this.’
[‘al-Badr as-Saaree ila
Fayd al-Baari’ 2/247-248]
[Seeing a Dream]
Shaykh Muhammad ‘AttaAllaah
Haneef -Rahimullaah- (d. 1408A.H.) said:
‘Likewise, there is nothing
in the narrations mentioning sleep after al-Istikharah prayer
or recognizing that which is better for that person of what he may see in a
dream.
I bring attention to this,
because many of the people claim that al-Istikharah is seeking
information from Allaah Ta’ala and seeking consultation from Him, so they
invent principles foral-Istikharah which the Messenger of
Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- did not bring.
Then if they do not see a dream in their sleep, they go and seek guidance from
others whom they think are righteous people. Upon my life, indeed this action
of theirs is from a type of fortune telling which the Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu
alayhi wa sallam- prohibited and it negates the Sharia’ aim
ofal-Istikharah.’
He continues:
‘[That al-Istikharah is
having] Tawwakul (reliance upon Allaah) before the action, and
being pleased with it after it. So whoever relied upon Allaah before it, and
was pleased with what it fulfilled after al-Istikharah then he
has established al-Uboodeeyah (servitude of worship for
Allaah).’
[‘Taleeqat as-Salafeeyah
ala Sunnan an-Nisa’ee’ (2/67) [Hadeeth Salaatul -Istikharah by Dr.
Aasim Qurutee p.61-63]
All Praise belongs to Allaah, may His peace
and blessings be upon our final Prophet Muhammad, his family, his Companions
and all those who follow his guidance.
