Istikharah Dua’a
عَنْ جَابِرٍ رضي الله عنه قَالَ : كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يُعَلِّمُنَا الاسْتِخَارَةَ فِي الأُمُورِ كُلِّهَا كَمَا يُعَلِّمُنَا السُّورَةَ مِنْ الْقُرْآنِ يَقُولُ : إذَا هَمَّ أَحَدُكُمْ بِالأَمْرِ فَلْيَرْكَعْ رَكْعَتَيْنِ مِنْ غَيْرِ الْفَرِيضَةِ ثُمَّ لِيَقُلْ : ( اللَّهُمَّ إنِّي أَسْتَخِيرُكَ بِعِلْمِكَ , وَأَسْتَقْدِرُكَ بِقُدْرَتِكَ , وَأَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ الْعَظِيمِ فَإِنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ وَلا أَقْدِرُ , وَتَعْلَمُ وَلا أَعْلَمُ , وَأَنْتَ عَلامُ الْغُيُوبِ , اللَّهُمَّ إنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الأَمْرَ (هنا تسمي حاجتك ) خَيْرٌ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي أَوْ قَالَ : عَاجِلِ أَمْرِي وَآجِلِهِ , فَاقْدُرْهُ لِي وَيَسِّرْهُ لِي ثُمَّ بَارِكْ لِي فِيهِ , اللَّهُمَّ وَإِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الأَمْرَ (هنا تسمي حاجتك ) شَرٌّ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي أَوْ قَالَ : عَاجِلِ أَمْرِي وَآجِلِهِ , فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي وَاصْرِفْنِي عَنْهُ وَاقْدُرْ لِي الْخَيْرَ حَيْثُ كَانَ ثُمَّ ارْضِنِي بِهِ . وَيُسَمِّي حَاجَتَهُ ) وَفِي رواية ( ثُمَّ رَضِّنِي بِهِ( رَوَاهُ الْبُخَارِيُّ)
” Lord God, I ask You to inspire to me by Your Science, I ask You to support me by Your Power and I ask You for Your Incommensurable Grace, because You can all and I nothing, You know all and I do not know anything, because it is You who knows the hidden things. Large God! If you know that it will have good in this business, with regard to my religion, my subsistence and on my destiny (my future) decides in my favour and make it to me easy, then blessed there for me. And if You know that it will result from it an evil for me in my religion, my subsistence and my destiny (my future) draw aside there from me and draw aside-me of it and decide the good for me where it is, then return-me of it ” satisfies; then, that it indicates its business. (Hadith Sahih brought back by the Bokhari Imam).
The importance of istikharah prayer lies in three aspects:The first aspect: the abstraction of lack of God, the negation of relations except with God, the realization of reliance on Him, Glory be to Him, and the delegation of matters to Him, all of which are sublime meanings of monotheism and Islam. His heart is its truth and the wisdom of its legislation.
The second aspect: the success in choosing, success in the matter, and success in the pursuit, so whoever delegates his affair to God will suffice him, and whoever asks God sincerely, he will give him his need and not prevent him.
Al-Ghazali says in Ihya Ulum al-Din (1/206):
Some of the wise said: Whoever was given four was not denied four: whoever was given thanks was not denied more, and whoever was given repentance was not denied acceptance, and whoever was given istikharah was not denied good, and whoever was given advice was not prevented from being right. End
As for the hadeeth: “There is no disappointment in istikhaarah, and there is no regret in the one who consults,” it is a fabricated hadith, see “al-Silsilah al-Da’eefah” (611) by Sheikh Al-Albani.
The third aspect: contentment with the decree, and contentment with what is divided. Whoever seeks God Almighty’s help in his affairs does not regret his choice, and he has in his heart peace and certainty that will ward off all worry or sadness that occurs in his choice, and this aspect is one of the greatest benefits that the prayer of istikhaarah reaps in the heart of the servant.
Ibn Abi Al-Dunya narrated in “Al-Ridha with Allah with His Decree” (92) and others with his chain of transmission on the authority of Wahb bin Munabbih who said:
Dawood, peace be upon him, said: Lord! Which of your servants is the most hated to you? He said: A servant asked me for help in a matter, and I was proud of him, but he was not satisfied with it. End
Ibn al-Qayyim, may God have mercy on him, says in al-Wabil al-Sayyib (157):
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah used to say: He did not regret asking the Creator for advice and consulting with other creatures, and he was firm in his affair.
All of these wisdoms and benefits are gathered by the scholar Ibn al-Qayyim in a wonderful explanation of the importance of the istikharah prayer. He says – as in Zad al-Ma’ad (2/442) -:
And he compensated them with this supplication – the supplication of istikharah – which is monotheism, lack, servitude, trust, and a question to the One in Whose Hand is all goodness, who does not bring good deeds except Him, and does not repay evils except Him, who, if He opens a mercy to His servant, no one can withhold it from him, and if He withholds it no one can send it. To him from flying and astrology and choosing the horoscope and so on, thisSupplication is the auspicious and happy fortune, the fortune of the people of happiness and success, who have preceded them from God’s goodness, not the fortune of the people of polytheism, misery and betrayal who make with God another deity, so they will know.
This supplication included acknowledgment of His existence, glory be to Him, acknowledgment of His attributes of perfection of perfection of knowledge, ability and will, acknowledgment of His lordship, delegating the matter to Him, seeking help from Him, reliance on Him, leaving His self-confidence, abstaining from power and strength except by Him, and acknowledging the servant’s inability to know his self-interest and ability to it. , And his will for her, and that thatIt is all in the hands of his guardian, his Creator, and his true God, and in the “Musnad of Imam Ahmad” from the hadith of Saad bin Abi Waqqas on the authority of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, that he said: Allah )
Reflect on how the decreed occurred surrounded by two things: trust, which is the content of istikhaarah before it, and contentment with what God decrees for him after it, and they are the sign of happiness. The title of misery is to be surrounded by abandoning trust and istikhaarah before it, and discontentment after it.
And trust is before the judiciary, so if the judiciary is concluded and slavery is transferred to contentment after it, as in the “Musnad”, and an-Nasa’i added in the famous supplication: (I ask you for contentment after the judiciary).
This is more eloquent than contentment with a decree, for it may be a determination, and if the judgment takes place, the resolve is dissolved, and if consent occurs after the judgment is made, it is a state or a station.
What is meant is that istikharah is entrusted to God, delegated to Him, divided by His ability and knowledge, and the good choice of His servant, and it is one of the requirements for contentment with Him, who does not taste the taste of faith if he is not like that.
God knows .
Istikhaarah is defined as seeking goodness in a thing, and God – Glory be to Him – has prescribed the istikharah prayer in permissible matters, such as: travel, marriage, work, and many other things.
Muslims resort to the istikhaarah prayer. Following the example of the Prophet – may God bless him and grant him peace -; In the hadith of Jaber bin Abdullah that he said: “The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, used to teach us istikharah in all matters, just as he would teach us a surah from the Qur’an.”
Istikhara prayer supplication
«اللهُمَّ إنِّي أسْتَخيرُكَ بعِلْمِكَ، وأسْتَقْدِرُكَ بقُدْرَتِكَ، وأسْألُكَ مِنْ فضلِكَ العَظِيم، فإنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ ولا أقْدِرُ، وتَعْلَمُ ولا أعْلَمُ، وأنْتَ عَلاَّمُ الغُيوبِ، اللهُمَّ إنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أن هذَا الأمرَ – ويُسمِّي حَاجَتَه – خَيرٌ لي في دِيني ومَعَاشي وعَاقِبَةِ أمْري – أو قالَ:عَاجِلهِ وآجِلِهِ – فاقْدُرْهُ لي ويَسِّرْهُ لي، ثمَّ بَارِكْ لي فيهِ، وإنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أنَّ هذا الأمْرَ شَرٌّ لي في دِينِي ومَعَاشي وعَاقِبَةِ أمري – أوْ قالَ: عَاجِلِهِ وآجِلِهِ – فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي، وَاصْرِفْنِي عَنْهُ، واقْدُرْ لِيَ الـخَيْرَ حَيْثُ كَانَ، ثُمَّأرْضِنِي بِهِ».
How to pray istikharah
To perform the istikharah prayer in a specific way, it is represented in the following steps:
1- Wudu, then summoning the intention to perform the istikhaarah prayer.
2- Praying two rak’ahs other than the obligatory prayer, and it is Sunnah for a Muslim to recite Surat Al-Kafiroon in the first rak’ah after Al-Fatihah, and in the second rak’ah after Al-Fatihah Surat Al-Ikhlas, then the tasleem of the prayer.
3- Supplication after completing the prayer, by raising his hands to God Almighty, evoking reverence, and sensing God’s power and greatness.
4- Starting supplication with praise and praise of God, then praying for the Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, then start reading the supplication for istikharah mentioned in the hadeeth of the Prophet – may God’s prayers and peace be upon him -, where he said: You are capable and I am not, and you know and I do not, and you areThe Knower of the unseen, O God, if You know this matter – then name it by its specifics – it is good for me in my immediate and future affairs – he said: Or in my religion, my livelihood and the outcome of my affair – then decree it for me and make it easy for me, then bless me in it, O God, and if you are evil in me And the consequence of my affair – or he said: In the immediate and the future of my affair – so dismiss mefrom him, and ordain for me the good wherever it is, then please me with it).5- Naming the command and specifying it when arriving in the supplication to say: (Oh God, if you know this matter), then complete the supplication to its end, then conclude the supplication by praying to the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, as the command at its beginning, and thus the istikharah prayer has ended. .
Conditions for istikharah prayer
The istikharah prayer has several conditions, including:
1- Istikhaarah should be in matters of which the Muslim does not know the good or the bad. Worships and duties are not used for them, and so are the prohibitions and prohibitions, except if he wanted to explain the specifics of the time in that. Such as being used for Hajj this year or the next.
2- To be in permissible matters, or delegates in the event of a conflict of more than one delegate.
Istikharah fruits
Istikhara has many fruits and benefits, most notably:1- The indication of the believer’s resentment to God, attached to him, and trust in him in all matters of life, and a certainty from the servant that the good is what God chose, where God Almighty said: (And it is good for you to hate something and it is good for you And you are notyou know).2- Being close to God, and getting reward from Him, as it consists of prayer and supplication, both of which are good and worshipOut of confusion to stability, and from doubt to peace of mind; Because the servant has delegated his command to God Almighty, and put his trust in Him, and He is the One in whose hand is the kingdom of everything, as God Almighty said: (Say that the matter is all for God).
3- Acquiring good and repelling evil. Because the good will be in God’s choice of the servant, not in his choice of himself, for God – the Exalted and Most High – is the All-Seeing of the servants, the All-Knowing of them, the Knower of their conditions, and what is suitable for them.
4- Denying the heart’s attachment to something other than God – the Most High – and resorting to Him, putting our trust in Him, and delegating the matter to Him, all of which strengthen the oneness of God in the heart.
5- Taking the reasons, accompanied by Allah’s success for the Muslim in his quest, and writing the success for him in his choice; Whoever believed God in his question, God gave him his need and did not return it.
6- Achieving tranquility and certainty in the heart of the servant, and contentment with God’s decree and predestination, so that he will repel the worry and sadness that may occur because of his choice.
The difference between Istikhara and Consultation
Istikharah is from the servant to God – the Most High -, in which he asks him to make his affairs easy for him, and to choose for him what benefits him. Where the Prophet – may God bless him and grant him peace – consulted his companions by order of God, and that is in his saying-تعالى-: « فَبِمَا رَحْمَةٍ مِّنَ اللَّهِ لِنتَ لَهُمْ ۖ وَلَوْ كُنتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ الْقَلْبِ لَانفَضُّوا مِنْ حَوْلِكَ ۖ فَاعْفُ عَنْهُمْ وَاسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ وَشَاوِرْهُمْ فِي الْأَمْرِ ۖ فَإِذَا عَزَمْتَ فَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ».
How do you know the result of the istikharah prayer?
If the servant performs the istikharah prayer, and turns to God in supplication, then he then wonders about knowing the result.
1- Chest rejoicing, which is the person’s inclination and satisfaction with the matter for which God asked God for help.
2- Chest constriction, which is the feeling of the person making the istikhaarah of distress and aversion to the matter for which God sought istikhaarah.
3- Having a dream in a dream, and it is not a condition after istikhaarah, but it may come to a person after his istikhaarah, then he should ask the people of knowledge about its interpretation, which helps him to know what is correct.
4- Ignorance of the situation, as the chest does not open and does not contract, and in this case it is better for the person who uses the person to make istikhaarah to repeat his istikhaarah until something appears to him of relief or not.
5- That his condition remains unknown, even after his istikhaarah is repeated, and at that time it is preferable for the servant to turn to the people of knowledge and experience, and the people of sound minds, to ask them about the matter, and to consult them in it, for it was narrated: