Power of Salat-ul-Istikhara
Salat al-Istikhara is a powerful tool
Power of Salat-ul-Istikhara: Abdul Sattar
Reprinted from Suhaib Webb's blog, first published May 24, 2008
The Abandoned Prayer
A few years ago, I came across a book that one of my relatives had called: "The Three Abandoned Prayers". In it, the author discusses three prayers that have been largely underused by many Muslims, but which hold great power. They were Salat-ut-Tawbah (The Salah of Repentence), Salat-ul-Istikhara (The Salah of Seeking A God-Guided Outcome in Times of Decision), Salat-ul-Tasbih (The Salah of Glorification of God).
No doubt, many of us have been heedless of these powerful tools for growing in our closeness to Allah, but one in particular which is important to re-think is Istikhara.
The procedure for this Salah, is best described by the hadith:
On the authority of Jaabir Ibn ˜Abdullah he said: The Prophet (S) would instruct us to pray for guidance in all of our concerns, just as he would teach us a chapter from the Qur'an. He (S) would say "if any of you intends to undertake a mater then let him pray two supererogatory units (two rak'ah naafilah) of prayer and after which he should supplicate:
'O Allaah, I seek Your counsel by Your knowledge and by Your power I seek strength and I ask You from Your immense favour, for verily You are able while I am not and verily You know while I do not and You are the Knower of the unseen. O Allaah, if You know this affair -and here he mentions his need- to be good for me in relation to my religion, my life, and end, then decree and facilitate it for me, and bless me with it, and if You know this affair to be ill for me towards my religion, my life, and end, then remove it from me and remove me from it , and decree for me what is good wherever it be and make me satisfied with such.'"
Such a powerful tool we have been given, to admit our complete lack of knowledge, power, ability, and sight, and the absolute dominance of Allah (swt) in all these abilities. Such a great and mighty prayer, comprehensive in its outlook, its span of time, and its effect on our lives. Balanced within this world and the Hereafter. Something which only Divine Guidance could have brought us.
Many of us use this prayer, rightfully, to seek Allah's assistance in making decisions concerning school, getting a job, getting married, going to Hajj, or maybe even choosing a house. Unfortunately though, we have relegated one of the most powerful duas available, to only the most important decisions.
What we don't realize however, is that this prayer need not only be for the most important, crucial decisions in our lives. Why do those who are in Islamic Work, not use this prayer when making decisions in the organization? Why not use it when making difficult choices at work? For a specific project choice or topic choice for a paper in school? Why do we not use it every time we say: "Ya Allah" I wish you would just guide me to what is best for me! orYa Allah! I wish you would just show me what to do!
So many decisions that the activist brother or sister has to make. So many decisions at our workplaces. But in these decisions, we don't remember that much of our worry can be removed by leaving the decision to Allah (swt).
What made the Companions the unique Quranic generation, was that their entire thought process revolved around the Quran and around supplication to Allah. The relegated to Allah and His Messenger, every decision in their lives, after putting forth an intelligent and sincere effort at solving their problems
As the Prophet said: "Ad-Dua mukh-ul-'ibaadah".
Supplication is the essence of worship.
So next time we have a decision, big or small, that is of some consequence, remember -No one who ever consults with his Lord in sincerity, shall ever be displeased with His Decree.
Make use of istikhara! Once an Imam sat with me when I asked his advice and told me something about one of the leaders of the Muslim community. He told me: "Brother, every person who has success in the Deen, has a secret, some worship he does that sets him above and beyond and helps him towards Allah. You know what his [the leader's] secret it? Every time he travels, and I've seen him, he prays istikhara. He asks for guidance in his travels, and on the various affairs of his life, and he makes use of his times of travel to do it. So have some secret that you use also."
Secrets aside, istikhara is powerful. So inshAllah lets use it.
Misconceptions about istikhara:
1. Istikhara is not about having a dream. If one reviews the wording of the hadith, one finds that it is not asking for a dream, it is asking God to make one's affairs occur in the best way. Because one did not have a dream, a sign on a bus or a billboard go by them on the highway, does not mean it didn't "work".
2. You CAN have a dream or a sign, and this is totally possible. But one should recognize that this is primarily about asking Allah to take control and that one is relegating his will to Allah's will, knowledge, and infinite insight about what is best for you. And when you make this, you are finding the best way of putting your heart at ease, by asking Allah (swt) to handle your affairs with what He knows is best and finding comfort that the King of the Heavens and the Earth has your back, inshAllah.
3. Another dua of the Prophet we should all be aware of along this same line can be found here
http://www.makedua.com/display_dua.php?sectionid=27 (scroll to sixth from the bottom for Arabic text):
"O Ever Living, O Self-Subsisting and Supporter of all, by Your mercy I seek assistance, rectify for me all of my affairs and do not leave me to myself, even for the blink of an eye"
May Allah give us the best in this world and the hereafter.
Abdul Sattar
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Please.
create a space for married couple to celebrate marriage for after all that 1/2 our deen
I don't really know what you mean by "create a space for married couples to celebrate marriage."
i would love to know how to perform the istikhara prayer please.. jazaak allaj khair.. i need it big time!!
Zaaraa, see some of the links at the top of this website, like this one for example:
http://www.zawaj.com/askbilqis/salat-al-istikhara-in-arabic/
Jazaak allah khair brother Wael.. i found it after i posted my comment!! lol
thankyou!!! im just alittle uncertain about it, because it dont want to pray it wrong and make allah angry. Do i read a 4 rakaat namaaz and then read the istikhara dua in the last sajda or what?? just alittle confused on the method..... oi need allas help soo badly.. i have been reading other things but i think istikhara would b best me..
Zaaraa, you pray two rakaat. In the first one, after Fatihah you recite Surat Al-Kafiroon, and in the second one Al-Ikhlaas. After you complete the salat, you say the duaa of Istikhara.
Sister, Allah would not be angry with you for doing the prayer wrong. Actions are judged according to intentions. Allah is forgiving and compassionate - Ar-rahman Ar-raheem.
The istikhara duaa in English is:
"O Allah! I seek goodness from Your Knowledge and with Your Power (and Might) I seek strength, and I ask from You Your Great Blessings, because You have the Power and I do not have the power. You Know everything and I do not know, and You have knowledge of the unseen. Oh Allah! If in Your Knowledge this action ------------------------------------------------ (which I intend to do) is better for my religion and faith, for my life and end [death], for here [in this world] and the hereafter then make it destined for me and make it easy for me and then add blessings [baraka'] in it, for me. O Allah! In Your Knowledge if this action is bad for me, bad for my religion and faith, for my life and end [death], for here [in this world] and the hereafter then turn it away from me and turn me away from it and whatever is better for me, ordain [destine] that for me and then make me satisfied with it."
hav perfprmed this salah and so has the person im hoping to marry
it came out as a yes for both of us but just to make sure is it ok for sum1 else to perform it for us, as well?
also, its not reli about gettin a yes or n o in your dream, yur asking Allah saw for guidence so im assumin if it is meant to be then He will bring you to it and if not thn He will tk yu away from it
Tanzila, yes it is okay to ask a religious person to perform Istikhara for you as well, but you should also perform it yourself.
And your understanding of Istikhara is correct, alhamdulillah.
salaams Muhammed
from my understanding after makin salatul istikhara you may have a dream,
however not always.
the concept of this salah is to put trust in Allah (saw),and so if it is meant to be,HE will guide you both.
form personal exparience i can tell you that I had once made this salah for someone i had intended on marrying, i woke up with no clear sign but i felt it was a no.
not being sure i decided to perform it again.
before i got the chance to do so, and as i had askd Allah(saw) to guide me, both him and i had stated to fight alot, we couldnt even talk to eachother,and in a week we separated.
tryng to have sabbar, only a week later i met someone whom my family loves and treats me so well.
we both performd istikhara namaz and it came out as a yes,
and Allah(saw) has trully blessed our life and relationship and inshallah will get married soon.
my point is that its not necessarily about a dream, and perhaps if she feels her mothers istkhara important her mother may reperform it?
if it is a no then trust in Allah(saw), however if your families are happy with eachother and islamicaly you guide eachother then i dont think it is a no
and if it was meant to be a no then you would be arguing alot by now and fighting.if this is not happening then tlak to her ask her mum to make it again,
try understand eachother and dont worry, put all your trust in Allah(saw), and i promise you He will do wat is best for you, for Allah never fails in his promise, have sabbar.
ASAQ,
I want to marry a man who is a hindu but believes in the concept of one god. We broke up last month (when he was away) after which I performed the Istikhara. I got a dream and the answer was a "NO". I was fine with it but now that he's around me (not literally) I want to get married to him and ask Allah to show me a way and to reconsider his answer. We aren't fighting instead we're trying to find a way out....So, I dont know what to say except I hope I get married to him in the right manner 4 I love him!
salaam-alai-kum,
dear sister Ashrin,
i can understand how u must have felt that time, when u wanted 2 marry the hindu..i jus came across this site n saw ur post, i want 2 know wat happened, n did u get married to him or not, n if yes, then how did u work things out..plzz let me know ur state now..
actually, now i also want 2 marry a hindu, n i know its not possible, so im praying all the time to Allah to give him the hidayet to accept Islam..n asking Allah to get me married 2 him in a halal manner, coz i cant imagine my life without him and moverover i cant imagine anyone else in my life other than him...
AOA, know a days i am in a very stressfull condition my marriage is near to its end i have two sons from this marriage my wife name is sadia and from more then 9 years i am really strugling in this marriage we hardly live 15 months togather in different time periods ............ i need a help through Quran and sunnah .
Salam everyone
Just wanted to bring to attention that the 'Salat-al-Istikhara in Urdu' section does not have an Urdu translation under the Arabic dua. Instead what it says in Urdu is to the effect that pray this after two rakaat at night. And if you see the colors green and white in your dream, or a good inclination towards the issue it's a yes sign, and if you see red and black colors or a feeling of that issue's failure it's a sign of 'No'. So that is the archaic or general view I think, and not exactly what Istikhara is about.
I tried an image search and here's one with the Urdu translation under the dua in Arabic:
http://www.recipeapart.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/istikhara.gif
Sister abeer, thanks so much for telling me about that! I thought it was simply a translation of the Arabic duaa. I have updated it with the one from your link, and I added an English translation below that. Jazak Allah khayr!
Wa Iyyakum
It wasn't your fault as the site claimed that it was the Urdu translation... well, people do overlook things, guess they did that. Thanks for the update.
jazakum Allahu khieran
can you read the dua if i can't memorize it
Amy, try to memorize it, but if you cannot then yes you can read it.
I and also the man i wish to marry, are going to perform this.. inshallah allah will guide me.. after all:
''person must do what he is wholeheartedly inclined to do and feels good about doing and should not insist on doing what he has desired to do before making the istikhara. And if his feelings change, he should leave what he had intended to do, otherwise he is not completely leaving the choice of Allah, and would not be honest in seeking aid from Allah's power and knowledge. Sincerity in seeking Allah's choice means that one should completely leave what one oneself desired or determined."
who can I ask to perform the istikhara for me? I live in London
Salam,
I have been longing to get married for a long time. But still i couldnt find any perfect match , so is this prayer gonna help me to find me a perfect person for marriage?? Please advice.
ahmedonline, Istikhara prayer is used when trying to decide on the right course of action in a particular situation. "Should I do this, or should I do that? Would this job be right for me? Would this move be good for me?" Etcetera.
To find your match for marriage, make dua' to Allah to give you a good and righteous spouse who will be a joy to your eyes and comfort to your heart.
My partner and his uncle did istikhara for us to get married and both came out as a 'yes'. But he told his parents about me and they refuse to accept because i am widowed with 2 children. So they have been saying all kinds of bad things about me, really hurtful things to steer him aways from me which is causing me to wana cut off all contact with him. Could they have misinterpreted the istikhara and this is a way for us to separate?
salaam, please someone give me answer. . . im speaking to this guy and have known him for about 10months, the 1st 3 months where great and i did istikhara. . allhumdolillah it was postitve. . families are involved. . just waitng for them to come and ask for my hand in marriage. . .but i always come up with excuses for them not to come. . .after the 1st 3 months we just have been argueing constantly. .we argued in ramzan before opening our roza. . on both eids his birthday and mine. . now im having doubts thinking is it going to be like this if we marry! plz could you give some advice? salaam
Asalaam alaikum dear brothers, i am very grateful for each and everything, May ALLAH reward you on earth and the hereafter. i am a Ugandan muslim girl who had someone i loved so much that we both agreed to get married. however, being a hafidh he rejected a few things like he was told to write a letter by my father to ask for permission for marriage. he said that it is harram, in islam it is not there. we ended up breaking up .but i feel he is the person i really love. what can i do? i love him because of his understanding of islam . however he had someone else bofore we met and i also had. i separated with mine and he did the same. however my ex still runs after metill date. doesn't islam allow to write a letter to the girl's parents asking for marriage? HAJARA
salam sis
i dont think so...there is no need of such letter writing......actually your guy is right...nodoubt......
Allah Knows best
salam sis
i dont think so...there is no need of such letter writing......actually your guy is right...nodoubt......to prove the point .....Allahs messenger SAW never ask Hazrat Ali to write any letter to merry his daughter Fatima (RA) ...so which Hadith is your father refer to...plz let me know too
Allah Knows best
It's ridiculous to say that writing a letter is haram. I think it is a perfectly reasonable request from your father. It sounds like your fiancee is a stubborn, unreasonable and arrogant person.
To sister Avi, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was illiterate. So of course he would not have asked someone to write him a letter. But just because he did not do it, doesn't make it haram. "Haram" is not a light word to throw around here and there. You have to be careful and don't invent your own fatwas.
Wael
IslamicAnswers.com Editor
thanks a lot for the information.
1 doubt : after istikhara, can we pray and seek help to make a decision in our favor. since He has the power n we are mere human who can just seek His help. For cases relating to marriage, can we express what we wish to get.
AOA,
i need to know is istikhra is wajib if
(Question deleted by Editor)
Maliha, Walaykumsalaam,
Your question did not make sense, however this is not the place to ask it. Read through our links on Istikhara. If you need more advice please log in and submit your question as a separate post - this time taking care to add more details.
Thank you
SisterZ
IslamicAnswers.com Editor
jazakallaahu khaira.. 4 da in4mation!
im a girl who hopes to marry. from the time my parents started to find a partner for me, i started praying salathul isthihaara. last tuesday the groom came to see me.. the same nyt during my sleep i dreamt a black dog biting my thigh..
(I deleted the rest of your comment. Please read our articles about Istikhara. Salat-al-Istikhara is not about dreams, or dream interpretation. - IslamicAnswers.com Editor)
I have a question about the Istikhara...
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hi i'm a happily married muslim woman. however, recently i have been thinking about ....
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Salaams. I really need guidance & help.
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Me and my family all did Istikhara a couple of weeks ago...
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Sulman1,
Istikhara is not determined by a dream, please see this link on information about Istikhara: http://www.zawaj.com/askbilqis/salat-al-istikhara-the-guidance-prayer/
If you have any further questions, please log in and submit as a separate post.
SisterZ
IslamicAnswers.com Editor
Then how do you know what decision to take?
On the link that you gave me it says both
"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."
...and
"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."
How do you know what Allah chooses for you?