Reply of istakhara
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
Dear
Brother,
salam
u alaikum.
I read
your question and answer archive quite regularly and find it very helpful in
better understanding Islam. Thank you for doing such a great service to us all.
May Allah reward you. I have read in detail about Istikhara on your website and
still have a few concerns. I hope that like always you will be able to help me
out in the light of the quran and sunnah.
Just
recently me and my husband both agreed that I should go back to school. In this
regard, we were faced with a few very difficult choices. We both decided
to do istikhara for the purpose. I have been doing the dua for over 7 days and
my husband for a little less than 7 days. So far we are both equally confused.
Infact both the options that we were considering seem to be becoming
easier. So one moment I am tilted towards one option and the other moment I am
completely tilted towards the other. What does this mean? If both the options
seem to be getting easier then which one do you choose? How much longer should
I continue to do istikhara and can i continue to do the istikhara even if i am
menstruating?
Secondly
last night (after fajr) I woke up due to a horrible nightmare. although the
nightmare had nothing to do with the decision at hand, it left me wondering if
there was any link with the istikhara. I have heard that dreams after fajr are
from shaytan and should be ignored. Is that true?
Please
help me out. We are faced with deadline and we are still totally confused. I
dont understand how both the options seem to be getting easier. How do we
determine which path to take?
Your
sister.
(There may be some grammatical and spelling
errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from
questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in
confidentiality.)
Answer:
Reply of istakhara
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His
help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide,
and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear
witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear
witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His
Messengers.
Hadrat Saad ibn abi-Waqas (r.a.) reported
that the Prophet (saws) said, "Istikharah (seeking guidance from Allah) is
one of the distinct favors (of Allah) upon man, and a good fortune for the son
of Adam is to be pleased with the Judgment of Allah. And a misfortune of the son of Adam is his
failure to make ‘istikharah’ (seeking Allah's guidance), and a misfortune for
the son of Adam is his displeasure with the Judgment of Allah."
Contrary to popular belief, it is not as if whenever one performs
‘istakharah’, one will get an immediate answer from the Merciful Lord in one’s
dream (although it may happen!), or something tangible; but what happens is, if
one completely puts one’s trust in Allah Subhanah and makes a choice between
the permissible alternatives, one will easily be able to recognize the
permissibility of their choice made.
If the choice made is right, Allah Subhanah will make that
option easily available and clear all the difficulties in the path of obtaining
that good option; and as one sees the ease with which the option is carried
out, he/she will realize that this is
indeed the right choice and the result of the istakhara was in the affirmative;
and it is the fulfillment of this option which is acceptable and pleasing to
Allah Subhanah.
But if the choice is wrong and detrimental in the future,
Allah Subhanah will make the happening of the option difficult and one will
experience blockages and difficulties in the way of achieving that option; and
at some stage; when after trying everything in one’s power the option is still
not coming to a conclusion, one will realize that this was not the right choice
and the result of the istakhara done was negative.
Respected sister, assuming that you did the ‘istakhara’
seeking Guidance from your Lord whether or not you should join a school, and
your heart is unable to decide with conviction one way or the other….the best
thing to do would be to go ahead and apply to join the school of your
choice.
If the school readily accepts you, and you find that
everything in the path is made easy….know with conviction that this act of
yours is with the Approval of your Lord and its path will be blessed for you.
But if during the application and enrollment process you
find that at every turn your path is being blocked by one thing or another,
that no matter how hard you try, a ‘wall’ is being placed in front of you….know
with absolute conviction that this path is neither approved nor blessed by your
Lord and you should immediately take steps to not only stop the enrollment
process, but make your heart content that this step was unprofitable for you in
the Perfect Knowledge of your Lord Most Gracious.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only
due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me
alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is
the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan