Response to istikhara.
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:
I
firmly believe this site is the right choice for solving my problem .The thing
is that Ive to decide about a major issue and I dont know what to do. I did
Istikhara twice, but Im not coming to any conclusion, I
know its not necessary that u get any indication in
I
hope to hear from u ASAP. Let me tell u that I have no time
to think abt my issue and Ive to decide immediately. Im so confused and
frustrated as I dont want to take a step which makes me regret later. I hope u
can solve my problem. May Allah shower his blessings upon you.
Allah
Hafiz
(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:
Response to
istikhara
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."
Translation of the du'a of ‘Istikhara’:
‘O Allah! I seek Your guidance (in making a choice) by virtue of Your
knowledge, and I seek ability by virtue of Your power, and I ask You of Your
great bounty. You have power, I have none. And You know, I know not. You are
the Knower of hidden things.
O Allah! If in Your knowledge, (this matter) is good for my religion, my
livelihood and my affairs; immediate and in the distant, then ordain for me,
make it easy for me and bless it for me. And if in Your knowledge, (this
matter) is bad for my religion, my livelihood and my affairs; immediate and
in the distant, then turn it away from me, and turn me away from it. And
ordain for me the good wherever it be and make me pleased with it.’
Contrary to popular belief, it is not as if whenever one performs the Sunnah of ‘istakharah’, one will get an immediate or direct 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 trust in Allah Subhanah and makes a choice between the permissible alternatives, one will easily be able to recognize the permissibility of one’s 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,
one 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’ was negative.
Your
Question: Someone told me that seeing anything white or green in
Respected sister in Islam, rest absolutely assured that
the response of the ‘istikhara’ is not ‘color-coded’; and the colors one sees
or experiences in one’s dream or otherwise are absolutely unrelated to one’s
response of the ‘istikhara’!
Your
Question: ….The thing is that Iʼve to decide about a major issue and I
donʼt know what to do. I did Istikhara twice, but Iʼm not coming to any conclusion.
Lets assume one has a few proposals of marriage to choose
from, and unable to make this major decision by oneself, one seeks the help and
counsel of their Lord Most Gracious by performing the preferred Sunnah of
‘Istikhara’…..
After one has performed the Sunnah of ‘Istikhara’, one
should put one full trust and belief in the Power of their Lord Most Majestic
Most Supreme, and from amongst the available proposal, proceed with the one
which one is most inclined to.
If the process thereafter goes smoothly to its conclusion,
one should know with absolute conviction that the response of the ‘istikhara’
they had performed was positive and the conclusion is acceptable to Allah
Subhanah; and if no matter how hard one tries, one sees that the choice they
have made is just not reaching its conclusion, and one experiences blockages
after blockages with their decision reaching its natural conclusion…….one
should know that this decision of theirs is unacceptable to their Lord and the
response of their ‘istikhara’ was in the negative.
Regardless of whether the response of the ‘istikhara’ was
positive or negative, one should wholeheartedly accept whatever transpires with
the absolute conviction that what did transpire after they performed the
‘istikhara’ was the best decision and acceptable and pleasing to their Lord
Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
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