Bismillahi Rahmani Raheem
Assalaamu alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu
Salaat-ul-Istikhara and its Rulings
(Summary from the Book, "The Three Abandoned Prayers" by Shaykh Adnaan Ali Uroor)
When the servant is concerned about an affair or decides upon a matter, or a problem arises in his mind and he wishes to act upon it, then he should seek guidance from his Lord before embarking upon it (as established in Sahih Bukhari vol.2, no.263; Ahmad 3/344; Abu Dawood vol.1. no.1533, an-Nasa'i no.3253, Tirmidhi no.480, Ibn Majah no.1383) by the following:
FIRSTLY: that he fulfills all the conditions of superogatory prayer - which are the same conditions for the obligatory prayer except the condition of enterning of the time for that particular prayer.
SECONDLY: that he prays two rakaahs of superogatory prayer, with the intention of al-Istikharaah (seeking guidance).
THIRDLY: after the prayer, he should make the supplication of al-Istikharaah:
Translation:
"O Allah, I seek your counsel by Your knowledge and I seek your assistance by Your power and I ask You from Your immense favor, 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 Allah, if You know this affair (and here he mentions his need) to be good for me in relation to my religion, my life and aftermath, then decree it and facilitate it for me, and bless me with it, and if You know this affair to be ill for me concerning my religion, my life and end, then remove me from it, and decree for me what is good, wherever it maybe, and make me satisfied with it"
"The du'aa of one of you in answered so long as he does not become impatient and say "I made a du'aa to my Lord but He did not answer me"" (Bukhari, vol.8 352; Muslim, vol.4 6595).
FOURTHLY: He should have a strong assurance in his Lord and truthful reliance upon his Lord , being sure of guidance, waiting for the answer.
SOME FURTHER POINTS
* Salaat ul Istikharaah is not allowed in the times when salah is prohibited
*There is no specific surah to be recited in al-Istikharaah.
*The du'aa is to be performed after the two rakahs, without interruption. If one forgets to say it immediately but he still has wudhu and is still sitting then he should make it. If one has walked away then he must repeat the two rakahs.
* It is necessary to adhere to the exact text - "Verily the wordings of the duas are maintained exactly to the form established from the Prophet" (an-Nawawi, al-Majmoo 3/495). The scholars differ whether one is permitted to say something before the dua (praising Allah swt) and after it (saying salaam on the Prophet saw), as the general evidences for du'aa suggest this; or if it should be disallowed given al-istikharaah is a specific du'aa, therefore it is not befitting to add to it.
*The general rule is one hands should be raised unless proved that the Prophet (saw) did not do this in a particular dua. "Verily your Lord is generous, shy. If His servant raises his hands to Him (in supplication) He becomes shy to return them empty" (Ahmad, Abu Dawood vol.1 1483, Tirmidhi)
* Whether ones heart inclines towards something before al-Istikharah or not, the individual should still make al-Istikharaah for this affair.
*The individual should also seek guidance from those whom he knows to be righteous, whether before or after performing al-Istikharaah.
*****************************
"There is not a Muslim on the face of the earth that invokes Allah with a supplication except that he will be granted it or will be protected from an evil equal to his supplication, so long as the supplication is not for a sinful matter or for severing the family ties"
(Tirmidhi no.3568; see also Ahmad 3/18; and al-Haakim 1/493)
Assalaamu alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu
Salaat-ul-Istikhara and its Rulings
(Summary from the Book, "The Three Abandoned Prayers" by Shaykh Adnaan Ali Uroor)
(http://www.geocities.com/albayaan/shaban1421/istikhara.html)
When the servant is concerned about an affair or decides upon a matter, or a problem arises in his mind and he wishes to act upon it, then he should seek guidance from his Lord before embarking upon it (as established in Sahih Bukhari vol.2, no.263; Ahmad 3/344; Abu Dawood vol.1. no.1533, an-Nasa'i no.3253, Tirmidhi no.480, Ibn Majah no.1383) by the following:
FIRSTLY: that he fulfills all the conditions of superogatory prayer - which are the same conditions for the obligatory prayer except the condition of enterning of the time for that particular prayer.
SECONDLY: that he prays two rakaahs of superogatory prayer, with the intention of al-Istikharaah (seeking guidance).
THIRDLY: after the prayer, he should make the supplication of al-Istikharaah:
Translation:
"O Allah, I seek your counsel by Your knowledge and I seek your assistance by Your power and I ask You from Your immense favor, 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 Allah, if You know this affair (and here he mentions his need) to be good for me in relation to my religion, my life and aftermath, then decree it and facilitate it for me, and bless me with it, and if You know this affair to be ill for me concerning my religion, my life and end, then remove me from it, and decree for me what is good, wherever it maybe, and make me satisfied with it"
"The du'aa of one of you in answered so long as he does not become impatient and say "I made a du'aa to my Lord but He did not answer me"" (Bukhari, vol.8 352; Muslim, vol.4 6595).
FOURTHLY: He should have a strong assurance in his Lord and truthful reliance upon his Lord , being sure of guidance, waiting for the answer.
SOME FURTHER POINTS
* Salaat ul Istikharaah is not allowed in the times when salah is prohibited
*There is no specific surah to be recited in al-Istikharaah.
*The du'aa is to be performed after the two rakahs, without interruption. If one forgets to say it immediately but he still has wudhu and is still sitting then he should make it. If one has walked away then he must repeat the two rakahs.
* It is necessary to adhere to the exact text - "Verily the wordings of the duas are maintained exactly to the form established from the Prophet" (an-Nawawi, al-Majmoo 3/495). The scholars differ whether one is permitted to say something before the dua (praising Allah swt) and after it (saying salaam on the Prophet saw), as the general evidences for du'aa suggest this; or if it should be disallowed given al-istikharaah is a specific du'aa, therefore it is not befitting to add to it.
*The general rule is one hands should be raised unless proved that the Prophet (saw) did not do this in a particular dua. "Verily your Lord is generous, shy. If His servant raises his hands to Him (in supplication) He becomes shy to return them empty" (Ahmad, Abu Dawood vol.1 1483, Tirmidhi)
* Whether ones heart inclines towards something before al-Istikharah or not, the individual should still make al-Istikharaah for this affair.
*The individual should also seek guidance from those whom he knows to be righteous, whether before or after performing al-Istikharaah.
*****************************
"There is not a Muslim on the face of the earth that invokes Allah with a supplication except that he will be granted it or will be protected from an evil equal to his supplication, so long as the supplication is not for a sinful matter or for severing the family ties"
(Tirmidhi no.3568; see also Ahmad 3/18; and al-Haakim 1/493)
asalaamu alaikum wr wb, thankyou for this alhamdulillah, It is almost time for Fajr and i want to pray istikhara afterwards, but I had no clue what i was doing or anything. Jazakullah khairannnn!!!!!
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