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The description of Salaat al-Istikhaarah was reported by
Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah al-Salami (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said:
“The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to
teach his companions to make istikhaarah in all things, just as he used to
teach them soorahs from the Qur’aan. He said: ‘If any one of you is
concerned about a decision he has to make, then let him pray two rak’ahs of
non-obligatory prayer, then say: Allaahumma inni astakheeruka bi ‘ilmika wa
astaqdiruka bi qudratika wa as’aluka min fadlika, fa innaka taqdiru wa laa
aqdir, wa ta’lamu wa laa a’lam, wa anta ‘allaam al-ghuyoob. Allaahumma fa in
kunta ta’lamu haadha’l-amra (then the matter should be mentioned by name)
khayran li fi ‘aajil amri wa aajilihi (or: fi deeni wa ma’aashi wa ‘aaqibati
amri) faqdurhu li wa yassirhu li thumma baarik li fihi. Allaahumma wa in
kunta ta’lamu annahu sharrun li fi deeni wa ma’aashi wa ‘aaqibati amri (or:
fi ‘aajili amri wa aajilihi) fasrifni ‘anhu [wasrafhu ‘anni] waqdur li al-khayr
haythu kaana thumma radini bihi (O Allaah, 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 Allaah, if in
Your knowledge, this matter (then it should be mentioned by name) is good
for me both in this world and in the Hereafter (or: in my religion, my
livelihood and my affairs), then ordain it for me, make it easy for me, and
bless it for me. And if in Your knowledge it is bad for me and for my
religion, my livelihood and my affairs (or: for me both in this world and
the next), then turn me away from it, [and turn it away from me], and ordain
for me the good wherever it may be and make me pleased with it.”
(Reported by al-Bukhaari, 6841; similar reports are also recorded by al-Tirmidhi,
al-Nisaa’i, Abu Dawood, Ibn Maajah and Ahmad).
Ibn Hijr (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, commenting on this hadeeth:
“Istikhaarah is a word which means asking Allaah to help one make a choice,
meaning choosing the best of two things where one needs to choose one of
them.
Concerning the phrase ‘The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) used to teach us to make istikhaarah in all things,’ Ibn
Abi Jamrah said: ‘It is a general phrase which refers to something specific.
With regard to matters that are waajib (obligatory) or mustahabb (liked or
encouraged), there is no need for istikhaarah to decide whether to do them,
and with regard to matters that are haraam (forbidden) or makrooh
(disliked), there is no need for istikhaarah to decide whether to avoid
them. The issue of istikhaarah is confined to matters that are mubaah
(allowed), or in mustahabb matters when there is a decision to be made as to
which one should be given priority.’ I say: it refers to both great and
small matters, and probably an insignificant issue could form the groundwork
for a big issue.
The phrase ‘If any one of you is concerned…’ appears in the version narrated
by Ibn Mas’ood as: ‘if any one of you wants to do something…’
‘Let him pray two rak’ahs of non-obligatory prayer.’ This is mentioned to
make it clear that it does not mean fajr prayer, for example. Al-Nawawi said
in al-Adhkaar: He can pray istikaarah after two rak’ahs of regular sunnah
prayer done at zuhr for example, or after two rak’ahs of any naafil prayers
whether they are regularly performed or not… It seems to be the case that if
he made the intention to pray istikhaarah at the same time as intending to
pray that particular prayer, this is fine, but not if he did not have this
intention.
Ibn Abi Jamrah said: The wisdom behind putting the salaat before the du’aa’
is that istikhaarah is intended to combine the goodness of this world with
the goodness of the next. A person needs to knock at the door of the King (Allaah),
and there is nothing more effective for this than prayer, because it
contains glorification and praise of Allaah, and expresses one's need for
Him at all times.
The phrase ‘then let him say’ would seem to imply that the du’aa’ should be
said after finishing the prayer, and the word thumma (then) probably means
after reciting all the words of the salaat and before saying salaam.
The phrase ‘O Allaah, I seek Your guidance by virtue of Your knowledge’ is
explaining ‘because You know best.’ Similarly, ‘by virtue of Your power’
most likely means ‘seeking Your help.’ ‘I seek ability’ (astaqdiruka) means
‘I ask You to give me the power or ability (qudrah) to do’ whatever is being
asked for, or it probably means ‘I ask You to decree (tuqaddir) this for
me.’ So it may mean making it easy.
‘I ask You of Your great bounty’ refers to the fact that Allaah gives out of
His great generosity, but no one has the right to His blessings. This is the
opinion of Ahl al-Sunnah.
‘You have power, I have none. And You know, I know not’ refers to the fact
that power and knowledge belong to Allaah alone, and the slave has no share
of them except what Allaah decrees for him.
‘O Allaah, if in Your knowledge this matter…’ According to one report, he
should mention it by name. It is apparent from the context that he should
state it, but it is probably sufficient to be thinking of the matter whilst
making this du’aa’.
‘Then ordain it for me’ means ‘make it happen for me’ or it may mean ‘make
it easy for me.’
‘Then turn it away from me, and turn me away from it’ means ‘so that my
heart will no longer feel attached to it after it has been turned away.’
‘Make me pleased with it’ means ‘make me content with it, so that I will
never regret asking for it or be sorry that it happened, because I do not
know how it will turn out, even if at the time of asking I am pleased with
it.’
The secret is that one’s heart should not be attached to the matter in
question, because that will result in a person becoming restless. Being
pleased with something means that one’s heart is content with the decree of
Allaah.
(Summarized from the commentary of al-Haafiz Ibn Hijr (may Allaah have mercy
on him) on the hadeeth in Saheeh al-Bukhaari, Kitaab al-Da’waat and Kitaab
al-Tawheed.).
Source: Islam-QA.com |
