Hey everybody, there’s this beautiful Du’aa’ (supplication) that Shaykh Hossam (who taught at the Islamic University of Madeenah for over 10 years, has received many Ijaazaat, and is a senior scholar) has been teaching us at PGMA for a number of nights now, and I wanted to share it with you in this post.
It is called, the Du’aa’ of Istikhaarah. Which the Prophet taught to his Companions (and as is mentioned in Saheeh al-Bukhaari, Jaabir) says that: كان النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يعلمنا الاستخارة في الأمور كلها ، كالسورة من القرآن The Prophet used to sit and teach us the (Supplication of) Istikhaarah [and he advised us to say it] regarding all of our matters & affairs. And he would teach us this Du’aa’, like he would teach us the Surahs of the Qur`aan.)
Okay, now here are a few things to note:
Istikhaarah, is an Arabic word which literally means, seeking (counsel, guidance for) what is good, what is best.
Hence, you’ll find that the Du’aa’ begins with the words: اَللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْتَخِيْرُكَ
“O Allah, I am doing Istikhaarah to You” i.e. I am seeking Your guidance/counsel, as to what is going to be best for me.
بِعِلْمِكَ ”…by Your (infinite) knowledge.” i.e. the reason I’m asking You to guide me, to direct me, to what is best for me — is because of Your infinite knowledge.
Later on, in the Du’aa’, you say: اَللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنتَ تَعْلَمُ, أَنَّ هَاذَا الأَمْرَ
“O Allah! If You know that this matter…” — and here, the Prophet told the Companions that, ‘You should mention your matter, whatever it is.’ Marriage, a job, a family issue, whatever. Basically, any decision that you’re about to make, if you say this Du`aa` of Istikhaarah before doing it … then Allah will guide you in that matter.
This will be like your “Divine GPS” :)
خَيْرٌ لِي, فِي دِيْنِي, وَمَعَاشِي, وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي
“…is going to be good for me, in relation to my Deen, and in relation to my worldly life (and livelihood), and also in relation to my Hereafter”
And the rest of the Du`aa` goes on… Then (O Allah), decree it for me, make it easy for me & bless me in it.
And if — in Your knowledge (O Allah) — You know that this ‘matter’ is gonna be bad for me, either in my Deen, or in my worldly life, or in my Hereafter, then take it away from me & me away from it. And decree what is best for me, wherever it may be. And then make me pleased with it.
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The above was just an overview, of some of the meanings of this Du`aa`. I’ll just leave it at that and let you discover some of the other meanings on your own. As for the actual Du`aa`, in its entirety, with the translation, and some comments of how (or when) a person should say it… see the below:
Once again, the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallaam) taught us to say the following du’aa’, when we’re about to make any decision:
اَللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْتَخِيْرُكَ بِعِلْمِكَ
وَأَسْتَقْدِرُكَ بِقُدْرَتِكَ, وأَسْـأَلُكَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ العَظِيم.ي
فَإِنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ وَلاَ أَقْدِرُ, وَتَعْلَمُ وَلاَ أَعْلَمُ, وَأَنْتَ عَلاَّمُ الغَيُوب.ي
اَللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَاذَا الأَمْرَ — خَيْرٌ لِي فِي دِينِي
وَمَعَاشِي, وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي, فَاقْدِرْهُ لِي, وَيَسِّرْهُ لِي, ثُمَّ بَارِكْ لِي فِيه.ي
وَإِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَاذَا الأَمْرَ, شَرٌّ لِي فِي دِينِي, وَمَعَاشِي
وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي, فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي, وَاصْرِفْنِي عَنهُ, وَاقْدِرْ لِيَ الْخَيْرَ حَيثُ كاَنَ, ثُمَّ رَضِّنِي بِه.ث
“O Allah! I seek Your guidance for that which is good, because of Your infinite knowledge, and Your ultimate power. And I ask You from Your great bounty. Certainly, You are able and I am not. You have (infinite) knowledge and I do not. You are the Knower of the hidden (past, present and future). O Allah, if You know that this matter — (then you name your matter) — is good for me, in my deen, in my life, and in my Hereafter, then make it possible for me, and make it easy (smooth) for me, and then bless me in it. And if You know that this matter is going to be bad for me, in my deen, in my life, and in my Hereafter, then take it away from me, and take me away from it. And (O Allah) take me to that which is good wherever it may be, and make me pleased with it.”
The Sunnah (what the Prophet taught his Companions) is that you first pray 2 normal Rak’ahs [2 units of Prayer]. Then after you finish the 2 Rak’ahs, you raise your hands up and say this du’aa’, sincerely and earnestly.
Some ’scholars’ say that, after you make this du’aa’ you will have a dream indicating to you what is best — but the thing is, this has no proof (it’s just an opinion). The Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) – when he taught the Companions to say this du’aa’ – he never told them that they would see a dream afterwards. Therefore note that this is just an opinion by some scholars, and is not necessarily accurate.
The correct understanding is this: That you pray the 2 Rak’ahs, and make this du’aa’ sincerely. Then wait for a while, and afterwards, the decision that you feel more inclined towards, is the correct one.
So after making this du’aa’, go ahead and make the decision that you choose. Because you asked Allah to guide you to the best choice ~ hence, whatever choice you make now will be under Allah’s Guidance. If it is good for you, Allah will make it easy and smooth for you. If it is something bad, then Allah will take it away from you and you away from it, and give you something that will be better for you.
Generally, you should make this du’aa’ just once. If you wanna do it more times, that’s up to you. Lastly, to learn more about the beauty & inner dimensions of the Prayer of Istikhaarah, please you just have to watch this awesome video, entitled: The Divine GPS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHvkBOtsA4E
