istikharah- how to and why- abdul nasir jangda

7/23/2019 Istikharah- How to and Why- Abdul Nasir Jangda

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Abdul Nasir Jangda | Istikharah: How to and Why?

Lecture by Abdul Nasir Jangda | Transcribed by Sameera

[The following is the video and transcript of Shaykh Abdul Nasir's lecture "Istikharah: ow to and !hy#"The transcript includes slight modifications for the sake of readability and clarity#]

The word istikh$rah comes from the root word of khayr . %hayr in the Arabic language in its origins isrepresentative of all that which is good. %hayr is an umbrella word that represents all that which is good.

Istikh$rah means to see the good and see that which is good. This is the meaning of the word istikh$rah itself.Just lie the meaning! t

he prayer s &al$t'listikh$rah! which is from the Sunnah of the "rophet ! is an authentically narrated

Sunnah of the "rophet and an e#tremely emphasi$ed practice of the %essenger . Just lie themeaning of the word istikh$rah! the purpose of the s &al$h is similarly to see that which is good from All&h

. ' want to insh$'All$h have this session to e#plain the procedure and the purpose of istikh$rah.

' am going to split today(s presentation into two parts. The first part will focus on the ritual itself! meaningthe technicalities! procedure! concept and outcome of istikh$rah. The second part of the lecture will focuson the purpose of the istikh$rah! which is e#plaining the meaning and beauty of the supplication ofistikh$rah itself because that unlocs the purpose and the reason why we even do istikh$rah.

Basic PointsTo begin with the technicalities! ' would lie to begin with a few basic points. The first is the concept ofistikh$rah to understand istikh$rah conceptually and what it is. ' can e#plain best to you what istikh$rah is

by e#plaining to you what istikh$rah is not. As they say in Arabic! sometimes the best way to get to nowsomething is to now the opposite of it. The best way ' can help you understand what istikh$rah isconceptually and the role and purpose of istikh$rah is by e#plaining to you what it most definitely is not.

Istikh$rah is not a %agic ) ball. *id you ever buy that+ ,ou get it at the mall as a gag gift. ,ou as the%agic ) ball! -hould ' go to the mall today+/ [hae it]. -%aybe./ This is the %agic ) ball. 0hat ' amtrying to say by giving you this silly e#ample is what people play around with when playing with the%agic ) ball is throw out a random 1uestion! shae the %agic ) ball and get a magical answer and go withit. 't is ind of lie rolling the dice. Istikh$rah is not that.

Decision aking Process: ! "te#s Istikh$rah is the third of a three2step decision maing process. The first step of a decision maing process

is to use the 3od2given intellect! ability! and critical thining that All&h has blessed each and everysingle human being with in different capacities. All&h has granted every human being the ability to taefactors into consideration and weigh different options and thin about! ponder! contemplate! and process.That is the first step of the decision maing process in the life of the believer. 4e first uses his 'a(l !intelligence and ability to thin that All&h has given him.

There is a reason that All&h emphasi$es the 'a(l ! uli'lalb$b) and these types of things in the 5ur(an

because these are from the greatest of All&h(s blessings. That is the first step of the decision maing

process6 Tae your circumstances into consideration! loo at the options available to you! and then sit downand thin and try to figure out and do some research and try to come to somewhat of a conclusion. At leasttry to narrow your options and come to somewhat of a conclusion. This is number one.

http://muslimmatters.org/2012/01/13/abdul-nasir-jangda-istikharah-how-to-and-why-2/

http://muslimmatters.org/2012/01/13/abdul-nasir-jangda-istikharah-how-to-and-why-2/



The second step of a decision maing process is istish$rah. 't is the Arabic word for seeing counsel andseeing advice. The ne#t step of the process is to then see some counsel and advice! and it really dependson what type of a decision you are trying to mae. 'f you want to buy a car! you first do some researchonline and do some car shopping and test drove and narrow down to about three or four different cars thatyou are thining about. Then what you could do! for instance! is go to a brother from the mas*id who is acar mechanic. it down with that brother and say! -7rother! ' want to tae advice from you because youare e#perienced and nowledgeable about cars. 0hat do you recommend+ These are the three or four cars' am looing at./ 4e says! -' wouldn(t buy that because it has transmission problems. This car wears outreally 1uicly! etc./

Now you are seeing counsel and advice. 'f it is a more personal issue! something that is a life typedecision! then you see the counsel and advice from somebody who sincerely and honestly cares aboutyou! somebody who is e#perienced and mature and maybe even spiritually focused so that they have awell2rounded perspective they can provide to you.

That is istish$rah and seeing counsel. This is the second step of the decision2maing process.The third and final step of the decision maing process is now istikh$rah. 0hat has occurred up to this

point is that you started with no idea of what to do. ,ou narrowed it down to maybe half a do$en different

options and sought some counsel and got some advice from someone and are down to your last couple ofoptions. At this point in time! you are struggling with this or that and are starting to lean a little moretowards one direction. ,ou are thining about two cars and are leaning towards buying a convertible! forinstance 8 random e#ample. ,ou are thining about buying the 9amaro over the mini2van. No brainer! butnevertheless for some strange reason you are conflicted. %aybe you have two ids! but it doesn(t matter!they can sit in the bacseat.

,ou are starting to lean in one direction! but you are little conflicted and :ust need a little bit of a push andconvincing. ,ou are looing for that confidence to mae your decision that you have come to by criticalthining 8 apply your intellect and do some research 8 and you sought some counseling. ,ou are leaningin a direction but need some confidence and some clarity of heart. This is where istikh$rah comes in.

0hat ' have :ust e#plained to you removes many of the issues and 1uestions that people have aboutistikh$rah itself. A lot of people are confused about istikh$rah because they try to use it lie the %agic )

ball. -' have got to buy a house. Let me do istikh$rah./ 0hat do you thin is going to happen+ Are youmagically going to see a house in your dreams and going to go searching for it and find it and buy it+ 'tdoesn(t wor that way. ,ou don(t decide that you need to buy a car and then pray istikh$rah and a 4onda9ivic is going to fall on you. 't doesn(t wor that way.

0hen people try to utili$e istikh$rah in that way! then they wal away confused and say! -hayh! ' madeistikh$rah and ' can(t figure anything out. 't(s not woring./ ,ou don(t change the batteries in youristikh$rah! right+ 0hat is basically going on is that you are not utili$ing it properly. Anything that is not

utili$ed properly is not going to wor right. ,ou have to utili$e it properly and appropriately. %ae sureyou turn it into the third of a three2step decision maing process. This is the concept and role of istikh$rah.

Prere$uisites o% IstikhārahThe ne#t thing ' would lie to e#plain are the prere1uisites of istikh$rah. 0hat is re1uired to doistikh$rah+

' am going to give you the actual narration! but for now we are :ust going to roll with it and spea a littlemore generally. 0hat is re1uired for the istikh$rah is what is re1uired for any other prayer! which is youneed to mae sure that you are pure and clean! clothed appropriately! have wud &+' . ,ou do not re1uire a

bath of purification. ,ou face towards the (iblah. That is what is re1uired for istikh$rah.7asically whatever is re1uired to normally pray is what is re1uired for istikh$rah. There are no other e#tra

prere1uisites or re1uirements for istikh$rah. ,ou don(t have to pray it immediately before you go to sleep.,ou don(t have to tae a shower and then immediately pray istikh$rah. ,ou need wud &+' for prayer; you



need wud &+' for istikh$rah. Istikh$rah is a prayer :ust lie dhuhr is a prayer and nafl would be a prayer.,ou don(t need to stop taling to people when you decide to do istikh$rah. ,ou don(t need to wae up inthe middle of the night and do istikh$rah. ,ou don(t have to go stand on top of a mountain on one leg anddo istikh$rah. ,ou get my drift at this point 8 anything e#tra that you may heard! come across! or assumedthat is needed for istikh$rah aside from what is needed for prayer. !ud &+' ! dressing appropriately! facingthe (iblah! All&hu abar 8 that is istikh$rah.

The only thing ' will add in here is that according to the opinion of the ma:ority of scholars! there are smalldifference of opinion 8 '(m going to tell you what the ma:ority of scholars say. 'n s &al$t'listikh$rah! thereare not ma:or differences of opinion. There are a few minor opinions here and there that differ from thevast ma:ority. '(m :ust going to go ahead and share the ma:ority opinion because it is an overwhelmingma:ority opinion.

The overwhelming ma:ority opinion is that the only thing you have to watch out for is what you watch outfor in other prayers. %ae sure you don(t pray istikh$rah at the times when prayer is forbidden. Those arethree basic times of the day6 while the sun is rising! when the sun is at its pea <which lasts for a minute orso=! and the setting of the sun. Those three times of the day are when we are told not to pray. 't is the samere1uirements of s &al$h and for istikh$rah.

These are the prere1uisites of istikh$rah.

Procedure0hat is the procedure of istikh$rah+ There is a se1uence of events or procedure. >nce you fulfill the

prere1uisites! you will stand up and pray two rak ahsʿ ! two units! of nafl <voluntary! supererogatory= prayer.0hy am ' emphasi$ing and specifying it to be two rak ahsʿ of a voluntary prayer+ 0hen we read the te#tof the h &ad,th together insh$'All$h! at that time you will see it. 't is mentioned e#plicitly within the te#t of

the h &ad,th by the %essenger of All&h . No debate and no 1uestion here.0hat that means is that you can(t pray s &al$t'l'ish$' and mae the supplication of istikh$rah 8 two for one!

all done. ,ou can(t do that.

The "rophet e#plicitly said that you have to invest two more e#tra rak ahsʿ of prayer that are voluntaryand optional. ,ou pray those two rak ahsʿ of prayer. There is nothing different about those two units of

prayer. ,ou pray them as you should pray any other s &al$h. There(s obviously room for improvement in my prayer! and '(m pretty sure everybody feels there is room for improvement within their prayers! so asidefrom that entire discussion! basically you pray istikh$rah lie you would pray any other prayer! which is

two rak ahsʿ ! (iy$m! ruk+' ! su*+d . ,ou sit at the end! tashahhud ! s &alaw$t on the %essenger !supplication! sal$m! and that(s it. That is the procedure of the istikh$rah.

There is no e#tra special s+rah that should be recited here. There(s nothing that is authentically narratedfrom the "rophet about reciting this in the first rak ahʿ and that in the second rak ahʿ . There is nothingof that sort. Just pray two rak ahsʿ of prayer.

>nce you finish these two rak ahsʿ of prayer! which means the tasl,m! you then at that time recite the e#act

supplication taught to us by the "rophet in the Arabic language. ,ou read it in Arabic. Again! here! thevast overwhelming ma:ority of scholars are of the opinion that the supplication of istikh$rah is to be doneafter the prayer. There are a couple of opinions here and there to do it before the tasl,m; however! the vastma:ority overwhelming ma:ority! and again! if you analy$e the te#t of the h &ad,th! which '(m going to point

out to you when we do read the h &ad,th of the "rophet ! you will see that the "rophet mentions a

word which maes it very clear that the supplication is meant to be said after the prayer is done.

Now at this point we recite the supplication. ?ead the supplication in Arabic. 0hy am ' e#plicitly sayingthat+ Again! the h &ad,th very clearly mentions that fact. A 1uestion comes up here6 what if ' don(t have itmemori$ed+ ?ead it off of a piece of paper. -u(ah$' have stated that very clearly if somebody needs to



read it off of a piece of paper! that is o. ?ead it out of a boo! read it off of a piece of paper! photocopy it!do what you have to do. Nevertheless! read the actual Arabic of the supplication. *on(t read the

summari$ed @nglish translation. 0hen we read the te#t of the h &ad,th! we see the "rophet e#plicitlysaid! -?ead it as ' have taught you./

The other thing ' want to state is 8 :ust in case anyone is watching the video or listening to the lecture 8what if somebody can(t read Arabic+ se a transliteration or something of that nature to the best of your

ability. >f course if somebody recently too shah$dah or somebody recently came into connection withtheir d,n! there is always an e#ception to the rule.

0e do not give enough consideration to people who have had a ma:or turning point in their life! whetherwe are taling about people who may have been born in %uslim families but :ust not raised with the d,n and come to practice the d,n later on in their lives! or if we are taling about reverts and converts! peoplewho too shah$dah later in life. 9onsideration should always be given to them! and it should beunderstood that they are doing the best that they can! and they should definitely mae an effort to try tolearn Arabic as much as possible and as 1uicly as possible! but until and unless they are able to get to that

point! they are completely capable of practicing their d,n to the best of their ability! and it is o forsomebody lie that to read it in @nglish or to read the translation of it. That is a very! very specific

situation and consideration should be given to those types of cases.

Nevertheless! going bac to the procedure. 0e taled about praying two rak ahsʿ ! completing the prayer!reading the supplication in Arabic to the best of your ability. That is the procedure of istikh$rah. ?ead thesupplication in Arabic! and it is done. ,ou don(t have to mae any e#tra du'$' after that. The supplicationthat you read in Arabic is the supplication and du'$' itself. There is no other e#tra procedure after. >nceyou are done reading the supplication! you are done.

&utco'e o% IstikhārahThe ne#t issue ' would lie to address is what is the outcome of the istikh$rah+ Again! ' can start by telling

you what is not the outcome of the istikh$rah. ,ou will not wae up in the middle of the night and have aB* vision of what you should. ' can tell you that is not going to happen. 't is istikh$rah and not Avatar.That is one thing we need to be clear on. 0hile it might seem lie a :oe or silly to some people!sometimes people :ust don(t now. The outcome of the istikh$rah is nothing out of this world.The primary outcome of the istikh$rah is the clarity of mind and confidence to mae the decision that youneed to mae that ' alluded to earlier. ,ou feel confident and good about maing your decision. ,ou werealready leaning towards one option 8 option A 8 and there is another option on the table! but you are a lotmore confident about option A or maybe you have come to a decision about option A but you :ust need thate#tra little confidence.

,ou do your istikh$rah and naturally start to feel more confident and feel clearer and feel ready to mae

that decision. That is the outcome of your istikh$rah. The outcome of the istikh$rah is to reflect internallyand be a bit introspective and loo inside and see if you feel good and confident about maing yourdecision.

4ow do you now that the outcome of the istikh$rah is maybe this isn(t the best decision for you+ ,ou willnaturally feel down. ,ou will feel conflicted! doubtful! very scared or an#ious or hesitant about maingyour decision. Then at that point! this is your response of istikh$rah that maybe this isn(t the best decisionfor you. That is how simple and easy istikh$rah is.

The reason why istikh$rah has become complicated for us a lot of times is because we are looing forsomething out of this world and something supernatural and really far out. 0e loo for something cra$ylie that! and when we don(t find it! we feel unfulfilled.



'f we learn to :ust thin of it internally and learn to be a little more reflective and introspective! naturallyyou will find the response to your istikh$rah to be a lot more facilitated for you. ,ou are thininginternally and feel naturally confident in your decision. That is the outcome and result of the istikh$rah.

What about Drea's?The 1uestion always comes up6 what about dreams+ The issue of dreams is one thing that needs to be

understood. 0e don(t completely dismiss dreams altogether. Authentic narrations of the "rophet tell usthat dreams are something that a believer derives inspiration from. @ven the greatest of scholars lie 'bnirCn of the tabi'+n and great scholars of interpretation of dreams! one of the first things they would say orone of the first things they taught their students was that dreams are not a basis of maing decisions.*ecisions should not be based on dreams. These were the first and foremost to tell their students that eventhough these were the scholars of the interpretation of dreams. They said at the most it is inspiration!motivation! encouragement. That is all it is. 't is not something you base a decision on.' would lie to clarify that right here. 'f you have a dream and it ind of inspires you or motivates you!alh &amdulill$h. *on(t read too much into it because you are not supposed to.

(wo iscellaneous IssuesThat is the outcome of the istikh$rah. There are two miscellaneous issues ' would lie to e#plain. The firstissue is related to the outcome.

0hat if ' mae istikh$rah and ' :ust still don(t feel comfortable or confident in my decision+ ' still don(tfeel confident or clear and am still not comfortable maing a decision! and ' made istikh$rah and followedthe procedure properly. 0hat do ' do at that time+ The course of action at that time is6 do it again. 'f itdoesn(t wor again! then do it again. 'f you are still not comfortable! then do it again. Deep doing it untilyou feel confident and comfortable in maing your decision.

There is even a narration from (Abdull&h b. Eubayr ! one of the companions of the "rophet and

probably (F(ishah(s best and brightest student. 4e says! -' made istikh$rah with All&h three times. Then 'was comfortable and confident in maing my decision./ 4e e#plicitly mentions while e#plaining to hisstudents that if you have to mae istikh$rah multiple times! then you have to mae istikh$rah multipletimes and that(s o. 4e said! -' had to pray istikh$rah three times one time to mae a decision./ *on(t beafraid of repeating the istikh$rah multiple times.

A lot of times! it is :ust a matter of 8 and this is a tragedy of our times 8 becoming spiritually numb and weare not very introspective and not very reflective. ometimes the superficial nature of the culture we livein or activities mae us a little spiritually dull or numb. 0e might have to do istikh$rah a few times to

brea through the surface or crac the shell! and that(s o.

The last issue ' want to mention here that is associated with istikh$rah is that there is one very commonlyased 1uestion and issue that comes up 1uite often. That is6 can ' have somebody else do istikh$rah forme+ There is no precedent. There is no religious verification for having someone else do istikh$rah for

you. There is nothing mentioned in the ah &ad,th of the "rophet . There is no precedent from thegeneration of the s &ah &$bah. The classical fu(ah$' have e#plicitly stated that istikh$rah is meant to be done

by the individual himself or herself. That is a rule. That(s it. A person has to do the istikh$rah himself orherself.

There is a very honest and sincere 1uestion and concern that is in the mind(s of people who as this1uestion. The 1uestion or that concern is often6 ' am not a very good person! ' don(t pray five times a day!

' have a lot of sins and issues in my life! ' feel distant from All&h! ' don(t now if ' mae istikh$rah if itwill be clear or won(t be clear! so ' want to as someone to mae istikh$rah who is a lot more righteous and

pious! and someone who is a lot better person than ' am. That is a concern a lot of people have.



' would lie to answer that concern by first saying that maybe part of the reason that you feel that wayabout your relationship with All&h is because of the mentality and approach that you have where you don(tfeel lie you are good enough to tal to All&h. ,ou feel lie you don(t have access to All&h.

The first thing that you have to get over is the simple fact that All&h is :ust as available and :ust asaccessible to the sinful person as 4e is to the most righteous and pious person. All&h is available andaccessible to everyone. 0e can all pray to All&h. 0e can all as All&h for whatever we need. 0e can alldo istikh$rah with All&h.

The second answer to that concern is if you are feeling a bit guilty and self2conscious about the fact thatyou are distant from All&h and not praying and maybe that is why you should not be doing istikh$rah! thenwhy not fi# the problem+ 0hy not say! -' have a situation. ' need to do istikh$rah. ' don(t pray five timesa day and that(s why ' don(t feel comfortable doing istikh$rah. 0ell! it(s time for s &al$t'lmaghrib right nowor time for s &al$t'l'ish$' right now! why don(t ' go ahead and tae that first step+ 0hy don(t ' go maewud &+' ! stand up and pray s &al$t'l'ish$' and then pray two raka $t ʿ to do my istikh$rah./ 3et it out of theway and get it done. That is the answer to the 1uestion.

There is no validity to having somebody halfway across the world in some village do istikh$rah on your behalf and that person doesn(t even now who you are and what(s going on with you. 7y the way! as a side

note and a word of advice! if that person is charging you! it(s probably a scam. Just a little note of caution.'f a person is charging you! you need to stay away from that entire situation.

Nevertheless! ' did want to address that in a serious issue and serious manner. There is no validity! there isno precedent! and there is absolutely no authenticity to having somebody do istikh$rah on your behalf.The person him or herself needs to be doing their own istikh$rah whatever situation they are dealing with.

Their might be situations where a decision affects multiple people. Then everybody involved in thesituation maes their own istikh$rah. 'f ' will be implicated by this decision! then we all mae our ownistikh$rah. Nevertheless! it is not lie doing a business deal. 'f '(m getting into a business deal with acouple of people and we need to come to the decision whether it is good or not! we decide we(ve looed atthe facts! crunched the numbers! and spoen to a couple of people and gotten some consultation! we need

to do istikh$rah. Let everybody go and do their own istikh$rah. @ven when it is a :oint decision!everybody should be doing istikh$rah. *efinitely when it is your own personal decision! mae your ownistikh$rah. *on(t put it off on somebody else. Nobody can do your istikh$rah 8 you do your own.The concern that is there that -'(m not good enough! '(m not pious enough! '(m not righteous enough!/ itdoesn(t mae any sense. All&h is All&h. 4e is accessible to you. All you have to do is go get clean! maewud &+' ! face the (iblah! All$hu akbar ! and you are taling to All&h. *one deal.

econdly! if you do feel that you are distant from All&h! then fi# the problem. *on(t create another problem. ?epair the relationship and fi# the issue.

't obviously goes without saying that we don(t mae istikh$rah for anything that is impermissible. There isno istikh$rah for6 -hould ' drin alcohol <na'+dhu bill$h=/ 8 of course that is very bad. -hould ' gamble!what should ' put my money on./ 't goes without saying and it is common sense that you don(t maeistikh$rah about the things that are impermissible.

Also! we do not mae istikh$rah about things that are obligatory. There is no maing istikh$rah about-should ' pray s &al$t'l'ish$' or not./ That goes without saying that things that are obligatory and things thatare a part of the d,n and things that we are supposed to do lie fasting ?amad G&n! there is no maingistikh$rah -should ' fast in ?amad G&n or not./ imilarly! we do not mae istikh$rah for things that areimpermissible. >f course that is common sense! but ' :ust wanted to mention that.

"u##lication o% Istikhārah Now! let(s go ahead and discuss the supplication of istikh$rah itself. '(ll go ahead and read the h &ad,th toyou. This is a h &ad,th from S &ah &,h & 7uh&ri.



J&bir <may All&h be pleased with him=! a very nowledgeable companion of the "rophet of All&h <peace

and blessings be upon him=! says! -The %essenger of All&h would regularly teach us to do istikh$rah inall of our affairs and issues :ust lie he would teach us a s+rah from the 5ur(an./ 0hat does that mean+4e is drawing a parallel. This is the same type of verbage used to tal about the tashahhud in the prayer.-4e would teach us the tashahhud lie he would teach us a s+rah from the 5uran./ 't is also said about theistikh$rah supplication.

That means two things and has two implications. 'mplication HI6 he emphasi$ed the importance ofmemori$ing it. Just lie we memori$e a s+rah of the 5ur(an! similarly he emphasi$ed the importance ofmemori$ing the supplication of istikh$rah. 'mplication H6 read it in the Arabic language lie we read a

s+rah in the Arabic language. 0hen we read a s+rah from the 5ur(an in our prayers! we read it in Arabic.Again! there is that rare e#ception that ' taled about! nevertheless the general rule is that we read the

supplication in Arabic. The "rophet taught us to read the supplication of istikh$rah in Arabic lie weread a s+rah in Arabic.

-4e would say! (0hen any one of you is concerned with an issue or a matter! then he should pray tworak ahsʿ of optional! voluntary prayer aside from the fard &obligatory prayer.(/ This is where ' was e#plicitly

saying it has to be voluntary optional prayer because the "rophet e#plicitly in the h &ad,th in the narrationsays it must be voluntary optional prayer.

Then the "rophet says! -ThummaK/ Thumma in the Arabic language in classical Arabic! the 5uranicand prophetic language! is to say -afterwards! after that! then afterwards./ 't states that this occurs after the

previous thing has been completed or concluded. 7ased on this! the vast overwhelming ma:ority ofscholars are of the opinion the supplication of istikh$rah is to be read after the prayer has been completed!after the tasl,m.

The "rophet reads the supplication for us and teaches us the supplication. '(m going to e#plain themeaning of the supplication.

(> All&h! ' see most definitely that which is good from ,ou bymeans of ,our Dnowledge( because > All&h! ,ou now what is good for me! and ' don(t now what isgood. The $yah of the 5ur(an says! -,ou may lie something initially and it turns out to be bad for you.,ou might dislie something initially and it turns out to be something good for you./ 7ased on that! All&h

is the only >ne who nows what is good for me! so that is why ' am saying! -> All&h! ' see that whichis good from ,ou by means of ,our Dnowledge./

(And ' see the ability to do what ' have to do by means of ,our "ower and,our Ability.( %eaning6 ' am wea and ' am incapable! but ' see the ability to mae my decision and todo what ' need to do by means of ,our Ability and "ower.

(And ' as ,ou! to grant me from ,our great! ma:estic benevolenceand great blessing to bless me.( ' as ,ou to bless me from ,our 7lessings and to grant me some from,our 7lessings.

This is personally my favorite part of the supplication. This states the mentality behind istikh$rah.



(Kbecause most definitely ,ou are fully capable! and ' am completelyincapable.(

(And ,ou now everything and ' don(t now anything.(

(And > All&h! ,ou are 'Al$m. 'Al$m is the e#aggerated! hyperboli$ed nounwhich basically means the 9omplete Dnower of alghuy+b. .huy+b is the plural of the word ghayb 8 allthose things that are unseen! all those things that are hidden! all those things that are unnown. ,ou are the9omplete Dnower! inside out! of all those things that are unseen! unnown! and hidden.

Now here comes the cru# of the supplication6

(> All&h! ,ou now that this issue! decision! matter 8 if this is good for me in my religious affairs and myworldly affairs and in the end of my affairsK( 0hat do you thin (the end of my affairs( is referring to+The $khirah. ('f ,ou now! > All&h! that this decision that '(d lie to mae and have been struggling withis good for me in my d,n and my religion! in my worldly matters and issues! and if this is good for me inthe $khirah K(

Another narration of this same supplication! the "rophet said!

('n my short term and in the long termK(0hat do you thin short term refers to+ /unya! this life. '0*ilihi! the long term! maes reference to$khirah! the life of the hereafter.

(> All&h! ,ou now if this is good for me in the short term and the long term! dunya and $khirah.(

(%ae it possible for me. %ae it happen for me.(

7ut that(s not it. Now we get to see the real beauty and magnificence of the supplication.(*on(t :ust mae it possible and available to me! mae it easy and facilitate it for me. %ae it simple! easy!and accessible for me.(Thumma means after the fact. After what fact+ After ' have achieved it. "ut blessing in it for me. 0e aregoing for the premium pacage. ' want the wors! all the options. ' want it to be possible for me! > All&h.' want it to be easy! simple! accessible! and facilitated for me! > All&h. Then after ' have it! ' want barakahand blessing in it! > All&h.

0hat a comprehensive supplication. 0hat a beautifully comprehensive supplication. 't then goes on6

(> All&h! ,ou now if this issue! decision! matter is bad for me in my d,n! in my worldly matters and in theend of my affairs in the $khirah.



Another narration again says6

(in my short term and in the long term( meaning my dunya and my$khirah.

4ere we get to again see the beauty and elo1uence of thesupplication! the prophetic elo1uence on full display. Let me e#plain the words to you here. The word s &armeans to turn something. There are two entities here6 you and what you are maing istikh$rah for. Thesupplication says! -'f this is bad for me in my dunya and $khirah! then turn it away from me and turn meaway from it./ *o you see the elo1uence in the supplication and the visual that it provides+ 'magine youand what you are maing istikh$rah for.

> All&h! if this is bad for me in my dunya and my $khirah! then ' want nothing to do with it. *on(t :ustturn it away from me but turn me away from it. ' want nothing to do with it. ' got no business with it. 'f

there is no khayr ! then what would ' want with it+ This is what the supplication teaches us to say.That doesn(t solve the problem. There is still an issue left. 0hat is the problem+ 0hatever it is you aremaing istikh$rah for 8 your need! your necessity! your situation! your decision is still not complete. ,oumade istikh$rah and reali$e that this is not good for you and felt uncomfortable! hesitant! or apprehensiveabout the decision and baced away! but your need still remains.

The "rophet doesn(t leave us hanging. 4e completes the supplication.

(And then mae possible for me that which is good.( This particular situation wasn(t good for me! so 'ased All&h! -Turn it away from me and turn me away from it. ' want nothing to do with it. > All&h! maethat which is good possible for me./ The problem is ' don(t now where! how! when! or anything about it.0here do ' start+ &aythuka 8 wherever and however that good may be. %ae that which is good possiblefor me whenever! wherever! and however it may be. ' leave it to you! > All&h. ' will still do my duediligence and stay at wor trying to find the right option! but > All&h! lead me to that khayr . ' was savedfrom sharr ! but mae something good for me down the road.

This is consolation at the end of the supplication. This situation didn(t wor out! which is actually good because it wasn(t khayr . ,ou are asing All&h for khayr ! and All&h will mae khayr possible for you.

The ya(,n! the conviction! needs to be there when you mae supplication. All&h will mae that which isgood possible! you :ust have to eep sticing to what you are doing and eep your hopes high in All&h .

(o mae that which is good possible for me wherever and however it may be. Then mae me pleased and satisfied with it.

'n another narration! the "rophet says the words! -Then mae me

satisfied with it./ %ae me content! satisfied! fulfilled with it. %ae me pleased with it.

Again! it sounds lie the same thing. @ven somebody who doesn(t have any bacground in formal Arabicstudies can hear the difference# Thumma ard &ini bihi and thumma rad &d &ini bihi. Ard &ini and rad &d &ini sound a



lot alie! but are they completely the same word+ There is a little bit of a difference! which is a differencein verb pattern. The thing about these verb groups and verb patterns is that they all have their own specialimplication. 'n the classical form of the language! they have their own special implications.

0hen you have the same root word coming in two verb patterns! the subtle difference between the two isthat ard &ini means (mae something happen all at once.( %ae me all at once completely satisfied andfulfilled with it. 1ad &d &ini has the implication for something to happen continuously! little by little! step bystep.

Subh &$nAll$h! the "rophet said it with the two different verb forms! and this shows us not only the

elo1uence of the "rophet but how well he understood people. There are two types of people when itcomes to maing a decision. ome people might tae their time and do their due diligence and researchand tae time to come to a decision. 0hen they finally come to a conclusion! they are done. The decisionis made! and khal$s they are confident and going forward now.

ome people are a little different. They come to a conclusion and decision and feel good and everything iso and they are going for it. Then later at midnight you get a te#t message from that friend saying! -'(mfreaing out. ' don(t now what to do. '(m nervous./ ,ou say! -*on(t worry about it. 't(s all o. 't(s

midnight! go to sleep. @verything will be alright insh$'All$h./ Then they say! ->! '(m good./ ,ou waeup to pray s &al$t'lfa*r ! and he calls you. ,ou answer the phone and he says! -7ro! ' need to tal to you rightnow. '(m not sure about this./ That(s o 8 some people are lie that and need that constant reassurance.

Subh &$nAll$h loo at the %essenger of All&h and how well he nows his people and understands people. 4e accommodated both types of people. -Thumma ard &ini bihi/ for the type of guy who might taehis time to mae a decision but once he maes it! he is done. -Thumma rad &d &ini bihi/ for the person who-> All&h don(t :ust mae me pleased with it! but eep me pleased with it./ 9onstantly reassure me aboutmy decision! > All&h.

At the end of the supplication in the narration of 7uh&ri! the "rophet says! -And then he mentions hisneed./ 0hen you go bac into the supplication! remember the part that ' said was the cru# of thesupplication+

-> All&h! ,ou now that this decision! if this is good

for meK/ that is the moment where the "rophet says the person should mention his or her need. Thescholars e#plain that there are two options. omebody could :ust simply thin of whatever it is that they

are maing istikh$rah about! and that would suffice. 'f somebody :ust visuali$es or conceptuali$es orthins of what they are maing istikh$rah about! that is sufficient. >therwise! a person can feel free andshould feel free to go ahead and verbali$e it. They don(t need to verbali$e it in Arabic if that is not theirlanguage. They can say it in their own language. All$humma in kunta ta'lamu anna hatha'lamraK andthen at that time the person says! -7uying this particular car! purchasing this house! marrying so2and2so/that this is good for me. Then the supplication goes on and continues.imilarly! there is a second moment when you mention it as well when you mention the other part of it. ->All&h! you now that if this decision and issue is bad for me!/ then again you can thin about it!

conceptuali$e it! or verbali$e it. The "rophet taught us to do that. 't becomes very practical and real. 't

is a real e#perience and you are literally stating your need! and this is something the "rophet taught us

to do.

That concludes the discussion on the meaning of the supplication of istikh$rah and it gives you an insightas to why we do istikh$rah and what the purpose is and the spirit of istikh$rah.



>ne thing ' would lie to e#plain here about the supplication of istikh$rah is that it is the perfect e#ample

of prophetic elo1uence of the "rophet and how beautiful the supplications are that he taught us. Thereis a lot of good and khayr in learning the prophetic supplications! and we should invest some time andenergy in learning these beautiful supplications.

)uotes %ro' "cholars

The last little note ' wanted to mention here is a few little basic 1uotes from some scholars about the blessing of istikh$rah and why we do istikh$rah.

'bn Abi Jamra <rah &imahull$h=! a great scholar! said! -The wisdom behind putting the s &al$h before theistikh$rah is the istikh$rah combines both the good of this world and the ne#t. Just lie in this dunya a

person needs to go the one he needs something from and win their favor and then put their need beforethem! the s &al$h precedes the supplication is lie nocing at the door of the Ding and presenting yourself

before All&h and maing su*+d and humbling yourself and putting your face on the ground before All&h

and then spreading your hands and presenting your need before All&h ./ This is the beauty of these1uence of events.

'bn Taymiyyah says! -4e who sees guidance from the 9reator and then consults with the creation <people=and then once he comes to a decision that he is confident in and goes forward with! such a person willnever regret and have no remorse about the decision that he maes./

'mam Al2Nawawi says! -After performing the istikh$rah! when a person is wholeheartedly inclined andfeels good about a decision! then the person should say bismill$h and go ahead with the course of actionand the conclusion and decision./

Istikh$rah is lie a training in adab with All&h. -> All&h! ' will not mae a decision without praying to,ou. @ven though '(m fully confident! ' will still do istikh$rah./ 't shows adab with All&h! and part of the

adab with All&h is that when you do come to a conclusion and decision and did mae istikh$rah and feelconfident about your decision! then you go with it. ,ou remove doubt at that time and don(t second guessand don(t doubt because that would show disrespect to All&h and this practice of istikh$rah.

*inal NoteThe last and final note ' want to mention here is one other re1uirement for istikh$rah. ' didn(t mention thisin the prere1uisites because ' was taling about more in terms of fi(h. The primary ingredient of theistikh$rah is conviction. Dnow who you are praying to. ,ou are praying to All&h! rabb'l'alam,n. ,ou are

praying to the >ne who created each and every single thing. 4e watches and controls every single thing.4e sustains and maintains each and every single thing. 4e is capable of doing whatever 4e wills.

4ave that level of confidence when you do istikh$rah. ' am not :ust consulting with anyone. ' am talingto All&h! and All&h will help me in my situation. All&h will give me clarity of mind! and All&h will blessme with confidence. 0hen you do mae istikh$rah and you do feel hesitant! remember what the end of thesupplication said. *on(t feel disheartened at that time because at the end of the supplication! you do asAll&h for khayr ! and if you have the level of conviction in All&h! you will have the conviction that All&hwill provide to you that which is best for you.

4ave that conviction. 4ave that level of ,m$n and ya(,n in All&h and 4is Ability to tae care of youand All&h will insh$'All$h tae care of us. As it says in the h &ad,th (udsi! -' deal with %y slave accordingto how he perceives %e. 'f he perceives that ' can tae care of him! ' tae care of him./

0hen he is doubtful! maybe he won(t be taen care of. The onus is on us. 4ow do we perceive ourrelationship with All&h+



%ay All&h give us the ability to practice everything that we said and heard.

' will end with this one last h &ad,th mentioned in the 2usnad of 'mam Ah Gmed and narrated by a(d b. Abi

0a11&s who said that the %essenger of All&h said! -rom the blessing of the son of Fdam is theability to see good from All&h! doing istikh$rah with All&h. Also from the blessing of the son of Fdam isthat they are pleased with whatever All&h has decreed for them. rom the wretchedness of the children ofFdam is when he leaves doing istikh$rah with All&h. Also from the wretchedness of the human being is

that the human being is displeased with what All&h has decreed for him./

%ay All&h bless us all to do istikh$rah and to be pleased with All&h(s *ecree and decision in our affairsand issues. 3a4$kum All$h khayran. Alsal$mu 'alaykum wa rah &matull$h.

istikharah- how to and why- abdul nasir jangda

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