Points of Benefit Concerning the Prayer of Guidance
"The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) used to teach his companions to make istikhaarah in all matters, just as he used to teach them soorahs from the Qur'aan. He said: 'If any one of you is deliberating 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)." [1]
I (i.e. Shaykh Muhammad Bazmool ) say, this hadeeth contains a number of benefits.
First: That the hadeeth indicates that salaatul istikhaarah is so highly recommended that one gets the impression that it is obligatory.[2]
Second: Istikhaarah is legislated for any matter whether it is of great importance or little significance. [3]
An-Nawawi said: "Istikhaarah is mustahab in all matters just as the text of the hadeeth clearly states." I say: What is apparent (from the hadeeth) that fulfilling the obligatory acts, abandoning the acts that are prohibited, doing the acts the acts that are recommended, and avoiding the acts that are disliked – there is no Istikhaarah in regard these (one should not make Istikhaarah).[4]
Na'am, this does not negate the fact that one can make istikhaarah with regards to matters that are waajib and mustahab.
Ibn Hajr said: "Istikhaarah can be prayed with regards to matters that are crucial or matters that are not. Perhaps, the matter might be of little significance; however, what lies upon it is of great significance.
The third point: Salaatul istikhaarah is two rakahs that you pray by itself (it's independent from other prayers). [5] An-Nawawi said: "What is apparent is that it is possible that one can pray the salaatul istikhaarah while one makes the tahiyaatul masjid, sunnah prayer before or after the salaat, or nawafil salaat. Thus for any one of these reasons one could include the alaatul istikhaarah in the salaat.[6] I say: His intent – wallaahu 'alim – if the concern about a matter is there before he begins the salaat (i.e. the matter was on your mind beforehand) and while you are praying it occurs to you, then this is okay."[7]
If it occurs to a person that he should make salaatul istikhaarah while he's praying, the objective is achieved even while he is praying the nawafil salaat (that is other than istikhaarah itself). Furthermore, what is apparent from the statement of an-Nawawi is that the salaatul istikhaarah can be attained whether one prays with the intent of making that salaat istikhaarah or he prays a nawafil salaat and he does istikhaarah when he does it. Iraaqi said: "If the matter is on a person's mind before he begins the (sunnah) salaat and then he begins to pray without having the intention for istikhaarah. However, while praying, if it occurs to him that he should make the du'aa' of istikhaarah, then what is apparent is that it can be attained in this regard."
Fourth: Istikharrah should not be done when a person is in a state of indecision. He, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, "If any one of you is deliberating about a decision …" and also because the wording of the whole du'aa' alludes to this. Thus, if a Muslim is hesitant about a matter and he wants to make istikhaarah then he should make a choice and then pray istikhaarah upon that choice. After making istikhaarah, time would pass by, thus, if there is any good in it, Allaah would make that affair easy for him and he would bless him in this regard. If it is otherwise, Allaah would turn him away from it and make that which there is good in it, easy for him to achieve, by the permission of Allaah, subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Fifth: There is no specific soorah or aayah one must recite after the Fatihah when praying istikhaarah.
Sixth: The good in a matter and its barakah is made manifest by Allaah facilitating that matter. Otherwise, Allaah would turn that person's attention away from that matter and he would make that which is good, easy for him wherever he may be.
Seven: Whenever a Muslim prays salaatul istikhaarah, he should go ahead with regards to the matter that he resolved to do regardless whether his heart is comfortable with it or not.[8]
Ibn az-Zamlukaanee said: "Whenever a person prays the two rakat istikhaarah regarding a matter, then he should do it (only) after making a firm decision. He should continue with it (i.e. doing the matter), regardless of whether he has reservations within himself (about it) or not. For indeed, there is good in it even if he does not have that a good feeling about it." He said: "The hadeeth does not stipulate that one should get a good feeling within himself."
Eight: The time for making du'aa' is after the salaam. Based on his, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, statement, "If any one of you is deliberating about a decision he has to make, then let him pray two rak'ahs of non-obligatory prayer, then say …". Hence, what is apparent from the that the du'aa' is before the salaam.
Bughyah al-Mutatawu' by Shaykh Muhammad Bazmool pg. 103-106[1] al-Bukhaaree 1162, 1166
[2] Naylul Awtaar 3/88; Tuhfatul Dhakireen, 134
[3] al-Adhkar 3/355
[4] Fathul Bari, 11/184
[5] al-Adhkar, 3/354
[6] Fathul Bari, 11/185
[7] Naylul Awtaar, 3/88
[8] Tabaqaat ash-Shafa'eeyah 9/206
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