(Series of Answers by the Eminent Scholar Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashta, Ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to the Questions of Visitors to his Facebook Page "Fiqhi")
Answer to Question: To: Joud Radwan Radwan
Question:
Assalamu Alaikum. I want to know the nature of Salat al-Istikhara, and does the person seeking guidance see something in their dream after the Istikhara? Please answer as soon as possible, and may Allah reward you with goodness.
Answer:
Wa Alaikum Assalam Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,
The Prophet ﷺ explained Salat al-Istikhara with a comprehensive and sufficient explanation in the hadith narrated by al-Bukhari and others on the authority of Jabir bin Abdullah (ra), who said: "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to teach us Istikhara in all matters, just as he used to teach us a Surah from the Quran. He would say:
إِذَا هَمَّ أَحَدُكُمْ بِالأَمْرِ، فَلْيَرْكَعْ رَكْعَتَيْنِ مِنْ غَيْرِ الفَرِيضَةِ، ثُمَّ لِيَقُلْ: اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْتَخِيرُكَ بِعِلْمِكَ وَأَسْتَقْدِرُكَ بِقُدْرَتِكَ، وَأَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ العَظِيمِ، فَإِنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ وَلاَ أَقْدِرُ، وَتَعْلَمُ وَلاَ أَعْلَمُ، وَأَنْتَ عَلَّامُ الغُيُوبِ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الأَمْرَ خَيْرٌ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي - أَوْ قَالَ عَاجِلِ أَمْرِي وَآجِلِهِ - فَاقْدُرْهُ لِي وَيَسِّرْهُ لِي، ثُمَّ بَارِكْ لِي فِيهِ، وَإِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الأَمْرَ شَرٌّ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي - أَوْ قَالَ فِي عَاجِلِ أَمْرِي وَآجِلِهِ - فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي وَاصْرِفْنِي عَنْهُ، وَاقْدُرْ لِي الخَيْرَ حَيْثُ كَانَ، ثُمَّ أَرْضِنِي
'If one of you intends a matter, let him pray two units (rak'ahs) of non-obligatory prayer, then let him say: O Allah, I seek Your guidance by Your knowledge, and I seek power by Your power, and I ask You from Your immense favor; for You are able and I am not, and You know and I do not, and You are the Knower of the unseen. O Allah, if You know that this matter is good for me in my religion, my livelihood, and the end of my affair—or he said: in my immediate and future affairs—then decree it for me, make it easy for me, and then bless it for me. And if You know that this matter is bad for me in my religion, my livelihood, and the end of my affair—or he said: in my immediate and future affairs—then turn it away from me and turn me away from it, and decree for me what is good wherever it may be, and then make me content with it.'" He added: "And he should name his need." (Bukhari)
It is clear from this hadith how to perform Salat al-Istikhara. Whoever wishes to seek guidance should pray two nafilah (voluntary) rak'ahs with the intention of Istikhara, and after finishing the prayer, recite the dua of Istikhara mentioned in the hadith. With this, the Salat al-Istikhara or the dua of Istikhara is completed. This is the method... However, there are other matters related to Salat al-Istikhara, which are:
When a person intends a matter after having studied it from all sides and finds the decision to act more weighted, they should then pray two rak'ahs and recite the dua of Istikhara. They should then proceed with the action while supplicating to Allah (swt) to facilitate it if it is good or turn it away if it is bad. That is, one does not pray Istikhara except after studying the matter from all sides and deciding to proceed. Look at the hadith: "If one of you intends a matter, let him pray two units of non-obligatory prayer..." (Narrated by al-Bukhari).
It has not been authentically reported from the Prophet ﷺ that he linked Istikhara to a vision seen in a dream, to the best of my knowledge, despite his frequent guidance to people to perform Istikhara. He ﷺ did not link its result to a dream. In the hadith of Jabir, the words: "then decree it for me and make it easy for me, then bless it for me" and "then turn it away from me and turn me away from it, and decree for me what is good wherever it may be, and then make me content with it" show that he ﷺ did not link Istikhara to a dream. Rather, he made the matter dependent on Allah's facilitation and decree; meaning the person strives to carry out the matter for which they sought guidance. If it is good, Allah will decree it and make it easy, otherwise, He will turn the matter away. Thus, Istikhara is leaving the choice to Allah (swt) to choose for the seeker and to facilitate what He is pleased with for them. If He is not pleased with it, He (swt) turns it away.
Some understand the words of the Prophet ﷺ in the hadith of Jabir: "then turn it away from me and turn me away from it, and decree for me what is good wherever it may be, and then make me content with it" to mean that the "expansion of the chest" (feeling at ease) is a sign of Allah's choice. This means if one feels at ease, they should proceed, and if they feel a sense of contraction or aversion, they should refrain, because the "turning away" of the seeker happens through the heart's aversion and contraction... Al-Shawkani quoted in Nayl al-Awtar from al-Nawawi: "After Istikhara, one should do what they feel at ease with. One should not rely on an ease they felt based on their own desire before the Istikhara. Rather, the seeker should abandon their own choice entirely; otherwise, they are not seeking guidance from Allah but seeking guidance from their own desires, and might not be sincere in seeking the best choice and in divesting themselves of their own knowledge and power to affirm them for Allah. If one is sincere in that, they divest themselves of their own strength and power and their own choice for themselves." End quote. However, what I find most weighted is that this sign is not correct because there is no text (nass) for it. The hadith that some rely on for this is very weak in its chain (isnad), as mentioned by researchers. The hadith is:
Ibn al-Sunni narrated in 'Amal al-Yawm wa al-Laylah: Abu al-Abbas bin Qutaybah al-Asqalani informed us, Ubaydullah bin al-Himyari narrated to us, Ibrahim bin al-Ala bin al-Nadr bin Anas bin Malik narrated to us, my father narrated to us, from his father, from his grandfather, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
يَا أَنَسُ، إِذَا هَمَمْتَ بِأَمْرٍ فَاسْتَخِرْ رَبَّكَ فِيهِ سَبْعَ مَرَّاتٍ، ثُمَّ انْظُرْ إِلَى الَّذِي يَسْبِقُ إِلَى قَلْبِكَ، فَإِنَّ الْخَيْرَ فِيهِ
"O Anas, if you intend a matter, then seek guidance from your Lord seven times, then look at what comes first to your heart, for indeed the good is in it." Ibn Hajar said in Fath al-Bari: "...Al-Nawawi said in al-Adhkar: After Istikhara, he should do what his chest feels at ease with, and he cites the hadith of Anas with Ibn al-Sunni: 'If you intend a matter, then seek guidance from your Lord seven times...' This, if it were established, would be the relied-upon evidence, but its chain is very weak..."
Therefore, nothing remains except what we mentioned in the first point: that the hadith says Istikhara is after the "intention" (hamm) of the matter—meaning after making a decision to act based on a thorough study and weighting the decision to proceed. This understanding is supported by the hadith narrated by al-Hakim in his Mustadrak from Abu Ayub al-Ansari that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
اكْتُمِ الْخطْبَةَ ثُمَّ تَوَضَّأْ فَأَحْسِنِ وُضُوءَكَ، ثُمَّ صَلِّ مَا كَتَبَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لَكَ، ثُمَّ احْمَدْ رَبَّكَ وَمَجِّدْهُ، ثُمَّ قُلِ: اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ وَلَا أَقْدِرُ، وَتَعْلَمُ وَلَا أَعْلَمُ، وَأَنْتَ عَلَّامُ الْغُيُوبِ، فَإِنْ رَأَيْتَ لِيَ فِي فُلَانَةٍ، - يُسَمِّيهَا بِاسْمِهَا - خَيْرًا لِي فِي دِينِي وَدُنْيَايَ وَآخِرَتِي فَاقْدُرْهَا لِي، فَإِنْ كَانَ غَيْرُهَا خَيْرًا لِي فِي دِينِي وَدُنْيَايَ وَآخِرَتِي فَاقْدُرْهَا لِي
"Keep the engagement proposal secret, then perform wudu and do it well, then pray what Allah has decreed for you, then praise your Lord and glorify Him, then say: O Allah, You are able and I am not, and You know and I do not, and You are the Knower of the unseen. So if You see that in so-and-so (naming her) there is good for me in my religion, my worldly life, and my hereafter, then decree her for me; and if someone else is better for me in my religion, my worldly life, and my hereafter, then decree her for me."
It is clear from this hadith that the seeker had resolved to propose to a specific woman but did not make it public; rather, he kept it secret, then sought Allah's guidance and left the matter in the hands of Allah (swt) to decree her for him if there was good in it or decree someone else if the good was in someone else. He did not link that to what he might see in a dream or to the expansion of the chest.
In summary, what I find most weighted regarding Istikhara is:
If a person intends a matter after having studied it from all sides and reaching a decision to act, they should then pray two rak'ahs and recite the dua of Istikhara and proceed with it, while supplicating to Allah (swt) to facilitate it if it is good or turn it away if it is bad.
Meaning, one does not pray Istikhara until after studying the matter from all sides and deciding to proceed. Look at the hadith: "If one of you intends a matter, let him pray two units of non-obligatory prayer..." (Narrated by al-Bukhari).
This is what I find most weighted from the hadith, not that one should pray Istikhara and wait to see a dream, or wait to see an emotional inclination toward one of the two options, because the hadith says "If one of you intends a matter...". As I mentioned earlier, this is what I prefer over some other opinions, and Allah knows best what is correct.
Your brother, Ata Bin Khalil Abu Al-Rashta
Link to the answer from the Ameer's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AmeerhtAtabinKhalil/photos/a.122855544578192.1073741828.122848424578904/442571552606588/?type=3&theater
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Link to the answer from the Ameer's website.