The Supplication for Seeking Guidance (Istikhara)
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Fatwa No. ( 20787 )
Q: I am presenting to you in this letter a question that has caused me confusion, and I hope you will benefit me by answering it. It concerns the prayer for guidance in a decision , for Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah (may Allah be pleased with them both) said:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 480Sahih (Darussalam) The confusion
arose for me in the wording: “O Allah, if You know.” Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) knows all things, their present, past, and future. Yet the wording is “if You know,” which—according to the limited understanding—seems to deny knowledge to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He)
A: The phrase in the hadith of the prayer for guidance in a decision, worded as:Sahih al-Bukhari 6382 The hadith indicates Allah's knowledge of everything and His encompassing it. The servant has nothing of that except what Allah informs him of and inspires to him. It is not permissible to understand from the mentioned phrase a denial of knowledge to Allah or doubt in that, and far be it from Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, from that. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, knows the reality of what the servant sought guidance from his Lord about, before its creation and after its creation, and what it will lead to. The meaning is: "If it is in Your prior knowledge that this matter is good for me... etc., or that this matter is evil for me." This is what the servant seeking guidance does not know, but Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, knows. The servant asks Allah to inspire him and guide him to good, and to turn him away from evil and turn evil away from him. No one knows that except Allah. You should stay away from such thoughts that may cast doubt on your creed and affect your religion, and you should have a good opinion of Allah, for Allah is according to the good opinion His servant has of Him. And you must ask the trusted scholars of knowledge about the matters of your religion that are difficult for you.
And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q: I am presenting to you in this letter a question that has caused me confusion, and I hope you will benefit me by answering it. It concerns the prayer for guidance in a decision , for Jabir ibn 'Abd Allah (may Allah be pleased with them both) said:
Allah's Messenger would teach us Al-Isthikhara for all of our affairs just as he would teach us a Surah of the Qur'an, saying: 'When one of you is worried about a matter, then let him perform two Rak'ah other than the obligatory (prayer), then let him say: (Allahumma inni astakhiruka bi'ilmika, wa astaqdiruka biqudratika, wa as'aluka min falikal-azim, fa innaka taqdiru wa la qadiru, wa ta'lami wa la a'lamu, wa anta allamul-ghayub. Allahumma in kunta ta'lamu anna hadhal-amra khairun li fi dini wa ma'ishati wa aqibati amri, or said: Fi ajili amri wa ajilihi fayassirhu li,thumma barik li fihi, wa in kunta ta'lamu anna hadhal-amra sharrun li fi dini wa ma'ishati wa aqibati amri, or said: Fi ajili amri wa ajilihi fasrifhu anni wasrifni anhu waqdur Lil-khaira haithu kana, thumma ardini bih.)" 'O Allah! I consult Your knowledge, and seek ability from Your power, and I ask You from Your magnificent bounty, for indeed You have power and I do not have power, and You know while I do not know, and You know the unseen. O Allah! If you know that this matter is good for me in my religion or my livelihood, and for my life in the Hereafter - or he said: for my present and future - then make it easy for me, then bless me in it. If You know that this matter is bad for me in my religion and my livelihood and my life in the Hereafter - or he said: for my present and future - then divert it from me and divert me from it, enable me to find the good wherever it is, then make me pleased with it."
كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يعلمنا الاستخارة.. ثم ليقل: اللهم إني أستخيرك بعلمك، وأستقدرك بقدرتك، وأسألك من فضلك العظيم، فإنك تقدر ولا أقدر، وتعلم ولا أعلم وأنت علام الغيوب، اللهم إن كنت تعلم أن هذا الأمر... وأقدر لي الخير حيث كان ثم رضني بهarose for me in the wording: “O Allah, if You know.” Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) knows all things, their present, past, and future. Yet the wording is “if You know,” which—according to the limited understanding—seems to deny knowledge to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He)
A: The phrase in the hadith of the prayer for guidance in a decision, worded as:
Allahumma in kunta ta'lamu anna hadha-lamra khairun li fi dini wa ma'ashi
اللهم إن كنت تعلم أن هذا الأمر خـير لي في ديني ومعاشي..And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.