How do I interpret the matters that come after the prayer for guidance (istikharah) and supplication, and when do I proceed with the matter I intend?
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The questioner : The questioner, Muhammad al-Tayyib, a Sudanese, asks: How do I interpret the matters that come after the prayer for guidance (istikharah) and supplication, and when do I proceed with the matter I intend?
The Shaykh : If a person seeks guidance from his Lord with sincerity, dependence on Him (Mighty and Majestic), and entrustment of the matter to Him, then Allah the Exalted will facilitate for him what He knows to be good. This is because the one seeking guidance says, “O Allah, if You know that this is good for me…” If he is sincere in his turning to Allah, entrusting the matter to Him, relying on Him, and having good opinion of Him, Allah will facilitate for him what is good. If he seeks guidance and one option becomes more prominent to him, let him take that which became more prominent. Or if he sees a dream that inclines him to one of the two matters for which he sought guidance from Allah the Exalted, let him take what he saw. Or if something is facilitated for him without being pointed out to him and it happens, let him know that this is the good, as long as he has sought guidance from Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with sincerity and pure intention. Indeed, Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is near and responsive, as He the Exalted said:[Al-Baqarah 2:186].
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : If a person seeks guidance from his Lord with sincerity, dependence on Him (Mighty and Majestic), and entrustment of the matter to Him, then Allah the Exalted will facilitate for him what He knows to be good. This is because the one seeking guidance says, “O Allah, if You know that this is good for me…” If he is sincere in his turning to Allah, entrusting the matter to Him, relying on Him, and having good opinion of Him, Allah will facilitate for him what is good. If he seeks guidance and one option becomes more prominent to him, let him take that which became more prominent. Or if he sees a dream that inclines him to one of the two matters for which he sought guidance from Allah the Exalted, let him take what he saw. Or if something is facilitated for him without being pointed out to him and it happens, let him know that this is the good, as long as he has sought guidance from Allah (Mighty and Majestic) with sincerity and pure intention. Indeed, Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is near and responsive, as He the Exalted said:
And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me - indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided.
وَإِذا سَأَلَكَ عِبادي عَنّي فَإِنّي قَريبٌ أُجيبُ دَعوَةَ الدّاعِ إِذا دَعانِ فَليَستَجيبوا لي وَليُؤمِنوا بي لَعَلَّهُم يَرشُدونَThe questioner : May Allah bless you.