Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear Brother In Islam, Assalamalikum.

I have asked this question long time back but not yet replied. Your Reply would be of great help. May ALLAH swt reward you with good health and prosperity. Ameen.

Dear Brother In Islam, Assalamalikum, I perform salaat-ul-istekhara. By praying 2 rakat namaz and then during the surah fateha i repeat words iyyakanabudu wa iyyakanastaeen many time until face automatically turns left or right by the will of allah swt.

I would like to know wether this is the right way of payer, and also i have heard that there r 2 more methods of performing the salaat. One is that comes in dreams and another performed thru tasbeeh. I would like to know these methods also. And i would be greatfull if u can tell me about the methods. Thank You.

Allahafiz,

Mukarram.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Istakhara

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Beloved Brother in Islam, there is only one way to pray the Sunnah prayer of ‘Istakhara’, and that is the way which was prayed and taught by the Messenger of Allah (saws).

Salatul istekharah

from the book Fiqh us-Sunnah by As-Sayyid Sabiq

It is a sunnah that, if one must choose between permissible alternatives,
one should pray two rak'as sunnah, be they regular sunnah prayers or a
prayer for entering a mosque, and so on, during any time of the day or
night, and to recite therein whatever one wishes of the Qu'ran after
reciting Al-Fatiha. Then one should praise Allah and send salutations to the
Prophet, peace be upon him, and recite the following supplication which has
been recorded by Bukhari in Jabir's narration:

Allahomma Inni Astakheeroka Bi'ilmik. Wa'astaqdiroka Biqodratik. Wa'as'aloka
min Fadlikal-azeem. Fa'innaka Taqdiru Wala Aqdir. Wata'lamo Wala-a'lam.
Wa'anta-'allamul ghuyoob.

Allahomma In Kunta Ta'lamu Anna (Hathal-Amra) Khayul-lee Fi Deenee Wama'ashi
Wa'ajila Amri Wa'ajilah, Faqdorho lee, Wayassirho lee, Thomma-barik lee fih.

Wa'in Konta Ta'lamo Anna (Hathal-Amra) sharrul-lee Fi Deenee. Wama'ashi.
Wa'ajila Amri. Wa'ajilaho. Fasrifho 'annee. Wasrifnee 'anh. Waqdur
leyal-khayr Haytho kan. Thomma ardini Bih.

Translation of the du'a of Istakhara:

O Allah! 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 Allah! If in Your knowledge, (this matter) is good for my religion, my
livelihood and my affairs; immediate and in the distant, then ordain for me,
make it easy for me and bless it for me. And if in Your knowledge, (this
matter) is bad for my religion, my livelihood and my affairs; immediate and
in the distant, then turn it away from me, and turn me away from it. And
ordain for me the good wherever it be and make me pleased with it.

Notes:
1. The above du'a is to be recited when there is uncertainty about the
advisability of taking a decision, provided it is Islamically permissable.
2. After performing wudu' (ablution), one should offer two rakahs (sunnah
required for this purpose).

3. Before reciting the dua' it should be made sure that the person is not
already inclined to a given decision; otherwise it will mean the person is
not serious about seeking guidance from Allah (SWT).

4. In making this dua' the actual matter or decision concerning which divine
guidance is being sought should be mentioned instead of the words (Hathal
Amra) in transliteration or the words "this matter" in the translation
above.
5. After reciting the dua' (immediately or later on), one may feel more
favorably disposed toward one choice or the other.

Your Question: By praying 2 rakat namaz and then during the surah fateha i repeat words iyyakanabudu wa iyyakanastaeen many time until face automatically turns left or right by the will of allah swt. I would like to know wether this is the right way of payer

If one adds or subtracts anything to any act of worship done by the Messenger of Allah (saws), it would constitute to be a ‘bida’ or an innovation in Islam; and every innovation, without an iota of a doubt, would be an error.

Sahih Muslim Hadith 1885 Narrated by Jabir ibn Abdullah

That the Prophet of Allah (saws) said in a sermon: “The best speech is that which is embodied in the Book of Allah, the Al Quran; and the best guidance is the guidance given by me, Mohamed (saws). The most evil affairs are the innovations, and every innovation is an error.”

There is absolutely nothing in the authentic Sunnah whereby the Messenger of Allah (saws) repeated any verse of Surah Fateha several times while performing the prayer of Istakhara until his face turned right or left; thus this performance would not be in alignment with the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws); and any act of worship not endorsed by the Messenger of Allah (saws) would be an innovation, and every innovation is an error.

Your Statement: and also i have heard that there r 2 more methods of performing the salaat

Beloved brother, there is only one way to perform the optional prayer of ‘Istakhara’, and that is the way as performed and taught by the Messenger of Allah (saws).

Your Statement: One is that comes in dreams and another performed thru tasbeeh. I would like to know these methods also. And i would be greatfull if u can tell me about the methods.

We assume from your above statement that you wish to inquire how does one determine the result or response of one’s prayer of ‘Istakhara’.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not as if whenever one performs ‘istakharah’, one will get an immediate answer from the Merciful Lord in one’s dream (although it may happen!), or something tangible; but what happens is, if one completely puts his trust in Allah Subhanah and makes a choice between the permissible alternatives, one will easily be able to recognize the permissibility of his choice made.

If the choice made is right, Allah Subhanah will make the option easily available and clear all the difficulties in the path of obtaining that good option; and as one sees the ease with which the option is carried out, he/she will realize that this is indeed the right choice and the result of the istakhara was in the affirmative.

But if the choice is wrong and detrimental in the future, Allah Subhanah will make the happening of the option difficult and one will experience blockages and difficulties in the way of achieving that option; and at some stage, when after trying everything in one’s power the option is still not coming to a conclusion, one will realize that this was not the right choice and the result of the istakhara was negative.

Hadrat Saad ibn abi-Waqas (r.a.) reported that the Prophet (saws) said, "Istikharah (seeking guidance from Allah) is one of the distinct favors (of Allah) upon man, and a good fortune for the son of Adam is to be pleased with the Judgment of Allah. And a misfortune of the son of Adam is his failure to make ‘istikharah’ (seeking Allah's guidance), and a misfortune for the son of Adam is his displeasure with the Judgment of Allah."

The most important aspect while performing ‘istakharah’ is to recognize that All Strength and Power belongs to none except Allah Subhanah Alone; if the powers of the whole world got together and tried to give one something which Allah Subhanah has not Willed and Permitted, know it for sure that it can never happen! And if all the powers of the world got together and tried to take something which Allah has Pleased and Permitted one with, they would not be able withhold His Mercy! Thus one should know for sure, that everything, absolutely everything happens only with the Will and Permission of Allah Subhanah, the Lord of the Worlds.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and sincere well wisher in Islam,

Burhan