One Important Issue To Understand About The Prayer
Our heart is always occupied with many thoughts, thinking should we choose this or that. However, you can learn how to pray Istikhara, the perfect dua, that put us in a position to seek the help of Allah in any circumstance
How To Pray Istikhaarah: Seeking Allah’s Guidance For Perfect Decision Making
Pray Istikiarah When You Need To Choose The Best Of Something
Ibn Hajr (may Allah have mercy on him) said, Istikhaarah means asking Allah to help one make a choice, meaning choosing the best of two things where one needs to choose one of them.
Don’t think it needed to perform the dua for every matter.
Like Ibn Abi Jamrah said: if the matter is that of waajib (obligatory) or mustahabb (liked or encouraged) there is no need for istikhaarah to decide whether to do them.
Because istikhaarah is a general phrase that refers to something specific.
Similar to that, for matters that are haraam (forbidden) or makrooh (disliked), there is also no need for istikhaarah to decide whether to avoid them.
Ibn Abi Jamrah added that istikhaarah is confined to matters that are mubaah (allowed), or in mustahabb matters, or when there is a decision to be made as to which one should be given priority.
As a note, it refers to both great and small matters, and probably an insignificant issue could form the groundwork for a big issue.
In the version of hadith narrated by Ibn Mashood, the phrase ‘If any one of you is concerned’ appears as ‘if any one of you wants to do something.’
Al-Nawawi said in al-Adhkaar that, he can pray istikaarah after two rakahs of regular sunnah prayer done at zuhr for example, or after two rakahs of any naafil prayers whether they are regularly performed or not.
Especially in the case that, if he made the intention to pray istikhaarah at the same time as intending to pray that particular prayer, this is fine. But not if he did not have this intention.
However, the mention of the phrase ‘Let him pray two rakahs of non-obligatory prayer makes it clear that it does not mean fajr prayer, for instance.
Summary Of How To Pray Istikhaarah
To pray istikhaarah, perform two non-obligatory prayers and recite the Dua, say you matter to replace the phrase ‘(then it should be mentioned by name)’.
Do not be attached to the matter in question, because that will result in a person becoming restless.
How To Pray Istikhaarah: Seeking Allah’s Guidance For Perfect Decision Making
Read the full explanations from commentary of al-Haafiz Ibn Hijr (may Allaah have mercy on him) on the hadeeth in Saheeh al-Bukhaari, Kitaab al-Dawaat and Kitaab al-Tawheed.
