Istikhara And Mashura: Divine Guidance For Wise Decisions

Jumu'ah Khutbah — Istikhāra and Mashūra: Two Divine Tools for Decision Making

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, praise be to Allah, and enough, and peace be upon His servants, those who have been chosen. Then, Allah, the Exalted, said in the Book of His revelation — after I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan:

My dear respected brothers and sisters in Islam, respected elders and young friends, السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُهُ.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has revealed this Qur'an as a source of guidance for all humanity. And in the opening ayat of Surah Al-Baqarah, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reminds us about the purpose of the revelation of this book. He says that this is the book — الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ — in which there is no doubt. هُدًى لِلْمُتَّقِينَ — it is a source of guidance for those who have taqwa.

The Qur'an provides us guidance regarding many different aspects of our lives. Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam has said that our deen did not leave any khair but it has guided us towards it, and did not leave any sharr — anything that is harmful — but has warned us against it.

And among the beautiful guidelines in our deen that we can benefit from is that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given us two beautiful means of benefiting when making decisions. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam has said that the one who utilizes these blessings will never have regret, will never have sadness, and will be happy with the outcome of his decision.

(Reported by al-Tabarāni in al-Mu'jam al-Awsat; also referenced in various collections of hadith on istikhāra and mashūra)

The one who makes istikhāra will never fail. And مَا نَدِمَ مَنِ اسْتَشَارَ — the one who takes mashūra, takes opinion from those who are qualified, مَا نَدِمَ — he will not have regret. خَابَ وَخَسِرَ means to fail — to fail in one's plans, to fail in achieving what is desired.

So the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said the one who makes istikhāra will never fail, and the one who makes mashūra will never have regret. So these are two very beautiful tools that have been given to us. One segment of the ummah completely ignores these; the other may have wrong understandings of what they imply.

Istikhāra: Seeking Goodness from Allah

The first one — istikhāra — comes from the word khair, which means goodness. And istikhāra means to seek goodness, to seek goodness from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It is a du'a to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, asking Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to grant us khair.

There are many misconceptions — that a person will have to see a particular dream, and a green light means to go ahead, and a red light means to stop, na'udhu billah, or something like that. Dreams are not necessarily a condition for the istikhāra. It may happen — a person may see a dream from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala; dreams are a form of bushrā, a source of guidance and glad tidings for us — but it is definitely not a condition.

The Sunnah Method of Istikhāra

What is the sunnah of istikhāra? It is simply that a person performs wudu, performs two raka'at of salah in the best manner possible. There are no specific surahs that need to be recited in the first or second raka'at — no specific stipulation, nothing out of the ordinary when it comes to the prayer. Try our best to concentrate, of course, with the utmost devotion. But the performance of the salah from the takbīr al-tahrīma to the qiyām, to the rukū' and the sajda, until the end will be exactly the same as any two raka'at of nafl.

After performing the salah, a person should start off by praising Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala to the best of his ability — as this is the etiquette of du'a — and then send salutations upon Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.

The Du'a of Istikhāra

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1166; narrated by Jābir ibn 'Abdillah radhiAllahu anhu)

So أَسْتَخِيرُكَ بِعِلْمِكَ — I seek the khair from You, by virtue of the fact that You have knowledge. وَأَسْتَقْدِرُكَ بِقُدْرَتِكَ — and I seek the qudra and power from You, the ability to do what is good and right, because You are the One who has all the power.

So it is such a beautiful du'a. Right where we start out, we are speaking to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, begging from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, in a very logical manner. O Allah, I am asking from You khair, because You are the One who knows — You have the ilm. And I am seeking qudra and power from You, because You are the One who has all the qudra and all the power.

وَأَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ الْعَظِيمِ — O Allah, there may be a limit to what khair I can ask from You, there may be a limit to the qudra I can ask from You, based on my being very limited in my approach and in my knowledge of what to ask. So beyond that, I seek from You مِنْ فَضْلِكَ الْعَظِيمِ — from Your infinite grace and bounty. Your 'adl is that You give me what I deserve, what I ask — and fadl is that You give me even beyond that. So I ask from You Your fadl, Your grace, Your bounty, which is very great indeed — it cannot be measured, cannot be counted, cannot be limited.

فَإِنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ وَلَا أَقْدِرُ — For verily, O Allah, You have all the qudra and all the power, and I have no power. So here, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala loves that we praise Him, and also loves that we express our humility in front of Him. And we have both of them back to back here: attributing all power to Allah — تَقْدِرُ — and attributing one's own weakness and humbleness — وَلَا أَقْدِرُ.

وَتَعْلَمُ وَلَا أَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتَ عَلَّامُ الْغُيُوبِ — O Allah, You have the knowledge, and O Allah, I have no knowledge. Indeed, You have the knowledge of everything that is seen and unseen. If Allah is عَلَّامُ الْغَيْبِ, then definitely He is the knower of الْمُشَاهَد by default. So He has the knowledge of that which is seen, and He has the complete knowledge of that which is unseen.

اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ — O Allah, if You know — أَنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرَ — that this matter... And at this point a person should contemplate and think about what he is seeking guidance from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala regarding.

Istikhāra is Not Limited to Major Decisions

It is not limited to major things. It is not limited to marriage and job, and moving, and which college — these major life decisions. For sure, in those matters — but also in any matter that could have an impact, major or minor, in every affair, we can ask from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

There comes a hadith of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam that there is no situation in life, and no need too small, that we do not need the help of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — even if it be شِرَاكَ نَعْلِهِ, the shoelace. The شِرَاكَ نَعْل is the strap that was used to tie the shoe. So Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: if your shoelace breaks and you need to fix it or get another one, even that you need to ask from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

If somebody wants to understand this further — that why in the world do you need the help of Allah to get a shoelace, that is something very simple indeed — it is just to remind ourselves of a very basic point: that we cannot get up from here and get in the car and make a right turn on North Avenue without the help of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. At any particular moment, a car could come and hit us, and before we know it, a person can die. Even one step, even making the intention to get up from a sitting position, or moving from one position to the next — at every single moment we are completely dependent upon Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Every single breath that we are taking, inhaling and exhaling, every single time our heart is pumping, we are completely dependent upon Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And we have to remind ourselves of this — that is why we need to continually seek the help of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. We say:

In each raka'at — O Allah, only You do we worship, and only from You do we continue to seek help. إِيَّاكَ نَسْتَعِينُ — we always need the help of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Allah Ta'ala reminds us:

O mankind, أَنتُمُ الْفُقَرَاءُ إِلَى اللَّهِ — you are perpetually, at all times, in need of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. In coming into existence, in staying in the state of existence, in our worldly life, in the hereafter — at no moment in our existence are we independent of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You are faqīr — you are in need of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And Allah is الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ — He is above and beyond any need of His creation. He is Ghanī and He is al-Hamīd, the One who is worthy of all praise.

This is the actual meaning of As-Samad:

Say, Allah is the One. He is As-Samad. As-Samad is that Being who is completely independent of His entire creation, and the entire creation at the same time is entirely dependent upon Him. Sometimes in Urdu when it's translated, it is only half of the translation — bē niyāz. That He does not need any creation — that is absolutely true, it is the truth in it, but it is not the whole truth. Because As-Samad means the One who is absolutely independent of His entire creation — which is bē niyāz — but at the same time the entire creation is dependent upon Him. That is the full meaning of As-Samad.

Understanding the Full Du'a of Istikhāra

اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرَ خَيْرٌ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي — O Allah, if You know that this matter is good for me in my deen and my dunya, in my worldly life and for my hereafter. Something could be apparently good for you in the dunya but maybe harmful in the ākhirah — so that is not something we want to go for. We want to go for that which is good for us in this dunya as well as in the ākhirah.

فَاقْدُرْهُ لِي وَيَسِّرْهُ لِي — O Allah, decree it for me and make it easy for me. So we want it decreed by Allah Ta'ala. When He signs off on it — He decides it is for us — that is what we are looking for. And after He decides it for us, we want it to be easy for us as well. ثُمَّ بَارِكْ لِي فِيهِ — then O Allah, put barakah in it for me.

That is why the scholars say that all of the du'as of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam are pearls and gems, and different du'as are even more unique with respect to how comprehensive they are. And this du'a is one of the leading examples of the comprehensive nature of the du'as of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. Because it does not leave any possibility of failure. That is why the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, as I mentioned: مَا خَابَ مَنِ اسْتَخَارَ — the one who makes istikhāra will not have any failure. SubhanAllah. Because there is nothing left. There is no way a person can fail to achieve success if he recites this du'a with yaqīn.

Then Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam teaches us: اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرَ شَرٌّ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي — O Allah, if You know that this matter is sharr for me — bad, harmful for me — in my deen, in my dunya, for my livelihood, for my ākhirah. Then: فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي وَاصْرِفْنِي عَنْهُ — turn it away from me, turn me away from it. So that I do not have a continual inclination towards it.

But then my need still remains — it has to be fulfilled. If I didn't get it fulfilled — like for example, if it's a job that's not good for me, or a marriage proposal that's not good for me — then turn that marriage away from me, turn that job away from me. But where am I going to go? I still need to get married, I still need a job. So that is also taken care of: وَاقْدُرْ لِيَ الْخَيْرَ حَيْثُ كَانَ — since the khair is not here, wherever else it may lie, decree that for me, ya Allah.

And then there is one last concern: the reason a person is making istikhāra about the first proposal, job, college, or whatever it is, is because he has gone forward with it and has been thinking about it for some time — it has reached a particular stage. So if it is sharr, you ask Allah Ta'ala to remove it from you. Your need still requires fulfillment — and that is taken care of. But what if your heart is still attached to the former? What if you are still regretting it? What if you are not happy with the second option, which is actually better for you, because you are short-sighted?

So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala taught the Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam to teach us this du'a — the last portion: ثُمَّ أَرْضِنِي بِهِ — then O Allah, make me happy and pleased with it. Make me actually disinclined from the former, which is bad for me, and inclined towards — and enjoying and benefiting from — that which is best for me.

So this is the beautiful du'a of istikhāra. And everything that is khair and good — Nabi sallallahu alayhi wa sallam taught us to do it an odd number of times: three, five, or seven. إِنَّ اللَّهَ وِتْرٌ يُحِبُّ الْوِتْرَ — Allah Himself is one, and He loves odd things. So we can do it three, five, or seven nights.

The reason it is mentioned to perform at night is that a person can focus. It is not necessary to be performed only before sleeping, but that is a time when a person is done with all his affairs and has now made wudu and is about to go to sleep — there is nothing else on his agenda. Otherwise, while he is praying, he may be thinking about finishing his homework, his assignment, his meetings, or taking care of his children. May Allah protect our Jumu'ah from being like that — where we are thinking about the afternoon chores and assignments during our Jumu'ah prayer. Whereas at the end of the day, a person has now finished all his tasks and can focus with his heart and mind and soul in the du'a.

And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will accept the du'a. If it is khair, Allah will start opening the doors of khair and will turn a person towards that, and things will start working. And if things start shutting down and there is no progress and he finds it difficult — then that is also the barakah of istikhāra. Because you have already made the du'a: O Allah, if it's not good for me, فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي — turn it away from me. That is exactly what is happening. So either way, you win.

Mashūra: Taking Counsel from the Qualified

The second thing is making mashūra. Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam told us, and we learned from the sahāba and the tābi'īn, and there are many āyāt about this — many hadith about who to ask and what to ask. The āyah is:

If you do not know about a matter, ask those who have remembrance and have knowledge of it. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam also said: the cure for ignorance is to ask. And السُّؤَالُ نِصْفُ الْعِلْمِ — asking is half of knowledge.

So let us not be arrogant and not take mashūra, not take guidance — then we ourselves will be the losers. Many times a person does not ask because of two things: al-mustahyī and al-mustakbir. The one who has hayā is embarrassed to ask, or the one who is arrogant does not want to ask. So these two people remain ignorant and end up making mistakes. So there is no reason to have hayā here, and there is no reason to be arrogant. Rather, if you are a true tālib and seeker of what is right and true, then inshā'Allāh we will take advice.

Who to Take Mashūra From

To sum it up, a very beautiful statement: the one we take advice from should have two qualities — habīb and labīb. Habīb means he actually loves you for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. If he does not love you, he will guide you in the wrong direction — to harm you, out of jealousy, not wanting your success. And labīb means he is intelligent, because he may love you, but if he has no knowledge, then he is a foolish friend, which can actually end up being very dangerous.

Nādān dost is more khatarnak than a hoshyār dushman — meaning the foolish friend will harm you in ways you never expected. An intelligent enemy — you can protect yourself from, because you know he is out to get you. The foolish friend — you will have your guard down because he is your friend, but he ends up harming you in ways you never expected. So he can end up being more dangerous than an intelligent enemy. That is why the one you consult must also be labīb — possessed of knowledge.

So a person who fears Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala — when someone came and asked Umar radhiAllahu anhu for advice, he gave him some advice and said:

(Attributed to 'Umar ibn al-Khattāb radhiAllahu anhu)

When you make a decision, take mashūra from those who truly fear Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

So if we keep these points in mind — they are guidelines for us from the Qur'an and Sunnah — then inshā'Allāh we will be in a good position. We will be making correct decisions that will inshā'Allāh enhance our lives, positively impact our lives, and our families.

وَآخِرُ دَعْوَانَا أَنِ الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

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Please keep in your du'as the brothers and sisters in Palestine. May Allah grant them respite from this oppression and elevate their status.

We have received news that Imam Junaid Khan, Imam of Masjid Dār al-Salām in Tampa, Florida, has passed away. May Allah Ta'ala grant him maghfirah.

Our teacher Mawlana Yusuf Ghoz's grandfather has also passed away in California. Please make du'a for his maghfirah.

Brother Imran's mother passed away in India today. Please make du'a for her maghfirah.

Brother Yusuf Moizuddin, a young high school student, is in a lot of pain due to a car accident after the retreat. He is in the hospital. Please make du'a for his swift shifā'.

We make du'a for all of these individuals. May Allah protect us and the sick Muslims. May Allah have mercy on our dead and the dead of the Muslims. May Allah protect us all. Āmīn.