The Du’a of Istikhāra - Shaykh Ahsan Hanif

The Du'a of Istikhāra

As for the rest, the best speech is the Book of Allah, and the best guide is the guide of Muhammad ﷺ. And the worst of things are its innovations, and every innovation is a creation, and every creation is a misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.

The Companions and the Burial of the Prophet ﷺ

In terms of the washing and the shrouding — because even though the rules of Islam and the laws of Islam, in terms of the janā'iz and our funerals are laid out, the Prophet ﷺ is not an ordinary man like you and I. So the companions didn't know: Do we wash him like we wash other people? Do we shroud him like we shroud others? Do we bury him like we bury others? Do we pray over him? They didn't know. It was a unique situation.

One of those things and those decisions that they had to make is how to dig the grave of the Prophet ﷺ. Because the Arabs had two ways that they would dig graves. One of them is as we do in this country — they would dig straight down. And the other is that they would dig down, but then they would have a niche to the side, and they would bury the body within that niche or that opening.

So they didn't know. What is collected in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad and the Sunan of Ibn Mājah on the authority of the companion Anas ibn Mālik رضي الله عنه, he said that when the Prophet ﷺ died, the companions asked themselves: which of the two ways do we dig his grave? And there were two companions that used to dig graves at that time — one way and the other.

One of them was Abū Ṭalḥa رضي الله عنه, the Anṣārī, the stepfather of Anas ibn Mālik رضي الله عنه. He would dig it to the side and make the niche. And the other companion was Abū 'Ubayda ibn al-Jarrāḥ رضي الله عنه, a companion from the companions of Mecca, one of the ten promised Paradise. He would dig straight down.

Anas رضي الله عنه said that those companions then said:

"We will ask our Lord to decide." — We will call for both of them:

"Whichever one of them gets here first, we will let him do his thing." So they called for both of them, and it was Abū Ṭalḥa al-Anṣārī رضي الله عنه that came first. So he dug it down and he made the niche. That is why that laḥd — that niche — became the Sunnah for those people that are able to do so.

The Meaning and Importance of Istikhāra

The point of this narration and why I'm sharing it with you is because what I wanted to speak about today is this practice of the companions that the Prophet ﷺ left them with when it comes to making decisions — and it is widely neglected amongst us. And that is to seek Allah's counsel and advice, to make the istikhāra, to pray that ṣalāh and to make that du'ā, to ask Allah for His counsel, His guidance, His advice.

Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله said that the istikhāra:

It is to encompass reliance and trust upon Allah عز و جل. To trust in Allah because you leave your affairs to Allah عز و جل.

It is human nature that we often are indecisive, especially when it comes to decisions. Who do I marry? Which school, college, or university do I go to? Which course do I enroll on? Which job do I take? Where do I go? We don't know. And we make a decision, and how often does Shayṭān come and make us regret those decisions. "If only I had done that, perhaps that would have been a better choice. Maybe I should have gone the other way." Our sharī'ah gave us something that closes that door — it tells you to trust in Allah and put your affairs in the hands of Allah عز و جل.

And this was something common that the companions used to do, رضي الله عنهم أجمعين. As mentioned in the hadith in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī on the authority of the companion Jābir ibn 'Abdillāh رضي الله عنهما, he said:

(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Hadith 1166)

"Our Prophet ﷺ would teach us to make istikhāra in all of our affairs."

If I was to ask myself and you — how many times in your life have you made istikhāra? For the vast majority of us, we probably can count the number of times on the fingers of one or two hands. When we wanted to get married, maybe we made istikhāra. Maybe for that big job, we made istikhāra — two, three, four, five times in a whole lifetime. Jābir says he would teach us to make it in all of our affairs, everything.

Why wouldn't you want Allah's advice? Why wouldn't you want Allah's guidance and direction in every single decision that you want to make? كَسُورَةٍ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ — as if it were a sūrah of the Qur'ān. Just as we teach our children Fātiḥa, Ikhlāṣ, Sūrat al-Falaq, Sūrat al-Nās, Āyat al-Kursī — the Prophet ﷺ would teach them this du'ā.

How to Perform Istikhāra

And he would say to them:

"If one of you wants to make a decision, let him make two nafl — two units of prayer, two rak'āhs." And in another narration: other than the obligatory prayer. You can't do it for the Jumu'ah ṣalāh. You can't do it for the Fajr ṣalāh. But any prayer that's not an obligation upon you — the ḍuḥā prayer in the morning, taḥiyyat al-masjid when you come into the masjid, any two optional rak'āhs.

ثُمَّ لِيَقُلْ — "And then let him say" at the end of it. And there is a position of many of the scholars that you say it before the salām, after the tashahhud. Because you're sitting in a place where you've praised Allah, glorified Allah, sent ṣalāt and salām upon the Prophet ﷺ in the tashahhud. Then you make this du'ā and you seek Allah's help.

And it is an amazing du'ā. It comprises and encompasses for us tawakkul. And Allah loves the people of tawakkul:

"Whoever entrusts their affairs to Allah, Allah is sufficient for them."

"The believers, they place their reliance, their trust only in Allah عز و جل." You close off the door for everyone else, and for Shayṭān, and you place your affairs in the hands of Allah. Let Him decide what is better for you.

The Words of the Du'ā of Istikhāra

"Oh Allah, I ask Your guidance by virtue of Your knowledge" — اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْتَخِيرُكَ بِعِلْمِكَ. "And I seek ability by virtue of Your power" — وَأَسْتَقْدِرُكَ بِقُدْرَتِكَ. "And I ask You of Your endless bounty" — وَأَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ الْعَظِيمِ.

Praising Allah, acknowledging Allah as knowledge and power and ability over us. You and I, when we want to make a decision, we often go to people around us and seek their advice. "What do you think? Should I marry that person? Should I take that job? Should I travel to that place? Should I move to that area?" And people tell you what they think — your parents, your family, your friends, the people that you know. But all of our knowledge is deficient. All of our knowledge is wanting. It may have been good for me, but it may not be good for you. My experience was good, but your experience is going to be terrible. We don't know.

Nor do we always have the ability to do what we want to do. I want to set up a business, but it's going to cost me £100,000. I don't have that money around, but I know that it's something that I really want to do. I ask Allah for His knowledge. I ask Allah عز و جل by virtue of His power. I ask Allah from His endless bounty, His grace, His favor.

فَإِنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ وَلَا أَقْدِرُ — "For You, oh Allah, You have all power, I have none." وَتَعْلَمُ وَلَا أَعْلَمُ — "And You have all knowledge, and I have none." وَأَنْتَ عَلَّامُ الْغُيُوبِ — "And You are the One who knows the unseen." Because those people around us, those advisors, they don't know the unseen. They don't know the future. They don't know what Allah has decreed for us and what He hasn't. But Allah knows. Allah عز و جل is the One who controls the affairs of the universe. Allah knows and controls and has within His grasp our future. Allah can turn things as He pleases. So we ask Allah عز و جل by virtue of that knowledge.

And this was the way of the companions. Anything that is major, anything that is minor, they would seek and make istikhāra — not just once but repeatedly, over and over again. And they've made a decision perhaps, or they're leaning to one of the two options, of the two choices.

The Story of 'Abdullāh ibn al-Zubayr and the Ka'bah

It's reported in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim that the companion 'Abdullāh ibn al-Zubayr رضي الله عنهما, when he was the leader of Mecca and the Ka'bah became weakened structurally, he wanted to demolish the Ka'bah and rebuild it again. But the people around him said: "How can you take apart the Ka'bah?" And they feared that if someone was to remove any of the bricks or the stones of the Ka'bah, that perhaps a punishment may come upon them. "Didn't Allah عز و جل destroy the army of the elephants when they tried to harm the Ka'bah? Don't do it, leave it alone." It's mentioned in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim that Ibn al-Zubayr رضي الله عنهما prayed istikhāra for three days before he decided to do it. Because this was the way of the companions. This is what the Prophet ﷺ told them.

So when you have a choice, when you have something to do, you turn to Allah عز و جل. And look at how the beginning of this du'ā — all of it revolves around the tawḥīd of Allah. Acknowledging Allah's power, acknowledging Allah's knowledge, acknowledging Allah عز و جل's supremacy, His majesty over us. That Allah عز و جل is the One who controls our affairs. Allah knows our future. Allah knows better than we do what is better for us. So you turn to Allah and you make du'ā to Him.

Asking Allah for Good in All Dimensions

اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كَانَ هَذَا الْأَمْرُ خَيْرًا لِي — "Oh Allah, if this affair that I want to embark upon, this choice that I want to make, if it is better for me..." And then you mention what that is. And some of the scholars said you can mention multiple things at once. You don't have to pray istikhāra for every single decision that you want to make — no, mention all of them together in one. As often as you can and as much as you can. And this is something which we don't do enough of today. And one of the reasons is because we don't often pray nawāfil. We pray the obligatory prayers — all of us here, we're praying our Fajr and our Ẓuhr, our 'Aṣr, Maghrib and 'Ishā'. But how often, or how much of the nawāfil do we pray? But the salaf, they used to pray a lot of optional prayers all the time. So this du'ā was easy for them to make — easy in every single ṣalāh.

"Oh Allah, if you know that this is better for me" — فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي — "Oh Allah, if it's better for me in my religion, in my worldly life, and in my hereafter." What an amazing du'ā. Everything that you require. Some things are good for you in your dunyā, but they're not good for you in your religion. They're going to distract you from Allah. They're going to put you on the path of arrogance and misguidance. They're going to take you away from Allah's remembrance. "Oh Allah, if this is good for me in my religion, in my dunyā and my worldly life, وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي — and the end of my affairs," meaning the hereafter.

فَاقْدُرْهُ لِي — "Then oh Allah, decree it for me." And as is mentioned in the hadith of the Prophet ﷺ, there is nothing that repels the decree of Allah other than du'ā. Allah decreed something for you, yet when Allah's eternal knowledge, He also knew that you would make a du'ā and Allah would respond to that du'ā and He would change that decree to another decree. So you make du'ā and you ask Allah. "Oh Allah, if it's good for me, then decree it for me."

وَإِنْ كَانَ هَذَا الْأَمْرُ شَرًّا لِي — "But if this affair is evil for me, harmful for me, bad for me, فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي — in my religion, in my worldly life, in my hereafter, فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي وَاصْرِفْنِي عَنْهُ — then remove it from me, me from it."

How often have we had that situation where we've had two choices before us. One of them is easy and the other one is hard. One of them is right in front of you — all you have to do is reach out and grasp it. But no matter how hard you try, you can't do it. Obstacles, problems, reasons — you just can't get that thing that's closer to you. And Allah عز و جل directs you to something else; perhaps you didn't even think of it. It wasn't even something which you considered. But Allah moved you somewhere else.

How many people want to marry someone but they end up marrying someone else? How many people when they're young, they say "I want to grow up and be this or that, this is the career and profession I want to choose," but Allah chooses something else for them. How often do things change? "Oh Allah, remove me from it, it from me." وَاقْدُرْ لِيَ الْخَيْرَ حَيْثُ كَانَ ثُمَّ أَرْضِنِي بِهِ — "And then oh Allah, always decree what is good for me and make me pleased with it."

Contentment with the Decree of Allah

Tawakkul — being pleased with the decree of Allah, entrusting your affairs to Allah عز و جل. So then if you now do something having made that du'ā multiple times and Allah chose something for you and it didn't work out, or you can't see much benefit in it, but you know that Allah chose it for you now — because you made that du'ā over and over again — you know that Allah knows something that you and I don't know. Maybe the good in it is something which we can't see. Maybe the good in it isn't the good of the dunyā but the ultimate reward of Allah عز و جل on the Day of Judgment.

And also you close the door of Shayṭān, because you're not going to have any remorse and regrets. "I missed that opportunity. I didn't go that way. I didn't take that choice." Allah knew that it wasn't good for me. It seems good. Everyone is saying you made a mistake — but Allah knows what I and you do not know.

This is the du'ā that the companions used to make. And that is why 'Abdullāh ibn al-Zubayr رضي الله عنهما — going back to that narration — after three days of praying istikhāra, he said to the people around him: "I will go and I will remove the first stone of the Ka'bah. If something happens to me, you know — stop, don't do any more. And if nothing happens, then you know that it's okay." So he went and he did it, رضي الله عنهم, and he rebuilt the Ka'bah. Trusting in Allah. Asking Allah. This is something which the companions used to do.

Tawakkul and the Connection with Allah

One of the things that weakens our īmān in our time is a lack of tawakkul — not trusting in Allah عز و جل, not having that ability to entrust our affairs to Allah, not being pleased with the decree of Allah عز و جل. A practical, habitual way in which you can build that tawakkul in Allah is by using this du'ā of istikhāra.

This hadith of Jābir رضي الله عنهما in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī that I just narrated — it shows that the Prophet ﷺ, one of the objectives of his prophethood and one of the things that he wanted to leave behind for his companions, his followers, and his ummah, is to strengthen the connection between them and Allah. And one of the greatest ways that you strengthen that connection with Allah عز و جل is by having these acts of worship that are acts of worship of the heart — actions of the heart. No one else can see them. No one else knows their true measure or worth except the person who practices them on a daily basis. They trust their affairs to Allah.

How many people get married and they end up in divorce? How many people start businesses and they end up losing their businesses? How many people buy a home and maybe they lose their home? The situations are endless. But to trust in Allah — "I know that Allah only decrees what is good," even if you and I can't see it. But more importantly, to ward off the whisperings of Shayṭān. Because one of the greatest weapons of Shayṭān, especially in our time today, is to make us doubt Allah, to distance us from Allah عز و جل, to make us doubt the wisdom of the decrees of Allah. And so a person makes choices and then we're second-guessing ourselves the next day, the third day, the fourth day. We're always second-guessing ourselves. And that's because we don't have that level of trust the way that the companions did, the way that the prophets of Allah mentioned in the Qur'ān — that they would make a choice knowing that Allah عز و جل only chooses for the believers that which is best for them.

To trust in Allah, to ask Allah, to seek of Allah. How many acts of worship are found just within this single du'ā? To turn to Allah, to pray, to make du'ā, to trust in Allah, to be pleased with His decree, to humble yourself before Allah عز و جل, to seek from Allah's bounty and His pleasure. How many acts of worship just in a single du'ā? This du'ā is extremely powerful and amazing. And that is why it is something which you should become used to doing on a regular basis, for all of the affairs that you have, all of the things that you need to do. Anything that is permissible and allowed, you can make istikhāra for it, asking Allah عز و جل for His guidance.

Closing Du'ā

We ask Allah that He makes us from the people of tawakkul and from the people who rely upon Him and believe in His decrees and are pleased with them. We ask Allah عز و جل that He showers His mercy and forgiveness upon us. And that Allah عز و جل makes us steadfast in this religion. And that Allah makes us from amongst those people who live upon īmān and die upon īmān and are resurrected with the people of īmān under the banner of our Prophet ﷺ.