Dua E Istikhara

Just like the meaning, the prayer salat'-l-istikharah or dua e istikhara, which is from the Sunnah of the Prophet , is an authentically narrated Sunnah of the Prophet and an extremely emphasized practice of the Messenger . Just like the meaning of the word istikharah or dua e istikhara, the purpose of the salah is similarly to seek that which is good from Allah. I want to insha'Allah have this session to explain the procedure and the purpose of istikharah or dua e istikhara.

I am going to split today's presentation into two parts. The first part will focus on the ritual itself, meaning the technicalities, procedure, concept and outcome of istikharah or dua e istikhara. The second part of the lecture will focus on the purpose of the istikharah or dua e istikhara, which is explaining the meaning and beauty of the supplication of istikharah or dua e istikhara itself because that unlocks the purpose and the reason why we even do istikharah or dua e istikhara.

Istikharah or dua e istikhara is not a Magic 8 ball. Did you ever buy that? You get it at the mall as a gag gift. You ask the Magic 8 ball, "Should I go to the mall today?" [Shake it]. "Maybe." This is the Magic 8 ball. What I am trying to say by giving you this silly example is what people play around with when playing with the Magic 8 ball is throw out a random question, shake the Magic 8 ball and get a magical answer and go with it. It is kind of like rolling the dice. Istikharah is not that.

There is a reason that Allah  emphasizes the 'aql, uli'l-albab, and these types of things in the Qur'an because these are from the greatest of Allah's blessings. That is the first step of the decision making process: Take your circumstances into consideration, look at the options available to you, and then sit down and think and try to figure out and do some research and try to come to somewhat of a conclusion. At least try to narrow your options and come to somewhat of a conclusion. This is number one.

The second step of a decision making process is istisharah or dua e istikhara. It is the Arabic word for seeking counsel and seeking advice. The next step of the process is to then seek some counsel and advice, and it really depends on what type of a decision you are trying to make. If you want to buy a car, you first do some research online and do some car shopping and test drove and narrow down to about three or four different cars that you are thinking about. Then what you could do, for instance, is go to a brother from the masjid who is a car mechanic. Sit down with that brother and say, "Brother, I want to take advice from you because you are experienced and knowledgeable about cars. What do you recommend? These are the three or four cars I am looking at." He says, "I wouldn't buy that because it has transmission problems. This car wears out really quickly, etc."