A question regarding Salat-ul-Istikhara

[Nadia_H]

I am hoping someone will be able to provide me with some clarifications regarding Istikhara. The following is from an Islamic website:

>>...God has given man the faculty of reasoning. He should take his decisions in the light of the apparent pros and cons of the alternative choices. He should not, in any case, base his decisions on dreams. ...the concept of Istikhara does not imply that we should wait for signs from Allah in taking our decisions; it only means that we should take our decisions and do whatever we think is right and then ask Allah that if our decision is the correct one, He should help us and carrying it out and making our plans successful, while if it is not the correct one, He should alter the circumstances in such a way that we do not implement our decision, and that He should provide satisfaction to our heart in doing so.<< http://www.understanding-islam.com/rb/mb-027.htm

My question is: after performing the Istikhara, how does one decide which course of action will be most in alignment with Islam? The above quote suggests that you should rationally consider the pros and cons of the issue, make a decision, and pray to God that He Guides you towards making the correct decision, (and if necessary, Altering the situation in such a manner that one is not able to carry out the wrong decision). Am I interpreting this wrongly?

After performing Istikhara, I am still slightly confused about what decision to make - does this mean that I didn't perform Salat-ul-Istikhara in the correct manner? Thanks for any and all help.

[This message has been edited by Nadia_H (edited May 25, 2001).]

[hayaa]

From what I know.. your supposed to keep performing it if you can't obtain a clear direction from ur dreams. and then go ahead only when u r certain about ur decision in ur heart.

[Ahmed]

Whenever we are confused about making any decision we should seek Allah's help. One way of doing so is Istakhara. After doing that we will either get a hint towards the better course of action in a dream or else our mind and heart will start leaning towards one course of action. That is the decision that we should make.

If after performing the Istakhara once one is still confused about the matter then Istakhara should be performed again, and if still confused, a 3rd time and so on.

Remember you won't necessarily get an answer in a dream, but you might start feeling more comfortable with a prticular course of action in your mind after the istakhara.

I've heard that if you are still unsure after doing this 7 times and not leaning in any directoin then just think hard and pick a course of action and Inshallah that'll be the best course of action.

[Girl from Quraysh]

Nadia,

You might find this article helpful, http://www.jamiat.org.za/istikhaara.html
Its put up by the 'Jamiatul Ulama' based in Durban, SA.

Also, here are a few previous discussions that you might be interested in, http://www3.pak.org/gupshup/Forum13/HTML/002325.html http://www3.pak.org/gupshup/Forum13/HTML/001184.html


Hope that helps

[aMiGo]

just curious..anyone here done istikhara..what kind of "sign" were you given?

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~Survival of the smartest~

[Nadia_H]

Hayaa - I really appreciate your help, thanks a lot. I've taken up your advice and Insha'Allah will continue performing Istikhara until it becomes more clear what I should do. Thanks for all your help.

Ahmed - Thank you very much. My problem is that I feel in my heart what the best course of action is, but I need some confirmation that it's beneficial for myself and would make me a better Muslim in the long run. Yes, I agree that the wisest course is just to repeat the Istikhara until I feel that it has been answered. I had one query that I hope you won't mind answering: you mentioned that one "...will either get a hint towards the better course of action in a dream..." I am not too certain that the best course of action will reveal itself in precisely a dream - I thought it was moreso that the best course of action reveals itself as more of a consciousness or awareness in the person's mind? In this website, http://www.geocities.com/albayaan/sh...istikhara.html
there's a very brief discussion of this particular aspect of dreams.

Girl from Quraysh - Um, I suppose the smart thing to do would have been to go through through the previous discussions pertaining to this topic before needlessly starting a new one Oops, sorry about this!! I don't know how long it must have taken you to find those two discussions, but thank you so much for taking the time to do that; they are quite informative and interesting. Sorry for starting the new topic, and many thanks for all of your help, much appreciated.

[This message has been edited by Nadia_H (edited May 29, 2001).]

[Girl from Quraysh]

Nadia!!!

Uff don't apologize

You didn't do anything wrong *wry smile* this wasn't a 'needlessly started' thread at all. To tell the truth i hunted up those old threads cause i was interested in the topic as well, but not knowing so much about it, I pasted the links, instead of my usual metaphorical bafflegab

[Ahmed]

Originally posted by Nadia_H:
I had one query that I hope you won't mind answering: you mentioned that one "...will either get a hint towards the better course of action in a dream..." I am not too certain that the best course of action will reveal itself in precisely a dream - I thought it was moreso that the best course of action reveals itself as more of a consciousness or awareness in the person's mind?

Nadia,
Well in my post I said that it could be either of those.
The website seems to discount the dream aspact but I don't think it is entirely correct in that. The stuff I have read on Istakhara does mention dreams.

But the simple answer to your question would be that I have myself performed Istakhara at several occasions in my life and have been lucky enough to get help on seperate occasions both in way of a dream and in way of my mind settling itself on one course of action, an awareness if you like.

I hope this helps.

[This message has been edited by Ahmed (edited May 29, 2001).]