General Rules of Jurisprudence Lesson 18 القرعة لكل أمر مشكل ALQUR’ATO LEKOLE AMRIN MOSHKIL – Part three ISTIKHARA الأستخارة Source of the types Question one Question two Question three

ISTIKHARA الأستخارة Literally from ALKHEERA الخيرة or best option or choice or selection. ISTIKHARA means asking for best choice or best selection or option from several options. The known ISTIKHARA means seeking for better option from Allah (swt). It has two methods: 1.Asking Allah to make it better in his decree (TAWAKUL)(TAFWEEDH) or relying in Allah (Swt) and going ahead, depending on Allah on making a path for him. 2.Seeking Allah advice before taking a step, so if it comes good, then he can go ahead, if it comes bad then he does not do it, uncovering Allah’s advice is done by several methods, such as Quran, or rosary beads or pieces of paper with written options.

Evidence for type one: Salaat is recommended is some narrations; عن عمرو بن حريث قال : أبو عبدالله ( عليه السلام ) : صل ركعتين واستخر الله ، فو الله ما استخار الله مسلم إلا خار له البتة in the SAHEEH narration of AMRO son of HORAYTH, who narrates from Abo Abdillah(AS)who said: offer two rakaats of salaat, and seek forgiveness from Allah, for by Allah if a Muslim asks Allah’s choice, Allah will indeed choose for him the best of choice definitely. 8/wasail4.html#63 A Muslim seeks Allah’s best decree when ever he is going to start some thing new, as choosing a collage, marriage, travel, purchase or any other thing, he asks Allah’s guidance to direct him towards whatever is better for him.

SADOOQ narrated: هارون بن خارجة ، عن أبي عبدالله ( ع ) قال : إذا أراد أحدكم أمرا فلا يشاور فيه أحدا من الناس حتى يبدأ فيشاور الله تبارك وتعالى ، قال : قلت : وما مشاورة الله تعالى جعلت فداك ؟ قال : تبتدأ فتستخير الله فيه أولا ثم تشاور فيه ، فانه إذا بدأ بالله أجرى له الخيرة على لسان من يشاء من الخلق. HAROON son of KHARIJA narrates from ABO ABDILLAH (AS) who said: If any one among you intends to do a thing, then he should not consult in it any one from the people, until he starts with consulting Allah TABARAK WA TALA. I said: May my life be sacrifice to you, what is consulting Allah? He (AS) said: You start asking Allah to make a good choice in it first, for verily if he starts with Allah, then He will put the best choice for him in the words (tongue) of whom so ever He wishes from the creation.

It is recommended to repeat this type Since it is a dua, and the more a person supplicates the more stronger the respond comes from God, and the more clearer the direction will appear for him. In the hadeeth of NAJIYA narrated by Abo Abdillah (AS) that If he wanted to do something less important, he would recite the dua 7 times, and if it was extremely important then he would do it 100 times. عن ناجية ، عن أبي عبدالله ( عليه السلام ) ، انه كان إذا أراد شراء العبد أوالدابة أو الحاجة الخفيفة أو الشيء اليسير استخار الله فيه سبع مرات ، فاذا كان أمرا جسيما استخار الله مائة مرة This type of ISTIKHARA is also narrated by the school of companions.

Seeking Allah advice before taking a step In this type he tries to find out the direction or the consultation of Allah before he takes any further step, in the previous one, he just supplicates and asks Allah then relies on Allah and starts to do what ever he wants, and in this type if there was an indication for not to do he will not do it. This is commonly used by the scholars and the believers, and is done by reciting a dua and then opening the Qur’an or counting the beads of the rosary or writing on small pieces of paper, and through this or other methods he gets a type of satisfaction to go ahead with it or not. There are many narrations narrated regarding this type but in general are weak narrations.

Question number one: If the narrations for the second type are weak then is the commonly practice of the believers and scholars accepted? There are two ways to prove such type: 1.Consider it one of the nonobligatory implementation of the SAHAAEH narrations of QURAA or drawing lots, because as mentioned before that the QURAA is authentic, and it is a general method for solving some disputes and undisputed, therefore this type of ISTIKHARA is undisputed unknown, which can be one implementations of the QURAA. Because the concept of QURAA is general and absolute. And as mentioned previously that QURAA does not have any specific method, it can be done by any method which leads to the clarity of unknown issue.

2- Dua and supplication for clarity: Dua in general is proven, and any one who does any type of ISTIKHARA supplicates to Allah and seeks his guidance. وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِي سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ [Shakir 40:60] And your Lord says: Call upon Me, I will answer you; surely those who are too proud for My service shall soon enter hell abased. Since this type is also a dua or supplication then it is better to observe all the recommendations of dua, such as WODHO, purification, proper place,…etc. He should beg Allah to show him the right way through whatever means he is using, be it a Quran or the rosary beads. It is always better to combine both types of ISTIKHARA. Since it is dua then it is recommended. Sincerity and loyalty to Allah, and should intend that if it is not good he should avoid the action. TAWASUL through the infallibles (AS) and the SALAAT on the Prophet (S) and his pure family (AS).

Second Question: Is it true that a ISTIKHARA should be done by some one else and not the person him self, as it was said by some scholars? Since it is dua, and a concern person strongly supplicates because it comes deep down from his heart, that is why some said that one should do ISTIKHARA by him self. Since Dua of a believer brother for his brother is accepted faster than ones own dua, and since a modest person thinks that other believer or a pious person is better than me, then the result of other believer’s ISTIKHARA will be more stronger, so the more pious a person is the more stronger the respond will be. If a brother asks a brother for ISTIKHARA, then he should not hesitate because of his modesty in performing an ISTIKHARA for his brother.

Third Question: There might be an objection on the ISTIKHARA based on the verse: حُرِّمَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةُ وَالْدَّمُ وَلَحْمُ الْخِنْزِيرِ وَمَا أُهِلَّ لِغَيْرِ اللّهِ بِهِ وَالْمُنْخَنِقَةُ وَالْمَوْقُوذَةُ وَالْمُتَرَدِّيَةُ وَالنَّطِيحَةُ وَمَا أَكَلَ السَّبُعُ إِلاَّ مَا ذَكَّيْتُمْ وَمَا ذُبِحَ عَلَى النُّصُبِ وَأَن تَسْتَقْسِمُواْ بِالأَزْلاَمِ ذَلِكُمْ فِسْقٌ [Shakir 5:3] Forbidden to you is that which dies of itself, and blood, and flesh of swine, and that on which any other name than that of Allah has been invoked, and the strangled (animal) and that beaten to death, and that killed by a fall and that killed by being smitten with the horn, and that which wild beasts have eaten, except what you slaughter, and what is sacrificed on stones set up (for idols) and that you divide by the arrows; that is a transgression. TASTAQSIMO (division), AZLAAM are the arrows.

ESTIQSAAM BILAZLAAM They used to buy a camel, and used to divide it into 10 sections, seven to take the meat and three to pay for the meat, and then they used to draw the lots (10 arrows 7+3) If some one gets one of the seven arrows which has written the meat, then that person gets the a section of camel’s meat (1/7) without paying any thing, and if he gets one of the three, then he has to pay one third of the price of the camel without getting the meat. AZLAAM are the arrows, and ESTIQSAAM is from asking the division, so it is asking for division through the AZLAAM. This is gambling. ISTIKHARA is completely different.

Clarification: It is not the type which was practiced before Islam, such was associated with forbidden things, such as naming the idols and giving sacrifices to the idols. ESTIQSAAM with AZLAAM in the verse is gambling MAYSER, and it is the forbidden meat of a camel. Previously it has been proven by proper evidence that ISTIKHARA is DUA and it is not just permitted but recommended too. This is not even a prediction of profit and loss, which is called TAFA’OL such is prohibited in some narrations, ISTIKHARA does not guarantee the freedom from physical loss, but it shows you the direction towards good and bad, and good and bad is not like profit and loss. These narrations which prevent TAFA’OL with the Qur’an are weak and MORSAL or unlinked.