Assalamu'alaikum,
Last night I was talking to a friend of mine that had to choose between tenants for an apartment she is renting out. I told her to make istikhara and she thought it was only done for serious issues such as marriage. I have noticed the topic of istikhara is widely misinterpreted with many Muslims. The best thing I have learned from a lecture from some shaikh (my memory fails me when, where, and which shaikh...I know that's not good) is that istikhara is for any decision you need to make or any step you want to take in your life. The point of istikhara is to show that you put your reliance in Allah swt, you are asking Him swt to help you, and lastly whatever does happen (Insha'Allah) will have barakah in it.
And then there's the question about the dream. Are you going to see beautiful serene dreams or nightmares? This Shaikh (I think it was Shaikh Yasir Qadhi) said it isn't about the dream. You may have a dream...you may not. Your dream may even be influenced by the Shaitan, Allahualim. He made a great point. He said when you pray istikhara, you are asking Allah swt to bring you towards the decision that is good for you and to protect you from that which is bad. Basically, after the prayer Allah swt will make the good decision easier and it will start falling into place.
If we really look into our lives we may be able to pinpoint those moments. The most recent thing on my mind is this job that I applied to. It really sounded perfect...almost too perfect. It allowed me to work from home, I could travel with my husband, and I could follow my passion (teaching). I prayed istikhara and my interviews went great, Subhanallah. Okay this is a good sign. Well, the interviewer said she'd let me know by that week. I didn't hear back until a week and a half later. Finally, she e-mailed me to say they would like me to come in for a third interview. First, they had me fill out an online interview questionnaire, then take a test for an hour, an interview over the phone, and then a face to face interview. This much work and I'm not applying to some big shot corporate firm...that's just ridiculous! I said yes and waited to find out when and where. Another week goes by and by now I am getting pretty annoyed. Subhanallah, the woman e-mails me yesterday to say that they are changing the part-time position I applied for into full-time. I already told her I couldn't commit to full-time and we had agreed on it before I even did all these things. I think Allah swt may be trying to tell me I shouldn't commit.
My husband had the opposite experience. He had everything going against him at first. He didn't have time to review case studies and prepare for the interviews because he was so busy at work. He was applying to a firm that usually only hired ivy league graduates. He prayed istikhara. Subhanallah, when he got there...he forgot a pen and only realized it when he got to the waiting room. Subhanallah, all of a sudden a pen that was on the ground caught his attention and he picked it up. He walked into the interview and he could tell he wasn't amazing, but that the interviewers liked him. He felt like they were trying to give him chances. After the three rounds were over, he goes back to the hotel to find a message that the interviewer would like to talk to him one more time. They tell him not to worry and ask why he's nervous..etc. He gets to the airport to come home that same day and thinks he doesn't have the job. He gets a phone call right before boarding that he has the job with the contract of his dreams, Subhanallah.
When you think all odds are against you, it can all change by the will of Allah swt.
Last night I was talking to a friend of mine that had to choose between tenants for an apartment she is renting out. I told her to make istikhara and she thought it was only done for serious issues such as marriage. I have noticed the topic of istikhara is widely misinterpreted with many Muslims. The best thing I have learned from a lecture from some shaikh (my memory fails me when, where, and which shaikh...I know that's not good) is that istikhara is for any decision you need to make or any step you want to take in your life. The point of istikhara is to show that you put your reliance in Allah swt, you are asking Him swt to help you, and lastly whatever does happen (Insha'Allah) will have barakah in it.
And then there's the question about the dream. Are you going to see beautiful serene dreams or nightmares? This Shaikh (I think it was Shaikh Yasir Qadhi) said it isn't about the dream. You may have a dream...you may not. Your dream may even be influenced by the Shaitan, Allahualim. He made a great point. He said when you pray istikhara, you are asking Allah swt to bring you towards the decision that is good for you and to protect you from that which is bad. Basically, after the prayer Allah swt will make the good decision easier and it will start falling into place.
If we really look into our lives we may be able to pinpoint those moments. The most recent thing on my mind is this job that I applied to. It really sounded perfect...almost too perfect. It allowed me to work from home, I could travel with my husband, and I could follow my passion (teaching). I prayed istikhara and my interviews went great, Subhanallah. Okay this is a good sign. Well, the interviewer said she'd let me know by that week. I didn't hear back until a week and a half later. Finally, she e-mailed me to say they would like me to come in for a third interview. First, they had me fill out an online interview questionnaire, then take a test for an hour, an interview over the phone, and then a face to face interview. This much work and I'm not applying to some big shot corporate firm...that's just ridiculous! I said yes and waited to find out when and where. Another week goes by and by now I am getting pretty annoyed. Subhanallah, the woman e-mails me yesterday to say that they are changing the part-time position I applied for into full-time. I already told her I couldn't commit to full-time and we had agreed on it before I even did all these things. I think Allah swt may be trying to tell me I shouldn't commit.
My husband had the opposite experience. He had everything going against him at first. He didn't have time to review case studies and prepare for the interviews because he was so busy at work. He was applying to a firm that usually only hired ivy league graduates. He prayed istikhara. Subhanallah, when he got there...he forgot a pen and only realized it when he got to the waiting room. Subhanallah, all of a sudden a pen that was on the ground caught his attention and he picked it up. He walked into the interview and he could tell he wasn't amazing, but that the interviewers liked him. He felt like they were trying to give him chances. After the three rounds were over, he goes back to the hotel to find a message that the interviewer would like to talk to him one more time. They tell him not to worry and ask why he's nervous..etc. He gets to the airport to come home that same day and thinks he doesn't have the job. He gets a phone call right before boarding that he has the job with the contract of his dreams, Subhanallah.
When you think all odds are against you, it can all change by the will of Allah swt.
ma'shaAllah, great post :) There is definitely a lot of misinformation about Istikharah in the Muslim community.
ReplyDeleteBut alhamdillah, it is such a blessing :d We don't know what is good for us/ will be better for our deen, dunya and aakhirah. Something may look 'good' but turn out to be bad for us, :) It's all khair, inshaAllah.