Istikhara: the prayer of consultation

The prayer of consultation (salat al-istikharah) is the prayer by which a believer seeks his Lord's guidance before a decision: Allah makes the matter easy for him if it holds good for him, and turns him away from it if it conceals harm. The sheets of the fiqh encyclopedia gathered here set out its wisdom, the matters in which it applies and the rule on repeating it. This article presents these questions with the positions of the schools, their evidence and their classical references.

The wisdom of its prescription

The formula taught by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) for this consultation concludes with this request:

Turn it away from me and turn me away from it, decree for me the good wherever it may be, then make me content with it. He then mentions his need.Narrated by Bukhari (1109, 6019)

This formula is discussed in al-Bahr al-ra'iq (2/55), Ibn Abidin (2/26), Durrar al-hukkam (2/22), al-Hindiyya (1/112), al-Tahtawi's commentary (1/262), Sharh Mukhtasar Khalil (1/37), al-Madkhal (4/37), al-Majmu' (5/81-82), al-Mughni (2/328), Kashshaf al-qina' (1/443) and Nayl al-awtar (3/90).

The wisdom of the prescription of istikharah lies in surrendering to the decree of Allah the Most High, in leaving behind helplessness and reliance on one's own means, and in seeking refuge with Him, glory be to Him, so as to bring together the two goods, that of this world and that of the Hereafter. This requires knocking at the door of the Sovereign, and nothing is more effective or more successful for that than the prayer and the supplication, because of what they contain of the glorification of Allah the Most High, of praise of Him and of acknowledging one's need of Him, in outcome as in state (Fath al-Bari, 11/186; al-'Adawi 'ala al-Kharashi, 1/36-37).

Al-Dahlawi (may Allah have mercy on him) explains that the people of the jahiliyyah, when a matter weighed upon them, whether a journey, a marriage or a sale, drew lots with the azlam (divining arrows). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) forbade this practice: it rests on no foundation and is a mere coincidence, and it amounts to inventing claims about Allah the Most High, such as saying "my Lord commanded me this and my Lord forbade me that". He therefore replaced it for them with the istikharah: when a man seeks knowledge from his Lord as rain is sought, asks Him to disclose what pleases Him in that matter, and clings with his heart to His door while standing before it, the overflowing of a divine secret is not withheld from him.

He continues: among the greatest benefits of istikharah is that man grows independent of what his own soul desires, his animal nature submits to His dominion, and he turns his face to Allah. If he does that, he becomes like the angels in their awaiting the inspiration of Allah the Most High; when it comes to them, they act upon a divine prompting, not a prompting of the self (Hujjat Allah al-baligha, 1/453-454).

The matters in which istikharah is made

The four schools agree that istikharah concerns matters in which the servant does not know where the right course lies. As for what is known in both its good and its evil, such as acts of worship, works of goodness, sins and wrongs, istikharah serves no purpose there, except when one wants to specify a particular time, such as Hajj in this particular year, given the possibility of an enemy or a tribulation, or the choice of a traveling companion: does he set out with so-and-so or not?

On this basis, istikharah has no place in the obligatory, the forbidden or the disliked; it belongs only to recommended deeds and permitted things. In recommended deeds it does not concern the act itself, since that is already sought; it applies in cases of conflict, that is, when two matters stand before him: which one to begin with, or which one to confine himself to? As for the permissible, istikharah is made in its very principle ('Umdat al-qari, 7/224; al-Tahtawi 'ala Maraqi al-falah, 1/263; al-'Adawi 'ala al-Kharashi, 1/36-37; Sharh Mukhtasar Khalil, 1/165; al-Mubdi', 2/25; Kashshaf al-qina', 1/443; Sharh Muntaha al-iradat, 1/249).

Consultation before the istikharah

Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: it is recommended to consult, before the istikharah, someone known for sincerity of counsel, compassion and experience, and in whose religion and knowledge one places one's trust. Allah the Most High has said:

"Pardon them, consult them in the matter, then once you have resolved, place your trust in Allah."

Surah Al 'Imran, 159

Repeating the istikharah

Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the text, that is, the hadith, is apparent in deferring the supplication until after the prayer. If one made this supplication during the prayer itself, the hadith could bear its admissibility, and it is also possible to read it as an ordering: beginning the prayer before the supplication, for the place of supplication within the prayer is the prostration or the tashahhud (Fath al-Bari, 11/189).

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about the supplication of istikharah: should it be said during the prayer or after the salam? He answered that the supplication is permissible in the istikharah prayer as in any other, before the salam and after it. The supplication before the salam is better, for most of the Prophet's supplications (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) were made before the salam, and the one praying has not yet left the prayer before it. That is better, and Allah the Most High knows best (Majmu' al-fatawa, 23/177; al-Fatawa al-kubra, 4/422).

The Hanafis, the Malikis and the Shafi'is hold that it is recommended to repeat the istikharah prayer and its supplication seven times for a single matter, when the right course, between acting and refraining, does not become clear to him and his breast does not open. This rests on the following report:

O Anas, when you resolve upon a matter, seek your Lord's guidance about it seven times, then look at what comes first to your heart: the good lies in it.Very weak hadith, narrated by Ibn al-Sunni in 'Amal al-yawm wa-l-layla (598), from Anas

When, on the other hand, what opens his breast becomes clear to him, nothing calls for repetition.