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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| wanted: xperince from Isthikhara? |
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| jaihoon |
| 02/04/03 at 16:24:24 |
| [slm] Has anyone here performed the isthikhara prayer before making a choice, whatever be the issue. How did u find the result after it? Did you face any problems? If yes, did the prayer grant you *extra* confidence in dealing with it? Did u find it hard to follow the choice that you were convinvced after the prayer? It is not out of doubt in its authencity that I ask, yet I want to know from believers own experience. jazakum Allah khair |
| Re: wanted: xperince from Isthikhara? |
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| M.F. |
| 02/05/03 at 06:50:35 |
| Bismillah, Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah, I've had several experiences with Istikhara, all of them making it CLEAR that it "works". The first time was a time when there was a clear sign and I didn't follow it. The outcome was that my life was miserable for a while because of that very decision, and I certainly learned a lesson. The most important Istikhara I prayed was concerning my then-future husband. I prayed it twice. The first time, I immediately felt that it was the right thing. The second time (a few things had changed meanwhile) sort of served as a strengthener for the decision, meaning I almost changed my mind about marrying him, but when I prayed it again it looked like he was the right one after all. This was very important because at the beginning of our marriage when thigns were a bit difficult, I always knew that I had put my trust in Allah and that it was all for the best. Sure enough, al hamdu lillah now I couldn't hope to have a better husband. I prayed it for a few major decisions in our life. We had a chance to move to the US once, and I prayed it because we were so undecided. All of a sudden it all fell apart and it was clear that we weren't meant to be there. Now I can understand why. And there were a few other cases. The most recent one being just this week. My husband was desperately trying to get a visa to go on hajj, but things just weren't going the right way. I advised him on Monday afternoon to pray it, and that it wasn't too late, and that if it was meant to be, Allah would make it easy. The very next morning (yesterday) he got approval for the visa and in the afternoon he got a plane ticket!! Subhan Allah. The whole thing about Istikhara for me is that if something's best for you, Allah makes it very easy, and also very easy to follow. Otherwise, He makes it VERY clear that it's not the right thing for you, and makes things VERY difficult if you keep going against those clear signs. wallahu a'lam. whew that was a long one!! :D |
| Re: wanted: xperince from Isthikhara? |
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| jaihoon |
| 02/05/03 at 07:03:34 |
I have read from an Islamic website that it is WRONG not to follow the *signs* of Isthikhara, even if it goes against our personal wishes. IS this true? How many times does one offer this prayer to be confident of the *sign*? (as human beings we all have the desire to see things happening in our own way). jazak Allah khair |
| Re: wanted: xperince from Isthikhara? |
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| se7en |
| 02/06/03 at 02:22:34 |
| as salaamu alaykum wa rahmatAllah, I always understood istikhara as an expression of *giving up* our personal inclinations and desires, and in so doing, leaving a decision up to Allah to guide us to what is best for us. If, in response to this duaa, Allah blesses a person with an indication, sign, strong feeling, dream, experience, event etc that reveals to them what path is best for them, a person with sincere istikhara would not turn away. I'm not talking about cases in which there is hesitancy to follow a sign that may be interpreted in more than one way - but an outright *rejection*, because a sign does not fit into a person's pre-conceived idea of what is best for them. That is truly taking one's own intellect and desire over what Allah has deemed best for a person. Turning away from such guidance is foolish and ungrateful. If a person's conviction is that strong, perhaps they should not have performed the istikhara in the first place. w'Allahu a'lam. wasalaamu alaykum |
| Re: wanted: xperince from Isthikhara? |
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| jaihoon |
| 02/06/03 at 14:55:21 |
| [quote author=se7en link=board=madrasa;num=1044393865;start=0#3 date=02/06/03 at 02:22:34]as salaamu alaykum wa rahmatAllah, I always understood istikhara as an expression of *giving up* our personal inclinations and desires, and in so doing, leaving a decision up to Allah to guide us to what is best for us. If, in response to this duaa, Allah blesses a person with an indication, sign, strong feeling, dream, experience, event etc that reveals to them what path is best for them, a person with sincere istikhara would not turn away. I'm not talking about cases in which there is hesitancy to follow a sign that may be interpreted in more than one way - but an outright *rejection*, because a sign does not fit into a person's pre-conceived idea of what is best for them. That is truly taking one's own intellect and desire over what Allah has deemed best for a person. Turning away from such guidance is foolish and ungrateful. If a person's conviction is that strong, perhaps they should not have performed the istikhara in the first place. w'Allahu a'lam. wasalaamu alaykum [/quote] I think it makes more sense to compare isthikara to tawakkul. The spirit of both seems very similiar. Allah knows best :) |
| Re: wanted: xperince from Isthikhara? |
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| sofia |
| 02/06/03 at 16:21:46 |
| As-salaamu 'alaykum wa rahmatullah, There's really not a lot of literature on istikhaarah prayer, besides the ahadith. But it's truly a gift; I'd be in big trouble without it! :) But one somewhat interesting book on this subject is Adnaan 'Uroori's (I think that's his name), "The Three Forgotten Prayers." As already mentioned, istikhaarah is mainly based on 2 things: 1) trust in Allah, and 2) patience. #1 because it doesn't matter what I thought in the beginning or end of doing istikhaarah. I'm limited in understanding/knowing what's best for me. I'm human and will never be able to be truly "unbiased." But being biased is different than having trust in Allah. For me, personally, I don't usually get "clear" signs - the answer is always in the result. If I do it correctly (may Allah help me and you and us all do istikhaarah correctly and with sincerity), Allah does not make it possible for the wrong decision to be acted upon, or at least, not easy. So whichever direction you go in, Allah will either turn you right back around or make it easy for you to carry through with your original decision. My main point is, don't worry about "signs," from my limited understanding, the Prophet (S) did not teach us how to "interpret" signs after doing istikhaarah. The answer to istikhaarah is the end result. Allah is the Guide. #2 because sometimes, the answer is not always immediate. There's a wisdom to that, too. Allahu A'lim. May Allah help and guide you to what's right. |
| NS |
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