Response to Istikhara

 

See you around on the forums. . .  :)

 

Yes the Hadith is there, but I am after its practical application, i.e. the Fiqh of the hadith. Imagine you saying to Allah, �O Allah, I consult You as You are All-Knowing and I appeal to You to give me power as You are Omnipotent, I ask You for Your great favor, for You have power and I do not, and You know all of the hidden matters . O Allah ! If you know that this matter (then he should mention it) is good for me in my religion, my livelihood, and for my life in the Hereafter, (or he said: �for my present and future life,�) then make it (easy) for me. And if you know that this matter is not good for me in my religion, my livelihood and my life in the Hereafter, (or he said: �for my present and future life,�) then keep it away from me and take me away from it and choose what is good for me wherever it is and please me with it.�, I do not find sense in that and it carries an element of disrespect. Any way, I am not disputing on the hadith.

Gulliver.

 

Prayer carrries the meaning of discernment, if we stick to its meaning according to the Sunna in that it must be performed according to the manner performed by the holy Prophet.  I will never do what the holy Prophet did not do practically. So the question that must be answered is when the holy Prophet performed it, or any of his Sabahas he told us to follow.

I was faced with difficult situations in my life as a physician and never prayed to Allah to show me how to treat the patient or whether the procedure I am taking will kill the patient. If I am faced with a problem I refer to my text books or consult a colleague or refer to a specialist. Likewise, if I am faced with an issue I refer to the time of Muhammad, or Abubakar, Umar, Uthman or Ali or Umar bin Abdul'azeez. Clearly Muhammad Rasulullah did not tell Muadth, or Ali, or any of his Sahabas to perform an Istakhara when faced with a problem but to look into the Book of Allah, or his Sunna or else for one make deductions. Lastly, I did not make any Istikhara but I knew that my father would likely have a heart attack when he travels to our home town. So I advised him not to go, but he went. On saturday, I received a phone call that he had a heart attack! After 4 weeks period of treatment, I knew that he will never recover and he died 9 months later.

Let us differentiate between incompetence, cowardice, complacencies and indetermination. Let us remember the excuse the hypocrites gave on their failure to attend the battle of Uhud. They said in Qur'an chapter 3:167, "Had we known that fighting will take place, we would certainly have followed you". 

Friendship. 

Assalamu alaikum Shastas Aunt.

 

 Isn't all salat and dua virtually doing the same?  Do you find them senseless and disrespectful also?

 

Answer: No!. Salat is an Ibadat commanded by Allah and taught to us by Prophet Muhammad. Salat purifies your soul and distants you from evils and indecencies. I told you the meaning of Dua: Salat and not asking something from Allah. The Mahal of Dua is Iman. 

  

 The Istikhara prayer doesn't tell you the future, it is asking guidance from Allah when you have a diffcult decision to make and are unsure which way to turn. 

 

  

So, are you saying as a Muslim you have never prayed to Allah about your chosen career, your life in general, any decision you make regarding patients, ...

 

Friendship.