Ali Hammuda – Our Ways in Making Decisions – Episode 12 – Our Ways
AI: Summary ©
The speakers stress the importance of practicing the Qur passage and consulting with people before making a decision. They also emphasize the importance of having a clear mindset and understanding Allah's teachings. The success of life is greatly influenced by course completion, acceptance of a decision, and small small decisions. The speakers also mention a brief advertisement for a group called "Ok," and a brief advertisement for a book.
AI: Summary ©
There are several characteristics that make us human
beings.
Several characteristics that really differentiate the created from
the creator, though those differences are unlimited.
And one of those differentiating factors, and the
key salient features that define us as insane
in our weakness, in our vulnerability, is the
sense of anxiety that we were created in.
In a perpetual state of hesitation.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, He said, إِنَّ
الْإِنسَانَ خُلِقَ هَلُوعًا Man was created in a
state of anxiety.
That's his nature.
There is an extreme sense of fear that
affects him, her, especially when they are at
a major junction in their life, where they
need to make a major decision.
Shall I, shall I not?
Shall I invest, shall I not?
Shall I give it another go?
Shall I pull out my funds?
Whilst the chart is still peaking.
Should I marry her or her?
She would say him or him, if there
is more than one suitor.
Should I marry at this moment in my
life?
Or should I delay it a little bit
further when I am so called more in
a mature state?
Should I take this person as a friend?
Should I apply to this university?
This is a daily battle that we have
more often than not with major or minor
decisions that we need to make.
And because of our inability to know the
unseen, the knowledge of the future, it's one
of those aspects that Allah Almighty has what,
kept for Himself.
وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ مَاذَا تَكْشِبُ غَدًا Allah said,
no soul knows what it's going to get
up to tomorrow.
وَمَا تَدْرِي نَفْسٌ بِأَيِّ أَرْضٍ Tamut, no soul
knows on what land it shall die.
So several times during the week, perhaps more
than one occasion in the same day, you
will be in a situation where you need
to make a decision major or minor.
And rarely in life do you feel that
there is a sense of absolute certainty.
It's usually an element of probability.
It's more likely that I should do this
or more likely that it is better if
I do that.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala recognized this
weakness that we have and our inherent need
and dependency to know the future.
In every human being, there is an innate
desire to uncover the knowledge of tomorrow.
Whether that's from a marriage perspective or financial
perspective or a geopolitical perspective, and we're all
seeing the events that are rapidly unfolding, not
just in Gaza but now in Syria as
well.
Everyone is wondering what is the nature of
what is going on.
There are clear areas that warrant our celebration
and thanks to Allah Almighty.
But there's also elements of uncertainty that everyone
is speaking about, and understandably so.
And that is why you will find, because
of this need in every human being to
uncover the knowledge of tomorrow, that almost every
culture has within it some sort of mechanism
or tool to apparently discover what is good
for you as opposed to that which will
harm you.
Religions, different people in different places in the
world, different tribes, different customs, different superstitions, they
have their ideas about the ways you can
apparently so-called uncover the knowledge of tomorrow.
If you were to go to the pagan
Arabs, they had their fair share of techniques
as well.
When they needed to decide over shall I
or shall I not, they would engage in,
for example, the technique known as الاستقسام بالأزلام
which means it's the divination of the arrows.
This appears in the book of Allah and
Allah condemns this practice and deems it as
haram.
The idea of the divination of the arrows
is where you take literally three wooden arrows
and you place a label on each one
of those arrows.
One of them you say proceed, the other
arrow you will label as do not proceed,
and the other one will be try again.
They put it in a pot or a
jar of some sort and they would mix
it about and then they would pull and
they will see and make a life decision
based upon the outcome of that divination or
that process.
The Arabs also had a process known as
الطيارة again which the Prophet ﷺ prohibited to
see whether you're going to engage in something
that is of a good omen or a
bad omen.
الطيارة, it literally refers to the practice of
spontaneous flight of birds.
This bird over here, if it takes a
right course, it means that this is a
good decision.
If it takes a left, it's otherwise.
Again, Allah Almighty condemned this and they had
other practices as well.
If you were to fast forward to the
21st century of our life today, we are
no less superstitious in the 21st century here
in the so-called progressive west as they
were back then in the deserts of Arabia.
Industries today of astrology, they're booming.
It's the same business which reflects and speaks
about the desire in every human being to
uncover the knowledge of tomorrow.
Astrology, numerology, crystal gazers, palm readers, tarot
card readers, fortune tellers, magicians, soothsayers, lucky numbers,
lucky colors, online consultation, whatever it may be,
all of this is the only prevalent today
but it speaks to this need that we
have as human beings, as vulnerable human beings
who do not have access to the knowledge
of tomorrow.
We are nervous when we come to make
a decision, especially if it's a major milestone
in our lives.
And that is why the Prophet ﷺ, he
said, مَنْ أَتَى عَرَّافًا فَسَأَلَهُ عَنْ شَيْءٍ لَمْ
تُقْبَلْ لَهُ صَلَاةٌ أَرْبَعِينَ لَيْلًا Whoever visits a
ʿarāf, a ʿarāf is a fortune teller, whoever
visits a ʿarāf, a fortune teller and asks
him or her about something, Allah will reject
his ṣalāh for 14 nights.
Notice the ḥadīth didn't say or comment on
whether you believed this person or not, irrespective
of how you feel.
Even if you go for just for fun,
and I know some people, without mentioning names,
when they visited Morocco, they said, I wanted
to go and see what's going on, and
I just wanted to speak to one of
these people and see this industry and understand
it from inside.
I said, be careful, because even the idea
of just being inquisitive, without believing them, you
risk having your ṣalāh rejected for 14 nights.
And the most painful thing about this is
that you still have to pray.
So when your ṣalāh is rejected for 14
nights, it doesn't mean that you are absolved
from the obligation of praying.
You still have to get up for Fajr
and finish with your Īshah.
You do that 14 nights in a row,
but there will be no reward.
So whoever visits a fortune teller and asks
him about anything, ṣalāh is rejected for 14
nights.
In another ḥadīth, this one is even more
frightening.
The Prophet ﷺ, he said, مَنْ أَتَى كَاهِنًا
فَصَدَّقَهُ بِمَا يَقُولُ فَقَدْ كَفَرَ بِمَا أُنزِلَ عَلَى
مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَى اللَّهُمَّ Whoever visits a kāhin, we
translate this as soothsayer, and believes him in
what he predicts, then he has disbelieved in
the religion of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
لا إله إلا الله The question that now
follows is what's the difference between a kāhin
and a ʿarāf.
ʿarāf, which we said that if you ask
them your ṣalāh is rejected for 14 nights,
and we translated ʿarāf as what brothers?
As a fortune teller.
As opposed to the kāhin that we translated
as what brothers?
Soothsayer.
Imam al-Nawawi, he says that the ʿarāf
is a person who tells you the secrets
about your lost commodities in life, the whereabouts
of something that you have misplaced, and claims
that he has knowledge of this.
Whereas the kāhin, the soothsayer, that is somebody
who claims knowledge of the unseen, about the
events of tomorrow.
That is even more extreme and severe.
But we rewind a little bit, and I
want you just to put all of this
introduction within the framing, that this is all
a reflection of the vulnerability of the insan,
the human being, and his need to uncover
the knowledge of tomorrow, particularly when he needs
to make a strong decision, or a decisive
and accurate decision about this college or that,
or this uni or that, or this person
for marriage or that, and so on and
so forth.
Or this time for ʿumrah or that, or
this year for ḥajj or that.
So we are talking about a very major
topic that affects every one of us.
Now Allah Almighty in His absolute mercy, subhanahu
wa ta'ala, towards us, He knows, since
He is our Creator, the need that we
have.
So He has not left us empty handed,
and He has given us the perfect recipe
to understand the art of making a correct
decision in life.
And that is why I said to you
over 11 weeks ago, that our religion, especially
in this series, as we shall demonstrate, hasn't
left anything.
It's given you guidance about every aspect of
life, and that's why we called it Our
Ways.
This week we are speaking about our ways
in making a correct decision in life.
And you will see that the religion has
a lot to say about this.
The Sharia has told us that the cornerstone
or the fundamentals pertaining to a correct decision
rests upon two pillars.
If you act upon them, then you can
guarantee, insha'Allah and rest assured, that you
have embarked upon a correct path in your
life.
The first of those pillars is Al-Istishara,
which we translate as what?
Consultation with people.
There is a surah in the Qur'an,
chapter 42, called Surat al-Shura, the chapter
of consultation, dedicated to this topic, to show
you what a huge idea it is in
the religion to consult people.
But which type of consultation and which people?
Not the guys in your circle who are
going to cheer on every move that you
make.
You go get them, girl.
No.
You consult the people of Tajrubah, people of
experience, people of altruism, people of religion, people
of knowledge, and people who will sometimes give
you the advice that you need to hear,
though you may not want to hear it.
That's the first of those fundamentals.
And the second of those fundamentals, en route
to making a correct decision in life, is
what we're going to be focusing on this
evening, which is what?
Al-Istishara.
Consultation of Allah, Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And I want you to imagine the ni'mah,
the blessing, the gift that Allah Almighty has
showered us with.
To have the ability to consult Allah Almighty,
Al-'Alimu Al-Khabir.
Can you imagine?
I mean, for those of you who act
here as solicitors, or lawyers, or barristers at
any level, or even perhaps high-level consultants
in the hospitals, how difficult it is to
get an appointment with some of these brothers
or sisters.
Long waiting times, application forms, and sometimes they
charge fees that we are unable to pay.
And in the end, they will say, you
have 10 minutes, on the 11th, police will
be coming in and dragging you out.
Yet above all of this is Allah Subhanahu
wa ta'ala who gives you access to
Himself, to consult Him, not just about a
legal or a medical matter, about any matter
in life.
And it's accessible 24 hours a day.
How can we overlook this weapon, this ni'mah
Allah has given us, and not use it
almost on a daily basis as well?
It's a gift from Him to consult a
Lord who described Himself by saying, إِنَّ اللَّهَ
لَا يَخْفَى عَلَيْهِ شَيْءٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي
السَّمَعِ Indeed, there is nothing in the heavens
and the earth that is hidden from Allah
Almighty.
That's the Lord you consult.
And a Lord who said about Himself, وَعِنْدَهُ
مَفَاتِحُ الْغَيْبِ With Him are the keys to
the unseen.
لا يَعْلَمُهَا إِلَّهُ Nobody has knowledge of those
keys but Him.
وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ And He knows
everything on the land and in the sea.
وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِنْ وَرَقَةٍ إِلَّا يَعْلَمُهَا And there
isn't even the leaf of a tree that
falls somewhere on the land except that He
has knowledge of it.
وَلَا حَبَّةٍ فِي ظُلُمَاتِ الْأَرْضِ And there isn't
even something as small as a grain somewhere
within the darknesses of the land.
وَلَا رَطْبٍ وَلَا يَابِسٍ إِلَّا فِي كِتَابٍ مُبِينٍ
And nothing moist or dry except that it
is with Allah Almighty written in a clear
record.
Imagine having the opportunity to consult a Lord
of this majesty, this glory, and it is
open and it is completely free of charge.
So how much have we missed out on
with respect to good and fine decision making?
For those of us who have been saying
there's no need to pray istikhara on this
matter.
It's quite obvious.
It's quite self-explanatory.
There's no need to do that two rakah
and dua.
How much khayr, how much goodness, how many
fortunes have we missed out on because of
this arrogance and this sense of self-reliance
which salat al-istikhara is the antithesis of,
as we shall find out.
So let us take a look and delve
into this beautiful hadith.
I will quote the entire narration for you.
I will translate it and then we will
go back and rewind and unpack it sentence
by sentence so that you come out at
the end of this evening knowing the ins
and outs of salat al-istikhara and more
inshallah.
Imam al-Bukhari narrates on the authority of
Jabir ibn Abdullah that the companion Jabir, he
said, take note, كَانَ رَسُولُ اللهِ ﷺ يُعَلِّمُونَ
الْإِسْتِخَارَةَ فِي الْأُمُورِ كُلِّهَا The Messenger of Allah
ﷺ used to teach us the istikhara prayer
in every matter of life.
كَمَا يُعَلِّمُونَ السُّورَةَ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ Just as he
would teach us the surah from the Qur
'an.
يَقُول He said, meaning the Prophet ﷺ إِذَا
هَمَّ أَحَدُكُمْ بِالْأَمْرِ If any of you is
about to embark on a matter فَلْيَرَكَعْ رَكَعَتَيْنِ
مِنْ غَيْرِ الْفَرِيضَةِ Let him first perform two
units of salat other than the obligatory salat.
So don't make it salat al-fajr for
example.
مِنْ غَيْرِ الْفَرِيضَةِ Other than the obligatory salat.
ثُمَّ لِيَقُول Then he should say the following
words اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْتَخِيرُكَ بِعِلْمِكَ O Allah Almighty,
I seek Your guidance through Your knowledge.
وَأَسْتَقْدِرُكَ بِقُدْرَتِكَ And I seek ability through Your
power.
وَأَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ الْعَظِيمِ And I ask You
from Your vast bounty.
فَإِنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ وَلَا أَقْدِرُ Because You are able
and I am unable.
وَتَعْلَمُ وَلَا أَعْلَمُ And You know and I
don't.
وَأَنْ تَعْلَمُ الْغُيُوبَ And You alone are the
knower of the unseen.
اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرُ O
Allah, if You know that this matter that
I am about to embark in, then You
name it.
This marriage, this business deal.
خَيْرٌ لِي فِي دِينِ وَمَعَاشِي وَعَقِبَةِ أَمْرِي If
You know that it is good for me
with respect to my religion, my livelihood and
the consequence of my affairs.
فَقْدُرْهُ لِي Then ordain it for me, decree
it for me.
وَيَسِّرْهُ لِي And make it easy for me.
ثُمَّ بَارِكْ لِي فِيه Then bless me with
its respect.
وَإِن كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرُ And if
You know, O Allah, however, that this matter
that I am about to embark in, and
You name it.
شَرٌ لِي فِي دِينِ وَمَعَاشِي وَعَقِبَةِ أَمْرِي Is
bad for me with respect to my religion
and my livelihood.
And the consequence of my affairs.
فَصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي Then turn it away from me.
وَصْرِفْنِي عَنْهُ And turn me away from it.
أُقْدُرْ لِيَ الْخَيْرَ حَيْثُ كَانِ ثُمَّ أَرْضِنِي بِهِ
Then, O Allah, decree for me what is
better than it.
And then make me pleased with it.
What a magnificent du'a.
What a settling du'a.
How can a believer be left with any
type of anxiety after reciting this du'a
that has covered everything that you would worry
about and more when making a decision about
something small or major.
It is a gift from Allah, Jalla Jalaluhu.
Let us rewind and take it sentence by
sentence.
And then we're going to hand over to
our brother Tariq who will ask a series
of 15 questions that I have already shared
with him about Salatul Istikhara and we will
learn about its ins and outs by way
of those questions.
Let us understand what we are saying.
Jabir, what did he say in the beginning
of the hadith?
كَانَ يُعَلِّمُنَ الْإِسْتِخَارَةَ فِي الْأُمُورِ كُلِّهَا He used
to teach us to do istikhara in every
one of our matters in life.
كَمَا يُعَلِّمُنَ السُّورَةَ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ Just as he
would teach us the surah from the Qur
'an.
What does it mean that he would teach
us istikhara as he would teach us the
surah from the Qur'an?
What is the tashbih here or the resemblance?
What do you take from this?
So that's one, the idea of importance.
So he would emphasize the importance of istikhara
as he would emphasize the importance of Qur
'an.
Great.
Is there another way of understanding this resemblance
or this connection?
Yeah, so both are divine wisdom.
Yeah, okay.
So that they are both aspects or manifestations
of Allah's divine wisdom.
Brilliant.
Yeah, it should be done constantly, Qur'an
and istikhara.
Very good, the idea of consistency.
I'm still waiting for one that nobody has
mentioned.
Say again?
Calling?
I don't understand, maalish.
Qudsiya taqdis.
Okay, so both are muqaddas.
Okay, good.
Yeah, the things that you should implement.
So there's implementation requirements of Qur'an just
as there is for istikhara.
Okay, good.
One more attempt.
Close, close.
Yeah, so just to develop that idea, I'll
give you the words of one of the
scholars, Ibn Abi Jamrah, and he covers at
least one of the answers that you gave.
We started with you.
Ibn Abi Jamrah, he says that wajh al
-tashbih, the resemblance here between he used to
teach us istikhara as he would teach us
the Qur'an is with respect to how
we would memorize the Qur'an word by
word, letter by letter.
And in a similar way, this hadith needs
to be memorized word for word, letter by
letter, not with respect to just meaning.
So the same way you don't recite any
surah of the Qur'an with respect to
its meaning.
So you say, surah al-Ikhlas goes something
like this.
Surah al-Fatiha is something like this.
No, it's going to be letter by letter,
diacritic, tashkeel by tashkeel, right?
In a similar way, he would teach us
the istikhara to say these very words in
this ordering.
That's phenomenal.
And then the second one is what you
mentioned, which is min haythu al-ihtimam bihi,
that he used to teach us istikhara as
he would teach us the Qur'an, i
.e. the importance of the istikhara resembles the
importance of the Qur'an.
That's the emphasis that he would give, alayhi
salatu wa salam.
Is that clear?
He said, meaning the Prophet ﷺ, if any
of you intends to embark upon a matter,
he is to engage in two units of
salah that are outside of the obligatory salah.
So it's a standalone salah that you initiate
for the istikhara.
Then he used to say the following words,
اللهم إني أستخيرك بعلمك وأستغدرك بقدرتك Oh Allah,
I ask you for guidance through your knowledge
and I ask you for ability through your
power.
Notice how relevant it is when asking Allah
Almighty for help and guidance upon a matter
that you invoke the knowledge and the power
of Allah, both of them.
Why?
Because you're saying, Oh Allah, in this matter
that I want to embark on, I need
knowledge if it's the right thing or the
wrong thing and I also need the strength
to see it through or the strength to
abstain.
You may guide me that this is the
path you need to take but then you
don't give me the strength to do it.
Or you may give me the knowledge that
this is the path you need to avoid
but I don't have the strength to avoid
it.
So you begin the du'a by saying
what?
I ask you, Oh Allah, for guidance through
your knowledge and I ask you for what?
Ability through your power.
And then you say, وَأَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ الْعَظِيمِ
and I ask you from your vast bounty.
In other words, Ya Allah, anything you may
give me, anything you may guide me to,
anything I may succeed in with respect to
a business venture or a marriage or its
likes, it's not because of something that I
am worthy of.
Or that I somehow deserve it.
If you give it to me and you
guide me to it or you choose to
do otherwise, in any case, that is from
your vast mercy.
I have nothing to do with this and
I'm inherently worthless and I don't claim to
deserve it for a single moment.
وَأَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ الْعَظِيمِ and I ask you
from your vast bounty.
فَإِنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ وَلَا أَقْدِرُ وَتَعْلَمُ وَلَا أَعْلَمُ Because
after all, O Allah, you are the one
who has the power and I don't.
And you are the one who has the
knowledge and I don't.
So much aqidah, so much correction of our
belief in Allah is captured within this hadith.
And those two sentences you just heard, you
declare your poverty, you declare your weakness and
your vulnerability, you declare your utter ignorance and
bankruptcy to Allah.
I have no power.
I have no knowledge.
I don't know what I'm doing.
I am helpless.
I'm tumbling through life.
If you don't show me, O Lord, then
who am I left to?
This is the type of dua that reaches
Allah Almighty, i.e. this is a dua
that Allah Almighty accepts.
When you pave the way with a declaration
of weakness to Allah, true iftiqar, this is
the type of presence of heart that Allah
Almighty wants from us when making dua.
Not to come in raising your hands having
made an assumption.
I know which way it's going.
Allah, just facilitate it.
Just make it easy.
Just allow it to happen.
This is different.
And then you say what?
Wa anta allamul ghuyub.
And after all, you are the knower of
the unseen.
You are the knower of the unseen.
And it's very relevant that you mention this
in the hadith or in your dua because
you're asking Allah about something of the unseen.
So you say, O Allah, and you are
the knower of the unseen.
I don't know what lies ahead of me
tomorrow.
And notice, ya salam, all of this was
just an introduction to the request that you're
about to make.
So there is some confusion in your life.
Before raising your hands and saying, Ya Rabbi,
guide me.
It was a whole process.
You went to the bathroom.
You purified yourself so that you can be
in an appropriate state when you address the
king.
Then you faced the qiblah.
You prayed two rakat to glorify your Lord.
And then you spent half of the time
here in the dua praising him and affirming
all greatness to him whilst attributing all the
ignorance and weakness to yourself.
Now it is suitable to make the request.
And you begin.
Allahumma in kunta ta'alamu anna hadha al
-amra khayrun li fi deeni wa ma'ashi
wa aqibati amri Oh Allah, if you know
that this matter that I want to engage
in, and here you name it, this marriage
to this person, marriage at this time, this
business venture, or this withdrawal from this account,
or to accept this job opportunity, or to
move city, or to take this uni offer,
or it's like.
These are, by the way, aspects of dunya.
You should also consult Allah Almighty about the
aspects of religion.
These are the menial, petty things that we
consult Allah Almighty for.
And it's good.
We're required to do that.
Allah likes to see our sense of need,
even for the smallest things in life.
But don't forget to consult him on the
grand things.
Ya Rabb, should I put all of my
efforts with this masjid?
Or should I put it with that masjid?
If you're only able to give your efforts
to one or the other.
For example, should I join this Islamic university
or that Islamic university?
If that is what you are looking to
do.
And so on.
Oh Allah, if you know that this matter,
and you name it, is good for me
with respect to my religion, wa ma'ashi
and my livelihood.
Notice how the mention of religion is mentioned
before your livelihood.
Why?
I think it's self-explanatory, right?
What would you say is the reason?
Because?
Because it's the priority.
And if religion goes pear-shaped through this
decision that you're about to make, but your
livelihood booms, right?
What's the use of all of that money
that you've made?
And all of that material success?
On the day of judgment, you're going to
nosedive into *.
What is the use of everything that they
accumulated?
If the end is a punishment from Allah?
But the opposite is not true.
Meaning, is it not that you know people
whose livelihoods fell into tatters?
And because of the loss of livelihood, they
find their way back to religion.
Have you not seen this?
Right?
So when you lose religion, your livelihood cannot
compensate for it.
But if you lose your livelihood, your religion
is what you find more often than not
in moments of need.
And it becomes good for you in the
end.
So you begin with this ordering.
Oh Allah, if you know that this matter
is good for me with respect to my
religion.
So the very first consideration you make, financial,
social, whatever it may be, political, etc.
It begins with my deen, not the figures,
not the accounts, not the projections, not the
ROIs, my deen and my livelihood.
And then you say, وَعَقِبَةِ أَمْرِي Which means,
and in the consequence of my affairs.
If you know that it's good for me
in my religion, my livelihood, and in the
consequence of my affairs.
What is the consequence of my affairs?
What does that mean?
In the hereafter.
In the hereafter.
Because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala may give
you something that is good for you in
your religion today.
Today, temporarily.
And it's good for your livelihood.
You become prosperous, comfortable.
But you don't die upon that thing and
you end up going to *.
What is the good in that?
Don't you know people who started off upon
a good Islamic track and then they change
their mind later on?
Similarly, same thing could happen here.
So you say, يا الله I want this
to be something that is good for my
religion now.
And I want it to be good for
my dunya.
And I want the goodness of this decision
to last until the day I meet you.
What a comprehensive dua.
وَعَقِبَةِ أَمْرِي In the consequence of my affairs.
And you will find in the dua when
you are reading it in the books of
hadith that there is a bracket here where
it says أَوْقَالَ عَاجِلِي أَمْرِي وَآجِلِهِ Which means
that the narrator, there is a doubt in
the narration where he says in the sooner
or the later of my affairs.
The scholars have said that this is of
course a repetition from the last sentence.
So you either say the last sentence وَعَقِبَةِ
أَمْرِي The consequence of my affairs or you
say those words between the brackets وَعَاجِلِي أَمْرِي
وَآجِلِهِ You don't have to worry about that
detail for now.
So if you know, oh Allah, that it
is good for me in these three things
because somebody who has something that benefits him
in his religion and in his livelihood and
in the akhirah the happiness of this person
is complete.
This person has flourished and this person has
nothing to grieve about.
فَقْدُرْهُ لِي Then ordain it for me, oh
Allah.
وَيَسِّرْهُ لِي And make it easy for me,
oh Allah.
ثُمَّ بَارِكْ لِي فِيه Then bless me in
it, oh Allah.
If it's good for me in these three
things, then give me three things.
For those of you who are looking for
signs of an accepted istikhara, should I go
this path or that path?
Listen to the signs that are mentioned in
the hadith.
And we're looking out for dreams.
It says then, decree it for me, make
it easy for me, then bless me in
it.
Because Allah Almighty may ordain something for you.
It happens.
But it's so difficult.
It's so messy.
Relationships are collapsing.
It's so hard.
There's no good in that.
So you say decree it for me and
make it easy for me.
What was the third one?
Then bless me in it.
Because Allah may decree something and He may
what?
Make it easy for you.
But what happens if He doesn't bless you
in this thing?
Allahu Akbar.
Allah decrees it and it's easy.
It's hassle-free, mashaAllah.
Doors just open up.
You meet the angel of death.
That's not the face I was expecting.
Because there was no blessing in it.
So you ask for three things.
If it's good for me, decree it for
me, O Allah.
Facilitate it, make it easy.
Then put barakah in it, O Allah.
And then you now give the other side
of the request.
وَإِن كُنتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرُ But O
Allah Almighty, if you know that this matter,
and you name it, شَرٌّ لِي فِي دِيدِي
وَمَعَاشِي وَعَقِبَةِ أَمْرِي If you know that it
is bad for me, with respect to my
religion, my livelihood, and the consequence of my
affairs, فَصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي Then turn it away from
me.
فَصْرِفْنِي عَنْهُ And turn it away from me.
Turn it away from me and turn me
away from it.
What's the difference?
Is this just a repetition?
What's the difference between these two?
Go on, what are you thinking?
Very good.
Excellent.
Yeah, precisely that.
So the hadith says, فَصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي Turn it
away from me.
Make this person go away.
Make this job opportunity disappear.
Right?
Let it go.
Because if the person is still DMing you
every single day, you block them and they
find another way into your account, they're still
pestering you.
And you're going to get weak.
Right?
If your uncle who is dealing with a
riba-based work, interest-based work or smoke
-based work, whatever it may be, and this
person is on your back, they just won't
leave you alone, and they're tempting you with
a big salary, you say what?
Allah, turn it away from me.
But what happens in a lot of cases?
When it eventually goes, what does your heart
do?
Continues to yawn and to long for it.
Ya Allah, maybe I should've, maybe I could've,
maybe I should've, maybe I would've.
So you say, وَصْرِفْنِي عَنْهُ And turn me
away from it.
Turn it away from me and then make
me hate it, make me detest it, so
that I'm no longer looking for it.
And then you say, ثُمَّ قْدُرْ لِيَ الْخَيْرِ
حَيْثُ كَانِ Then, oh Allah, in that case
where you've turned it away from me and
you've turned me away from it, in that
case, decree for me something better.
ثُمَّ أَرْضِنِي بِهِ And then make me happy
with it.
Beautiful.
So, this is the hadith.
Quick show of hands, how many of you
have memorized this hadith?
Before I ask the question, how many of
you have used this in your life before,
honestly?
Don't be embarrassed.
Sorry, most of us.
How many of you are reading it from
a book?
And that's absolutely fine, by the way.
No issue.
How many of you have memorized it?
How many of you will memorize it by
next week?
Some are still saying maybe the week after.
A few questions, and maybe we will, inshallah,
conclude with some of these, 15 of them.
Tariq, you will read them out, inshallah.
These are questions I've already passed over to
brother Tariq, and we hope to cover the
ins and outs of the istikhara through the
answer to these questions.
The first of them is, what does the
term istikhara mean?
What does the term istikhara mean, by the
way?
And I want an accurate translation that captures
the Arabic if you know.
Did you want to say something?
Did I intimidate you with the last edition?
I think I have.
Consultation.
How is it different to shura, which is
consultation as well?
I did translate it as consultation, so you're
perfectly right, uncle, doctor.
Yeah, to seek the goodness.
That's the literal translation.
To seek, you need the word seek, and
al-khayr, goodness.
Istikhara comes from the word khayarah, the three
letters or triconsonantal root, khayarah, which means in
the Arabic language, al-maylu wal-'atfu, inclination.
Khayarah, it's a verb which refers to inclination.
And that's why we use the word khayr
to speak about goodness, which is the opposite
of what?
Sharr, which is evil.
Khayr is given the term khayr because people
usually, as a collective, incline to it.
And hence, it's called khayr.
When you add to it the three letters
of alif and sin and ta, istih, which
are the letters of talab, the letters of
request in the Arabic language, it now means
what?
Seeking khayr.
It's now the definition.
The definition is talab al-rashadi fi sh
-shayt, to seek the correct course of action
in a matter.
That's what istikhara means.
It's to seek out the correct decision, to
request it, right?
That's why in Arabic, you say istat'amah,
the same three letters, meaning I request food,
yeah?
Istisqa, the prayer of istisqa, the calling for
rain, to seek out rain.
So when you say istikhara, it means you
are seeking out from Allah Almighty knowledge of
what is good for you.
That is istikhara.
And it is an ideal situation.
But you try to create as blank a
canvas as you can inside of you when
consulting Allah Almighty.
Otherwise, if you go into a istikhara dua,
already having made up your mind, then this
is just tokenistic.
This is just symbolic.
This is just ritualistic.
But there's no real meaning in it or
guidance.
So don't be shocked if you end up
marrying that person and they become the cause
of your living nightmare.
See, I prayed istikhara.
Yeah, but she was also three months pregnant.
Come on, Habibi.
I prayed istikhara.
Yeah, but you'd exchange contracts before that.
So it was just ritualistic.
As much as you can, come into your
istikhara with a blank canvas as you can.
Say, Ya Rabb, I have these options.
I don't know.
That's the ideal situation.
Otherwise, as Imam al-Nawawi, he said, you
are consulting your desire, not Allah Almighty.
He said, otherwise, if you don't do this,
you're consulting your desire, not Allah Almighty.
This is the meaning of istikhara.
Question number two.
What are the matters that one should seek
counsel in?
Umar, you have to raise your voice with
the question.
Yeah, go ahead.
What are the matters?
What are the matters that one should seek
counsel in via istikhara prayer?
What are the matters?
People think it's just about marriage, right?
What are they?
Even the lace of the sheet.
Everything, right?
There are five rulings that affect us in
life, yeah?
What are the five rulings?
Everything you do in life, they fall under
the category of one of five rulings.
Everything, even what you're doing now, one of
five rulings.
What are they?
Beginning with the wajib, it's either an obligation.
Number two, it's either mustahabb, recommended.
Or it's either, in the middle, mubah, neutral.
Or it's either makrooh, detested, disliked.
Or it's either muharram, it is haram.
Everything you do in life comes under these
five categories.
Generally speaking, your istikhara should only be done
for that category in the middle.
The neutral, the mubah.
It shouldn't be done for the other four.
Why?
If?
What's obvious?
Yeah, good.
You must do it.
Very good, yeah?
Istikhara, we said, is the idea of asking
Allah if there's good in it.
When something is an obligation, the shariah has
told you already that there's good in it.
Istikhara is about asking for a verdict, isn't
it?
When something is haram, the shariah has already
given you the verdict.
When something is detestable or encouraged, mustahabb.
The shariah has already told you that there
is khayr in this.
Or there is no khayr in this.
So there's no need to pray istikhara in
something that the shariah has already told you
what the verdict is, whether it's good or
otherwise.
It's the neutral matters.
Should I travel today?
Should I travel tomorrow?
Should I take this person or that person?
Should I move into a home now and
leave my parents' house or should I not?
Right?
The neutral matters.
However, there may be certain situations where you
can do sunnatul istikhara on the matters of
obligation, but not because of the matter itself,
but because of other things that are connected
to it.
I'll give you an example.
When there are obligations that are clashing with
one another, then you can, as an exception,
pray sunnatul istikhara for it.
For example, the scholars, they give this as
a mithal.
Somebody who has money to do hajj and
he hasn't done hajj before, but at the
same time really needs to get married.
Like they're on the very slippery path to
doing something a little bit eerie if they
don't.
Which one of the two should I do?
Right?
Istikhara applies here.
Not because we're unsure about the status of
hajj, but because we have obligations that have
what?
That have somewhat clashed.
Or it may be, as I mentioned earlier,
that you do istikhara because of two matters,
both of which are recommended, but there are
circumstantial reasons that encourage you to do istikhara.
Like, for example, should I do umrah now,
though our sister may say I'm pregnant, or
our brother may say I'm ill?
Should I do umrah in this state, or
should I wait until I'm delivered or I
am better?
Istikhara can work here as an exception.
But as a rule, istikhara affects the matters
that are neutral in status.
Yes, Abu Omar?
Question number three.
Should one limit his or her use of
istikhara for the grand matters of life, or
should it apply to every aspect of life?
And you've already answered it.
It's the latter.
In fact, we heard it earlier in the
hadith, didn't we?
He used to teach us salatul istikhara in
all of our affairs.
And by the way, how do you know
that something is small?
How can you give it that judgment call?
How many times in life have we been
disproven when we thought that what we had
engaged in was small and it turned your
entire life upside down?
Isn't it?
One example of this is the gaze.
Although you don't pray istikhara for the impermissible
gaze, but something as small as a gaze
that you extend and you don't lower could
end up changing your life fortunes forever.
We don't need to elaborate upon this.
So yes, istikhara affects the major things and
it affects the so-called minor things because
we don't know the outcomes.
Next question.
Yeah, should it be performed for those outcomes
that are already known?
This is quite similar to the question before
it, actually.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, He said وَعَسَىٰ
أَن تَكْرَهُ شَيْئًا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ You may
hate something and it ends up being good
for you.
وَعَسَىٰ أَن تُحِبُّ شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌ لَكُمْ And
you may love something and it may turn
out to be bad for you.
وَاللَّهُ يَعَلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَعَلَمُونَ Allah Almighty knows
and you don't know.
So don't put yourself in this situation where
you say, it's quite obvious.
You know, the writing is on the wall.
The stars are aligned.
It makes perfect sense.
And I've consulted and it's clear.
It could only go one way.
How many times have people been pinched because
of that mentality of assuming that you know
the outcome?
Put it in the domains of Allah Almighty.
And here's another point.
صلاة الاستخارة is not just something you use
as a tool to make a decision.
صلاة الاستخارة is an act of ibadah in
of itself, an act of worship.
Meaning irrespective of whether you're confident or not
so confident, Allah loves to see you in
a state of salah.
Allah loves to hear you making the dua
of istikharah.
So irrespective of what you are consulting him
about, major or otherwise, it's an act of
worship to be in the state of istikharah.
So do it.
You have nothing to lose, but a lot
to gain.
Not just by way of a decision, make
a decision that is made for you by
Allah Almighty, but by way of accruing hasanat
through the process.
Clear?
Yeah.
What should come first?
Istikharah, consultation of people or istikharah?
Consultation of Allah Almighty.
What do you think, Amalek?
Very good.
That's the answer of a faqih, mashaAllah, a
jurist.
He said you consult the people first.
Uncle, what do you think of this answer?
Yeah.
But Malik is saying consult the people before
Allah.
Astaghfirullah.
That's what he said.
He said it.
We have it on camera, uncle.
Wallah, he said it.
Did he say it?
Uncle.
Uncle said it.
I wouldn't say that.
Yeah.
What do you think?
Somebody at the back who hasn't been affected
by this conversation.
Yes.
Okay, so brother has used the hadith to
prove that it is istikharah first.
Okay.
One more.
Yes.
A lot about shura.
Yeah.
But the question, just to be clear here,
is consult people first or start with istikharah?
We agreed that both are the right thing
to do.
But just the ordering.
I won't take any more questions because you'll
be disappointed to know that the answer is
it's quite simple either way, right?
But people do ask this question.
There are some who will argue, as uncle
said and others, that you should consult perhaps
Allah Almighty first for the obvious reason.
Then you consult the people.
Others from the scholars have said what Malik
said, which is no, you should consult the
people first.
Then Allah Almighty.
Because if you consult Allah Almighty and you
decide on a matter and then someone changes
your mind, it's almost as if a human
being is what?
Overriding the decision of Allah Almighty.
So from a place of mannerism towards Allah
Almighty, some scholars have said perhaps it is
better that you consult, you do your due
diligence with people first, with the mortals.
Then you take the matter to Allah Almighty
and you leave it at that as a
final say.
As we said, it's neither here or there.
Alhamdulillah, it's not an exact science.
Is there a specific time for the istikharah
prayer, brothers?
It can be done anytime.
Are there ideal times for when the istikharah
prayer should be done or could be done?
Yeah, yeah.
When?
Say that again.
Okay, the last third of the night.
Any other place or time?
This is the one he mentioned.
Last third of the night.
Yeah, another one.
Last hour on Friday.
So what's the theme that we're getting here?
What's the theme?
Yeah, of Abdullah.
Okay, yeah, good.
The moment you're going to make the decision,
very good.
But what's the theme that we're getting at
here?
Yeah, a time of barakah and the time.
Somebody, they said, when dua is answered, the
idea is any time that dua is favored
with respect to a time and place, the
same applies to istikharah.
Because what is salaf al-istikharah?
It's dua.
So anything that you know about dua being
more likely to be answered with respect to
time or place or situation, hal, applies to
istikharah.
So the last third of the night, as
our brother, he said, is the ideal time
for dua.
So it's the ideal time for istikharah.
What about travelers?
Is it not that their dua is answered?
Or those who are about to break their
fast or are in a state of fasting
or between the adhan and the iqamah of
a salah, right?
And so on and so forth.
When it is raining, the last hour of
Friday, right?
These are ideal times to make salat al
-istikharah.
But yes, Abu Omar.
Are there any specific surahs of the Qur
'an that need to be recited in these
two units?
Some have said, قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ in
the first raka'a, قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٍ
in the second.
Other scholars have said, maybe you should choose
the ayat of the Qur'an that speak
of the knowledge of Allah and His choosing.
So in the first raka'a, وَرَبُّكَ يَخْلُقُ
مَا يَشَاءُ وَيَخْتَعَبُ مِنْ سُرَةُ الْقَصُصِ and the
second raka'a, وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ وَلَا مُؤْمِنَةٍ
إِذَا قَضَى اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمْرًا أَن يَكُونَ لَهُمُ
الْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْ But to summarize, al-Hafidh
al-'Iraqi, he said that there isn't an authentic
hadith to suggest that you need to recite
anything specific in Salat al-Istikharah, so recite
what you can of Qur'an.
Clear?
Simple?
Yes, next question.
Does the istikharah prayer have to be an
independent standalone two units, or can it be
combined with the intention of another two Salat?
Ideally speaking, it should be two raka'a
that you do outside of any other Salat.
So you go to the bathroom, you pray
two raka'a, and you pray an independent
standalone two raka'a, and then you do
the dua afterwards.
However, if there is a Salat from the
Sunan, from the optional prayers, because the hadith
says it has to be outside of the
obligatory prayers, so the two raka'a of
duha that you're going to do, or the
two raka'a post wudu that you're going
to do, there is no problem in combining
the intention of that act of worship and
Salat al-Istikharah on condition that you intend
the istikharah from the beginning.
You cannot change or add an intention halfway
through the prayer, you have to intend both
in the beginning.
Is that clear?
What if a quick decision needs to be
made, and there's no time to do the
two raka'at?
The two units.
What do you do in that situation?
Give me an example of a situation where
this may happen.
Sorry?
Say Bismillah and do it.
It's good.
So give me a situation where you would
say Bismillah.
One that is suitable for everybody.
Juggle between two things.
Good.
All right.
Good.
So what about a surgeon who has to
make a quick decision?
Dr. Akram.
Although Akram, he is not a surgeon, but
a surgeon who needs to make a quick
decision.
And you've told me about situations where you
needed to make quick decisions on the spot.
And he doesn't have time to take out
the prayer mat.
Guy's going to die.
Ah, so the scholars, they say, Imam al
-Nawawi mentioned this, that if there is no
time for the two raka'at, then you
can say the dua'at without the Salat.
Allahumma inni astakhiruka bi'almika wa astakhiruka bi
'ghudratika.
Clear?
Tayyib.
When should the dua'a be read out?
This is your question.
The dua'a, some of the scholars have
mentioned, could be done in the prostration of
Salat al-Istikharah.
But it seems to be the case that
the dua'a should be done ideally when
after you say salam, salam, and you end
your prayer.
Because the hadith says, thummal yaqul, then he
should say, meaning after the prayer, it says,
then he should say, which gives the indication
that Salat, first complete it, then you raise
your hands and you make the dua'a.
But if you do it in the other
way, insha'Allah, this is also okay.
Can you carry out Salat al-Istikharah for
two matters?
Two in one?
Yeah, meal deal.
Can you do that?
Is it okay?
It'll be confusing.
Okay, yeah.
Difficult to focus on two separate things.
What do you think, brothers?
Faqihna Imam Malik, what do you think?
Okay.
Malik says, Allah's rahmah is vast.
So why not asking for three, four infinite
things in one istikharah?
Interesting.
Anything from here?
Ah, there you are.
Yeah.
So the scholars, they say, if these two
matters are connected, then you can do two
in one.
Like what?
Oh, Allah, should I marry this person with
this dowry?
Should I partner up with this person in
a business venture with this capital X amount?
These matters are connected.
But to make istikharah about two matters that
are wholly different, then no, you need two
independent istikharahs for these things.
Clear?
Can we repeat the istikharah?
Can we repeat it or should we do
it once?
So if we work with the majority of
opinion, the scholars, they say, you can repeat
it as many times as you need until
Allah Almighty gives you that sense of ease
in shirah al-sadr and the tayseer, the
facilitation of the matter.
Are there elements that can increase the likelihood
of salat al-istikharah being answered?
As we said earlier, the things that make
dua more likely to be answered will also
make al-istikharah more likely to be answered.
So what are the things that interrupt dua?
Haste, rushing.
Ya Rabb, where is it that affects dua?
It will slow down your istikharah.
What other things affect dua?
Haram income, money that is sourced from impermissible
avenues that cuts off your dua from the
heavens.
It will affect your istikharah.
Somebody making dua with an inattentive heart.
So you're just saying, but your heart is
somewhere else that affects the quality of dua
and therefore salat al-istikharah.
Those who do not engage in good, enjoin
the good and forbid the evil.
The hadith has told us that people who
don't do this, Allah cuts off their dua.
He no longer answers them.
So in short, everything that affects dua will
affect your istikharah.
Yes, Salam.
How can somebody know the outcome of salat
al-istikharah?
How can I know the outcome of my
istikharah?
Am I to await a telegram from the
heavens?
Should I open up the mushaf and close
my eyes and see where my finger falls
on, huh?
And just see some sort of interpretation.
And insan, he has a very uncanny way
of trying to extract an omen from the
most random things, from the color of an
object, or an appointment that was canceled.
Instantly, this must be the outcome of my
istikharah.
Or a dream.
I mean, should I await a dream?
And this is a common question.
And the answer to all of these questions
is no.
Especially this aspect of dream, by the way.
The first thing people will ask you when
learning about the istikharah prayer is, I haven't
seen a dream.
Not only is the dream not required, it
could be that Allah honors you with a
dream, but not only is it not required,
more often than not, arguably, the dream is
an indication of what you want, not what
Allah Almighty wants.
Young man who's making istikharah for a beautiful
young woman for marriage.
Ya shaykh, I did istikharah and I saw
a dream of her.
I saw a dream.
Of course you saw a dream of her,
because it's all you're thinking about.
And that's why you woke up and you
had a shower.
So astaghfirullah wa atubu ilayh.
So it's not a sign that you need
to go ahead, it's a sign that you
just need to start fasting and drop the
peanuts, stop eating the almonds, and you'll be
okay.
So these dreams are an indication of what
you want, not necessarily what Allah Almighty wants.
Hadithu nafs, the speaking of the self to
the self.
So what are the signs?
The two greatest signs of what you should
do and how you should move after istikharah,
number one is inshirah al-sadr, a sense
of ease in the heart, a sense of
comfort.
Shaykh al-Islam, he says the first of
the two, a sense of ease in the
heart.
You're comfortable, you feel, yeah, this is what
I want to do.
My heart is at peace with this decision.
That's the ultimate sign.
What is the second one?
We heard it in the hadith, the easing
of the matter, the facilitation of the matter.
It becomes easy, because the hadith says, make
it easy for me.
So if you see one of these two
signs, it is usually an indication, and Allah
knows best that perhaps this is a good
course for you to follow.
If, however, you don't feel an ease in
the heart, you're still tense both ways, neither
of the two options are facilitated.
They still seem challenging.
Then you go to course number three, uncle,
that we spoke about, pathway number three, which
is act upon one of those decisions.
As al-Hafidh al-Iraqi, he said, and
it will be, insha'Allah ta'ala, the
correct decision, irrespective of how you feel, because
you've done what you need to do with
respect to consulting people, and putting the matter
with Allah Almighty.
Now you need to do something.
Now you need to move.
But if you have determined to make a
decision, then place your reliance upon Allah.
That's it.
Many times in life, you will not get
this sense of assurance and comfort.
That's part of the test.
Rest assured, you've made the right decision.
Sooner or later, you will see it in
dunya or the akhirah or both.
So these are three pathways for you to
follow.
The last question.
What if the outcome of the istikhara is
seemingly very unfavorable?
I made istikhara to marry this person.
This person has become the nightmare of my
life.
Wallahi, I've made istikhara, ya shaykh.
Or I made istikhara at the right time,
before the investment.
I really did istikhara in an open, in
a blank canvas.
I've lost everything.
How do you understand that?
That's a fitna, a test for some people
in their faith, isn't it?
How do we understand this?
How do you square that circle?
You may hate something, and Allah will place
so much khair in it.
How many times have people found prosperity?
Through adversity.
How many times people found strength?
Through weakness.
How many times, through the process of going
through a strained or a broken relationship, you
find the love of your life, the commitment
of your life?
How many times do doors come closing in
our faces?
And that is Allah Almighty pushing you a
little bit further down the corridor for you
to explore, and to see other doors either
side of that corridor that you are unwilling
and unable to explore through your own relationship.
You don't know.
Maybe the money needed to be taken away
from you.
I prayed istikhara.
Should we engage in matrimonial relations and work
towards a child?
Is this the time of Allah?
You do istikhara.
You and your wife.
Everything is good.
Alhamdulillah.
Your wife conceives, and it's a disabled child.
It's a huge test from Allah.
And you look at the child and you
think, Ya Allah, how difficult.
They must be suffering, and you are suffering
because of it.
Your whole life changes.
Who knows that maybe the entry into al
-firdaws al-'ala because none of your fasting, none
of your prayers, none of your deeds would
ever take you to a place where that
child was able to take you through your
sabr, your patience, and the rahmah.
And that is why Allah said in the
Qur'an, Your parents, your children, you don't
know which one of them is nearer to
you in benefit.
You don't know.
There is a beautiful statement, and I will
conclude with this inshaAllah.
Allah mentions in his Ihya ul-Ulum al
-Din that Luqman is narrated, excuse me, Dawood
alayhi as-salam is narrated to have said,
as al-Ghazali narrates in his Ihya, that
he asked Allah Almighty, Who do you hate
the most from your creation?
And he said, He said, the one I
hate the most is a person who consults
me, Allah, on a matter.
And I choose for him, but then he's
not satisfied with the other.
And there is a beautiful statement, which some
of the scholars have mentioned, that they said,
whoever is given four will not be deprived
of four.
They said, Whoever is given repentance, you repent.
Allah will not deprive you from acceptance.
Number two, Whoever is given gratitude to Allah,
Allah will not deprive him of the increase.
Number three, Whoever is given istikhara, do it.
Allah will not deprive them of what is
good.
And whoever is given consultation with the people,
will not be deprived of making the correct
decision.
So rest assured, fast forward, maybe the thing
that you have paid istikhara for, the outcome
is different to what you had envisaged, is
within it, your very salvation, your deliverance, your
rescuing, and your place in Jannah, that your
deeds would never have elevated for you, if
it wasn't for that istikhara, which you interpreted
falsely, as having gone pear-shaped.
Allah knows and we don't know.
I pray to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
that this has given us a bit of
a new perspective, on this beautiful opportunity.
Forgive me for going a little bit over,
but perhaps you will excuse me.
This is inshallah, as I mentioned, the last
of our sessions for at least a month
from now, inshallah.
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