Dua and Prayers

7/23/2019 Dua and Prayers

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Dua and Prayers

Suggestions from God - Salah tul Istikhara

Click here for Urdu Version

"Istikhara" means to seek goodness from Allah (Exalted is He), meaning when one intends to do an important task

they do istikhara before the task. The one who does the istikhara is as if they request Allah Almighty that, O the

Knower of Unseen (Exalted is He) guide me if this task is better for me or not?

According to Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 21, Number 263:

Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah :The Prophet (Sallal Laho Alaihi Wasallam) used to teach us the way of doing Istikhara, in

all matters as he taught us the Suras of the Quran. He said, "If anyone of you thinks of doing any job he should offer

a two Rakat prayer other than the compulsory ones and say (after the prayer):

WAY TO PERFORM ISTIKHARA:

First pray two cycles of ritual prayer [raka'] such that in the first raka' after Surah Fatiha (Allhamd…) recite Surah al-

Kafirun (Chapter 109) and in the second raka' after Fatiha (Allhamd…) recite Surah al-Ikhlas (Chapter 112) and after

finishing prayer [salam] then recite this (supplication/dua'): Dua in Arabic Text above.

TRANSLATION: "O Allah! I seek goodness from Your Knowledge and with Your Power (and Might) I seek strength, and

I ask from You Your Great Blessings, because You have the Power and I do not have the power. You Know everything

and I do not know, and You have knowledge of the unseen. Oh Allah! If in Your Knowledge this action --------------------

---------------------------- (which I intend to do) is better for my religion and faith, for my life and end [death], for here [in

this world] and the hereafter then make it destined for me and make it easy for me and then add blessings [baraka']

in it, for me. O Allah! In Your Knowledge if this action is bad for me, bad for my religion and faith, for my life and end

[death], for here [in this world] and the hereafter then turn it away from me and turn me away from it and whatever

is better for me, ordain [destine] that for me and then make me satisfied with it."

How many times?It depends. Sometimes it takes only once to get the answer and sometimes it takes longer. It is better to do istakhara

seven (7) times and right after reciting the supplication, given above, sleep with ablution (people who cannot keep

the ablution for longer times due to health problems do not have to worry about ablution before falling asleep)

facing the direction of the Qibla (facing the Qibla is not required but it is a Sunnat of our beloved Prophet Peace Be

Upon Him). It is better to recite salutations (durood/ salawat) on the Prophet Allah's Grace and Peace be upon him

before and after the above Dua (supplication).

Answer:

If in the dream one sees whiteness (means anything white in color, for example: milk, white paper, white sky, white

clothes, white light etc.) or greenness (means anything green in color, for example: grass, plants, trees, green

clothes, green light etc.) then understand that this task is better and if one sees redness (means anything red incolor, for example: blood, red clothing, red fruit, red light etc.) or blackness (means anything black in color, for

example: black water, black light, black clothings, black sky, black wall etc. ) then understand it is bad and avoid it.

If do not remember any dream or do not see any colors then follow your heart. Whatever intention grows stronger

in your heart regarding your targated work follow it after seven days of Istakhara.

There is nothing at all wrong with asking Allah for money or for anything else halal.

Do you know the best ways and times to offer dua?

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful



1. Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “When one of you offers prayer he should

begin with the eulogy of his Lord, the Glorious, and then invoke the mercies and blessings of Allah on the Prophet

(may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and then he may supplicate as he likes.”

When people asked him how to do this, he replied, “Say these words:

‘Alla-humma sal-le ‘ala Muhamm-madim wa ‘ala ali Muham-mad Kama Sal-layta ‘ala Ibrahim wa ‘ala ali Ibrahim. Wa

barik ‘ala Muham-madim wa ‘ala ali Muham-madin Kama barak-ta ‘ala Imbrahima wa ‘ala ali Ibrahim, fil ‘alameena

In-naka Hamidan Majeed.’”

["Oh Allah, Exalt Muhammad and the people of Muhammad as Thou didst exalt Abraham and the people of

Abraham, and bless Muhammad and the people of Muhammad as Thou didst bless Abraham and the people of Abraham. Truly Thou are praiseworthy and glorious.”]

2. Prophet Muhammed (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “For me to recite, ‘Subhanallah, wal-hamdu-

lillah, wa la-ilaha illal-laho wal-laho Akbar’

[‘Glory be to Allah, and all praise to Allah, and there is no god other than Allah, and Allah is the Greatest’] is dearer to

me than all the things on which the sun rises.”

[“I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed. In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful: All praise

to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds, and prayer and blessings for our master Muhammad and to his family and his

companions and also peace.”]

4. A person should always include in the du’a, “Rabbana ateena fi doonya hasanatan wa fil akheerati hasanatan waaa-teena athaban naar.” [“Our Lord, grant us the best in this life and the best in the Hereafter and protect us from

the fire.”]

5. A person should complete his du’a by saying, “Wa salli Allahuma al Sayeedeena Muhammad wa al-hamdulillahi

Rabee al-alameen.” [And may Allah bless our master Muhammad and all praise to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.]

6. Prophet Muhammed (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “A person who recites both in the morning

and evening: ‘Subha-nal-Lahee wa bee Hamdee-hee’ [‘Glory to Allah and all praises to Him’], one hundred times, will

not be surpassed by anyone in good works on the Day of Judgment unless by one who shall have recited the same

like him or more.”

7. Prophet Muhammed (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, “When you go to bed, make your ablution

like the one for salat, and then lying down on your right side, supplicate,

‘Allahuma, aslam-too nafsee, ilayka wa fawwaz-too amree ilayka, waleeja’too zahree ilayka ragh-ba-tan wa rah-ba-

tan ilayka la maljaa wa la manja’a minka il-la ilayka, aa’mantoo bee kee-tab-ee-kal-la-thee ansal-ta wa bee-nabi-ye-

kal-lathee ars-alta’

[‘O Allah, I have surrendered my soul to Thee and entrusted my affairs to Thee, and made my back attentive towards

Thee, hoping to get Thy reward and fearing Thy punishment. There is no refuge from Thee and no protection from

Thee save with Thyself. I believe in the Book that Thou hast revealed and believe in the Prophet whom Thou hast

commissioned’],

then if you die [in sleep] you will die in the true nature [the real faith]. Let these words be the last words you speak

at night.”

---

For most effective dua, you should have wudu, but if you are not able to pray, it is not essential. You should face the

qiblah, and begin and end your dua by praising Allah and praying for Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.).

You can use dua from the Qur'an and hadith, and/or you can offer dua in your own words.

The most effective time for dua is late at night. Other particularly effective times are when a person is ill are

travelling. The dua that is repeated the most times is most likely to be answered.

Sometimes we ask for things that are not right for us. Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) said that dua always is answeredin three ways: Allah may give us what we ask for, He may give us something better than that, or He may forgive us

sins.



Do you recite athkar, phrases of praise and supplication, morning and evening? Please see the links below. Everyone

in my family recites athkar about 25 minutes, twice a day, and Allah's rewards for it are immense.



Confused: My Marriages Failed Despite Istikhara

By Mufti Taqi Usmani

Posted: 23 Rajab 1422, 11 October 2001Q.) I am extremly perplexed and grieved concerning my present situation

and shaytan is also attacking me with various iman endangering thoughts. Please can you answer my following

question and put my mind at rest. I married a woman about 3 years ago. I went to see her and everything was done

the Islamic way. i.e. I did Mashwera (consultation) and Istikhara (and I saw good dreams and my heart felt content.)

But despite the istikhara, etc. Our marriage broke up after just a few weeks of living together, as it transpired that

she was mentally unstable.

I married again this year, this time I was extra cautious and therefore did Istikhara over a long period and begged

Allah to guide me, as a result of which I saw many good dreams. I also had the dreams interpreted by a scholar who

gave me the go ahead. After that I did consultation with my superiors and they also gave me the go ahead. But,

Again this marriage has broken down in a short span of time.

Why is it that both my marriages have failed (through no fault of mine, I tried my best both times) even though I did

Istikhara and Mashwera both times and felt content at heart.

Please reply soon and put my mind at rest, I am losing hope and shaytan is playing with my mind and making me

doubt the words of Allah and his Prophet. (naoozobillah) Please reply soon. Jazakallah. A distressed brother in need.[s.m.]

A.) Istikhara is a particular form of prayer and the masnoon way of doing is that a person offers 2 Rakats with the

intention of Istikhara then recites the Dua for Istikhara which may be found in all the books of prayer. The other

ways of Istikhara which are suggested by some persons are not masnoon. So far as the effect of Istikhara is

concerned you must observe the following points:

First of all you must know that Istikhara is nothing more than a normal Dua in which a person prays to Allah

Subhanahu Taala to guide him to reach a right decision. It is not correct to presume that in response to an Istikhara

Allah gives an answer in the form of a dream. Similarly it is not necessary that a dream is seen after making anIstikhara and even though a dream is seen by the relevant person it is not an absolute answer towards a particular

direction because dream is not treated in Shariah as a binding proof of something. The expected result of Istikhara is

that the relevant person himself takes a decision which is good for him in this world or in the hereinafter or in both.

But just as the grant of other prayers depends on certain conditions the Istikhara is subject to those conditions as

well. If some of these conditions are lacking, it is not necessary that this prayer is granted

Second, to make an Istikhara does not mean that a person abandons all other necessary enquiries. A person must

carry out all efforts necessary to reach a correct decision even after making Istikhara. If a person is content on

Istikhara only and does not make the required efforts to reach the correct decision he may fall into error.

Third, in this particular case the reason for breakup of marriages is not certainly known. It is possible that themarriage failed not because the decision to marry that woman was wrong but because the husband could not

properly handle the marriage. In other words it is possible that the decision to marry the woman was correct but the

decision to divorce her was wrong.

Fourth, as mentioned in the first point in some rare cases Istikhara does not prove to be fruitful in this world but it is

certain to be fruitful in the world hereinafter.

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Dua and Prayers