Istikharah is a du'a made in conjunction with non-obligatory prayer; it
is a voluntary prayer that Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon
him recommended to anybody wanting to do something but feeling hesitant
about doing it. It is seeking guidance in order to make the right
decision. It is reported that Prophet would teach his companions to make
Istikharah just as he would teach them verses from the Quran. One
should pray two units of non-obligatory (voluntary) prayer and then say
the du'a of Istikharah.
Allahumma
innee astakheeruka bi ilmika wa-astaqdiruka biqudratika wa-as'aluka min
fadhlika al-adheem. Fa innaka taqdiru walaa aqdiru. Wa ta'lamu walaa
a'alamu wa anta allaamul ghuyoob. Allahumma in kunta ta'lamu anna
haadhal-amr khayrun liy fiy deeniy wa-ma'aashiy wa-'aaqibat amriy,
fa'qdruhliy wa-yassirh liy thumma baarik liy feehi. Wa in-kunta ta'lamu
anna haadhal amr sharrun liy fiy deeniy wa-ma'aashiy wa-'aaqibat amriy.
Fa asrifh annee wa-srif 'anhu. Wa aqdurh liyal khayr hayth kaana thumma
a-rdhiniy bihee
O Allah, I ask You to show me what is best,
through Your knowledge, and I ask You to empower me, through Your power,
and I beg You to grant me Your tremendous favour, for You have power,
while I am without power, and You have knowledge, while I am without
knowledge, and You are the One who knows all things unseen.
O
Allah, if You know that this matter (mention the thing to be decided) is
good for me in my religion and in my life and for my welfare in the
life to come, then ordain it for me and make it easy for me, and then
bless me in it.And if You know that this matter is bad for me in my
religion and in my life and for my welfare in the life to come, then
distance it from me, and distance me from it, and ordain for me what is
good wherever it may be, and help me to be content with it."
“And
they ask you (O Muhammad), concerning the Ruh (the spirit); Say: “The
Ruh (the Spirit): its knowledge is with my Lord. And of knowledge, you
(mankind) have been given a little,” Al-Isra 17:85
The
majority of Islamic scholars agree that nafs (soul) and ruh (spirit)
are two names for one in the same thing, and as such are
interchangeable. You will find throughout the Qur’an and the Sunnah the
term ‘soul’ and ‘spirit’ used intermittently. Some scholars of Hadith
hold the opinion, that the ruh is other than the nafs , but the nafs,
which is in the form of man, is dependent on the ruh for existence. Mans
nature (i.e. nafs) is filled with vanities, desires and passions. It is
the source of trials and afflictions, and there is no enemy more
hostile to him than his own nafs. Thus, the nafs wants and loves nothing
other than the things of this world, while the ruh longs for the
Hereafter and invites to it. The Souls Form According
to Ibn al-Qayyim and affirmed by Ibn Abul-‘Izz al-Hanafi, we find their
description of the “souls” form described and explained as follows:
“The
spirit is an entity which differs from the physical, tangible body. It
is a higher type of luminous (or light-like) being, alive and moving,
and it penetrates the limbs, circulating through them as water
circulates throughout the petals of a rose, as oil circulates throughout
the olive, and as fire circulates throughout the burning embers of
coal.”
Related by Ibn Abul- ‘Izz al-Hanafi in ‘al Aqeedat at Tahawiyyah
Descriptions
of the spirit as “light”, it’s mode of penetration of the body, and
it’s shape cannot be proven by the Qur’an or the Sunnah. These
descriptions can only be considered conclusions based upon their own
understanding of the “proofs”.
The
Sunnah is replete with description of the state and the nature of the
soul. These Hadith substantiate the view held by dependable scholars:
An
example of the physical and psychological punishment awaiting the
disbeliever's occurs in the following portion of a long, authentically
related Hadith:
“....The
Angel of Death says: “O you foul soul, come out to the anger and wrath
of your Lord” The soul inside the disbeliever's body is overcome by
terrible fear (and does not want to deliver itself up), whereupon the
Angel of Death violently pulls it out like multi-pronged skewers, being
yanked out of wet wool - tearing with them the arteries and nerves..”
Related by Bukhari
It is also narrated in an authentic Hadith Um Salamah reported:
“Allah’s
Messenger (saws) entered upon Abu Salamah (i.e. his corpse), whose eyes
were wide open. The Prophet (saws) closed the lids and then said: “When
the Ruh (spirit) is taken out, the eyesight follows it (i.e. watches it
ascend).”
Related by Ahmed and Muslim
These
Hadith indicate in two ways that the soul is indeed a form. First of
all, something must have form in order to be grasped and extracted. And
second of all, eyes can only visualize something that has form.
Two Deaths and Two Lives In the Qur’an Allah (swt) has mentioned two deaths and two lives.
“How
can you deny Allah (swt) when you were dead, he gave you life, then he
gave you death and he is going to give you life once again and you will
come back to us.”
Al Baqarah 2:28
“....The
kafir will say on the day of judgment -Oh Allah, you have bound us to
die twice, and you gave us life twice, and now we admit our sins, so is
there any way out for us?.....”
Ghafir 40:11
The
first death is the state of the soul when it was first created. Allah
(swt) creates first of all from the sperm, it turns into ‘Alaqa’ (leach
like substance), then the ‘Mugarah’ (little piece of flesh), and when it
is in the shape of a fetus (after 120 days), the soul is breathed into
it. This is the moment when life begins. When the soul leaves the body
(when death occurs), this is the second death and then Allah (swt) gives
them a new form and this is the second life.
This life now is the most important one, because what we do in this life, determines what happens in the next.
A third of our life is spent in sleeping. While we are sleeping our souls leave our body.
“Allah
(swt) takes souls at the time of their death and (the souls) of those
that do not die, during their sleep. He retains those souls for which he
has ordained death, whereas he releases the rest for an appointed
term.”
Az-Zumar 39:42
The soul can experiences pain and emotions and we know this by the fact that we dream.
The Prophet Muhammad (saws) said;
“The
clearest among you in his dreams are the clearest among you in his
faith. If you speak the truth all the time, then your dreams will be
true, but if you speak lies all the time then your dreams will be
false.”
Sahih
“If
you could see, when the wrongdoers taste the pangs of death, and the
angels stretch their hands out (saying), “Deliver up your souls. This
day you will be awarded a degrading punishment.”
Al-An’am 6:93
Here
it is stated that death is painful for the disbeliever's. Although,
they are ordered to surrender their own souls to the angels, they are
unwilling; therefore, the soul must be forced out as it does not wish to
meet its punishment.
The
term “akhriju anfusakum” used in this Qur’anic verse literally mean
“expel” or push out your souls, indicating that the soul becomes a
separate entity from the physical body.
The Meetings of Souls
Souls of the Dead Meeting with Each Other
The souls of the dead may be divided into the following two categories:
1. Favored souls (i.e. those of pious believers)
2. Punished souls (i.e. those of the sinful believers and disbeliever's)
The
souls of the second group are confined to places of punishment and are
too preoccupied with the torments of the grave to be able to meet or
visit with each other. However, the blessed and favored souls of the
pious believers are free to roam and meet. They may visit and discuss
with each other their previous existence on earth. In the barzakh every
soul will be with companions of like nature. (refer: Ibn al-Qayyim’s
Kitab ar-Ruh page 28)
The
following Hadith is a direct reference and clear proof that , in
general, the souls of pious believers are able to meet and converse with
each other.
Abu Hariarah (raa) reported that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said:
“Verily,
the soul of the believer (after death) soars up to the heavens,
whereupon the souls of other believers come to it, seeking news about
those they know from the people of the earth.”
Related by Muslim, Bukhari and Ahmad
Souls of The Dead Meeting with Souls of The Sleeping
Since
the souls of the living (which are sleeping) and the souls of the dead
can roam in the spiritual world - for they are not tied to their earthly
bodies - it is certainly possible that they meet and converse. This
deduction is confirmed by the majority of dependable Qur’anic
commentators, foremost among them; Imam Ibn Jareer at-Tabari and Ibn
Katheer.
Allah says in the Qur’an:
“Allah
takes the souls at the time of death and (the souls) of those that do
not die during their sleep. He retains those souls for which He has
ordained death, whereas he releases the rest for an appointed term.”
Az-Zumar 39:42
Ibn
al-Qayyim mentions two view points regarding the tafseer on this verse.
The first view is there are two points in time at which Allah takes
souls: death and during sleep. Death may occur during sleeping or at
other times. The soul taken at death is “retained” soul referred to in
this verse. The “released” soul is that which is taken during sleep and
is returned to its respective body upon awakening.
The
second position in regard to this verse is that both the “retained”
soul and the “released” one are taken during sleep. Then those who have
completed there specified period of life are retained, while those who
have not completed their time are returned to their bodies. This view
suggests that the verse refers to only souls that die in their sleep and
the souls which are returned to their respective bodies upon awakening,
and does not mention the “retained” souls that die at times other than
during sleep.
When
I was researching this topic: I found it very hard to get information
from the Qur’an and Authentic Sunnah of the Prophet (saws)
I think an appropriate way to finish is to re-quote the ayah from the beginning of this paper:
“And
they ask you (O Muhammad) concerning the Ruh (the spirit): Say: “The
Ruh (the spirit): its knowledge is with my Lord, And of knowledge, you
(mankind) have been given but a little.”
Al-Isra 17:85
For further reference please refer to: Mysteries of the Soul Expounded by Abu Bilal Mustafa al-Kanadi
