Fatwa ID: 06364
Answered by: Mufti Muhammad Asadullah Anwar Adam
Question:
I would like to get straight to the point, I was looking for marriage and making plenty of dua prior to this person entering my life.
I never have dreams and one night I had a dream and when finding out the interpretation it meant a change in status, marriage or finance.
The next morning is when this person entered my life and I had good feelings when speaking to him. I am wanting to do things the halal way with meeting first time with family etc.
I would just like to clear a few things up;
- Is my dream a sign or is it me thinking about it too deeply? The dream, I saw was before I knew of his existence and has no link to istikara.
- Would I need to pray istikara too if this dream I saw is not a sign?
- He is not sure and so wants to pray istikara, which I am happy to support. In the time he prays istikara, is this for 7 days?
- Do we need to stop messaging for this period of 7 days?
- If his answer is no, would I pray istikara to see if it is a no or yes? Or do I just leave it with his no?
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
In regards to dreams, the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, “A good dream is from Allah, so if anyone of you saw a dream which he liked, he should not tell it to anybody except to the one whom he loves, and if he saw a dream which he disliked, then he should seek refuge with Allah from its evil and from the evil of Satan, and spit three times (on his left) and should not tell it to anybody, for it will not harm him.”[1]
And in regards to the method of Istikara
Jabir (RA) Narrated that the Prophet(SAW) used to teach us the way of doing Istikhara, in all matters as he taught us the Suras of the Qur’an. 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):
{O Allah! I ask guidance from Your knowledge, And Power from Your Might and I ask for Your great blessings. You are capable and I am not. You know and I do not and You know the unseen. O, Allah! If You know that this job is good for my religion and my subsistence and in my Hereafter–(or said: If it is better for my present and later needs)–Then You ordain it for me and make it easy for me to get, And then bless me in it, and if You know that this job is harmful to me In my religion and subsistence and in the Hereafter–(or said: If it is worse for my present and later needs)–Then keep it away from me and let me be away from it. And ordain for me whatever is good for me, And make me satisfied with it). The Prophet (SAW) added that then the person should name (mention) his need.}[2]
A person does not necessarily need to have a dream to know the result of their Istikhara, as the heart will be inclined towards carrying out the task or not, without any doubt and the result will be evidently clear in their mind and heart. It is best to perform it 7 times.
If his answer is no then there is no need for you to perform Istikara.
Only Allah knows best
Written by Mufti Muhammad Asadullah Anwar Adam
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
[1][Sahih Bukhari, hadith 7044]
{لرُّؤْيَا الْحَسَنَةُ مِنَ اللَّهِ، فَإِذَا رَأَى أَحَدُكُمْ مَا يُحِبُّ فَلاَ يُحَدِّثْ بِهِ إِلاَّ مَنْ يُحِبُّ، وَإِذَا رَأَى مَا يَكْرَهُ فَلْيَتَعَوَّذْ بِاللَّهِ مِنْ شَرِّهَا، وَمِنْ شَرِّ الشَّيْطَانِ وَلْيَتْفِلْ ثَلاَثًا وَلاَ يُحَدِّثْ بِهَا أَحَدًا فَإِنَّهَا لَنْ تَضُرَّهُ}
[2][Sahih Bukhari, hadith 6382]
{إِذَا هَمَّ بِالأَمْرِ فَلْيَرْكَعْ رَكْعَتَيْنِ، ثُمَّ يَقُولُ اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْتَخِيرُكَ بِعِلْمِكَ، وَأَسْتَقْدِرُكَ بِقُدْرَتِكَ، وَأَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ الْعَظِيمِ، فَإِنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ وَلاَ أَقْدِرُ، وَتَعْلَمُ وَلاَ أَعْلَمُ، وَأَنْتَ عَلاَّمُ الْغُيُوبِ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الأَمْرَ خَيْرٌ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي ـ أَوْ قَالَ عَاجِلِ أَمْرِي وَآجِلِهِ ـ فَاقْدُرْهُ لِي، وَإِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الأَمْرَ شَرٌّ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي ـ أَوْ قَالَ فِي عَاجِلِ أَمْرِي وَآجِلِهِ ـ فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي وَاصْرِفْنِي عَنْهُ، وَاقْدُرْ لِيَ الْخَيْرَ حَيْثُ كَانَ، ثُمَّ رَضِّنِي بِهِ. وَيُسَمِّي حَاجَتَهُ
