What is the benefit of praying istikhaarah when things are already decreed?

Question: 112094

With regard to praying istikhaarah: it crosses one’s mind sometimes:

What is the benefit of asking, supplicating and striving, when the decree of Allaah is what will come to pass?.

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah and his family.

Allaah has made du’aa’ a means of attaining what one wants.
The Lord enjoins it, as He says:

“And your Lord said: ‘Invoke Me [i.e. believe in My
Oneness (Islamic Monotheism) and ask Me for anything] I will respond to your
(invocation). Verily, those who scorn My worship [i.e. do not invoke Me, and
do not believe in My Oneness, (Islamic Monotheism)] they will surely enter
Hell in humiliation!’”

[Ghaafir 40:60]

Once this is understood, there will be no confusion, because
Allaah has decreed things according to their causes. So if it is decreed
that a person should have a child – for example – it must inevitably be
preceded by marriage and intercourse in order for the child to come after
that. The results cannot happen without the causes. The entire universe is
based on the connection between cause and
effect.

The same applies to du’aa’ or istikhaarah too.

Allaah has decreed many things that are connected to calling
upon Him or asking Him, and the desired outcome does not happen without the
cause or means, which is du’aa’, in addition to tangible causes. The
ahaadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
clearly point to this idea.

It was narrated from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with
him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Du’aa’ may be of benefit with regard to what has already happened or what
has not yet happened, so adhere to du’aa’, O slaves of Allaah.” Narrated by
al-Tirmidhi (3548) and classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’
(3409).

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said in Majmoo’ al-Fataawa
(8/69):

If a person says that he does not say du’aa’ or ask of
Allaah, because he relies on the divine decree, he is also erring, because
Allaah has made du’aa’ and asking means of attaining His forgiveness, mercy,
guidance, support and provision. If good is decreed for a person he will
attain by means of du’aa’ what he cannot attain without du’aa’. What Allaah
has decreed and knows with regard to His slaves’ circumstances and destinies
is only decreed on the basis of means, and decrees will be fulfilled at the
appointed times. There is everything that happens in this world or in the
Hereafter happens on the basis of cause and effect; Allaah is the Creator of
both cause and effect.

Disregarding the principle of cause and effect is contrary to
reason. End quote.

He also said: (8/287):

One of them said: Du’aa’ is nothing more than pure worship,
because what is decreed will happen, whether one says du’aa’ or not. It was
said to him: Allaah has made du’aa’ a means of attaining the desired outcome
that has been decreed, so how can it happen without du’aa’?! End quote.

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in
al-Jawaab al-Kaafi (p. 4):

Du’aa’ is one of the most beneficial of remedies; it is the
enemy of calamity; it wards it off, remedies it, prevents it befalling,
alleviates it or reduces it if it befalls. It is the weapon of the believer.
In the case of calamity, one of three scenarios must apply:

1.It (du’aa’) is stronger than
the calamity, so it wards it off;

2.It is weaker than the calamity,
so the calamity overpowers it and befalls the person, but it may reduce it
even if it is weak;

3.They resist one another and
each impedes the other. End quote.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said in al-Majmoo’ al-Thameen min
Fataawa Fadeelat al-Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (1/157):

Du’aa’ is one of the means by which what is asked for is
attained. In fact it wards off the divine decree and nothing wards off the
divine decree except du’aa’, and that may happen in two ways. For example, a
sick person may pray to Allaah for healing and be healed, and were it not
for the du’aa’ he would have remained sick, but he was healed by means of
the du’aa’. But we say: Allaah decreed that the sick person would be healed
from this sickness by means of du’aa’, and this is what was decreed. He
thinks that were it not for the du’aa’ he would have remained sick, but in
fact he did not ward off the divine decree, because the basic principle is
that du’aa’ was decreed and that the healing would come by means of this
du’aa’, and this is the original decree that was decreed from eternity. The
same applies to everything that is decreed to happen through some means or
cause. Allaah has made this means the cause for the thing to happen, and
that was decreed from eternity, before it happened. End quote.

The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas
were asked: Does du’aa’ repel the divine decree?

They replied: Allaah has prescribed and enjoined du’aa’. He
says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And your Lord said: ‘Invoke Me [i.e. believe in My
Oneness (Islamic Monotheism) and ask Me for anything] I will respond to your
(invocation)’”

[Ghaafir 40:60]

“And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad
صلى الله عليه وسلم) concerning Me, then
(answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the
invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or
intercessor)”

[al-Baqarah 2:186].

So if a person avails himself of the prescribed means and
calls upon Allaah in du’aa’, then that is part of the divine decree, so it
repels one decree with another, if Allaah wills that. It is proven in a
saheeh hadeeth that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: “A person may be deprived of provision because of
sins that he commits, and the decree is not warded of by anything but
du’aa’, and nothing increases one’s lifespan except righteousness.” End
quote. Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah (1/195).

They were also asked (24/243):

Does du’aa’ reduce calamities? Does Allaah show kindness to
us as the result of du’aa’? How can that be when Allaah sends down
calamities upon people despite the fact that they call upon Him in du’aa’?

They replied:

Du’aa’ is an act of worship towards Allaah, and Allaah has
commanded us to call upon Him, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):

“And your Lord said: ‘Invoke Me
[i.e. believe in My Oneness (Islamic Monotheism) and ask Me for anything] I
will respond to your (invocation). Verily, those who scorn My worship [i.e.
do not invoke Me, and do not believe in My Oneness, (Islamic Monotheism)]
they will surely enter Hell in humiliation!’”

[Ghaafir 40:60]

[al-Baqarah 2:186].

Du’aa’ may reduce calamities, ward them off or ward off
greater calamities. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: “Nothing wards off the divine decree but du’aa’.” If calamities
happen, they expiate sins and raise people in status, so if a calamity
befalls the Muslim, he should bear it with patience and seek reward with
Allaah, and he should not complain about the divine decree. End quote.

From these quotations we may derive an understanding of the
issue in sha Allaah. When the Muslim understands the issue of istikhaarah
and du’aa’ as a means of attaining what he wants, he will never neglect it
and he will never try to attain what he wants in any other way. Du’aa’ will
become a source of strength and a way to good for the Muslim, as Allaah
wants it to be.

For more information please see the answer to question no.
11749.

And Allaah knows best.

Source:

Islam Q&A

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