Poem: An Ode to Istikharah
Istikharah — my favourite prayer
A simple prayer that makes things clearer
Makes things easier, as I trade my desire
for my Lord’s desire
Clarity and conviction are the side effects
And my favourite part?
Regret does not touch me
Even if things go haywire,
I don’t think that things have backfired
My heart stays calm, whatever transpires
Though the heart may hurt
And tears may fall
My steps forward are unwavering
And I don’t wonder “what could have been”
My thoughts are laced with optimism and trust
And I sleep better at night
Knowing this unfolding, even if bitter
is just right
I think there’s a misconception that if you had done your istikharah prayers, then there would be no obstacles, no problems, and everything will be smooth-sailing. Not really. The istikharah prayer is to guide you to what is BEST FOR YOU. And perhaps further down the road, after the decision was taken, things may unravel, or combust, or just fail spectacularly. But having done your istikharah prayers, it just means that this “unravelling”, “combusting”, “FAILING” was supposed to happen.
You had to learn something through the “unravelling”, “combusting”, “failing” because it was the BEST lesson for you.
We need to separate success/failure through the lens of things going right/wrong. Success/failure is only in Allah’s Pleasure and Grand Plan. And sometimes in His Grand Plan, things just need to unravel (in our eyes) while they fall into place (in His Eyes).
What do you think? What’s your experience with the istikharah prayer?
