Manuscript volume 8 · Page 53

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

وصل في فصل صلاة الاستخارة

ورد أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يعلم أصحابه الاستخارة كما يعلمهم السورة من القرآن. وورد أنه صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يأمر أن يصلي لها ركعتين، ويوقع الدعاء عقيب الركعتين اللتين يصليهما من أجلها بعد السلام منهما.

وأستحب له أن يقرأ في الأولى بفاتحة الكتاب وقوله تعالى: ﴿ورَبُّكَ يَخْلُقُ ما يَشاءُ ويَخْتارُ ما كانَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ﴾ [القصص: ٦٨] وسورة ﴿قل يا أيها الكافرون﴾ وفي الركعة الثانية يقرأ بفاتحة الكتاب و﴿قل هو الله أحد﴾ ويدعو بالدعاء المروي في ذٰلك عقيب السلام.

يفعل ذٰلك في كل حاجة مهمة يريد فعلها وقضاءها، ثم يشرع في حاجته فإن كان له فيها خيرة عند الله، يسر (الله) له أسبابها إلى أن تحصل فتكون عاقبتها محمودة.

وإن تعذر شيء من أسبابها عليه ولم يتفق تحصيلها بيسر، فلا يضاد القدر ويعلم أنه لو كان له فيها خيرة عند الله ما تعذرت أسبابها فيعلم إن الله

In the name of God, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful.

Continuation on the Section Concerning the Prayer for Seeking God’s Choice

It is related that the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, used to teach his Companions to seek God’s choice as he taught them a sura of the Quran. It is related that he, may God bless him and grant him peace, would command them to perform two units for it and make the supplication after completing those two units with the salutation.

I consider it preferable for him to recite in the first unit the Opening of the Book, His words, exalted is He, “Your Lord creates what He wills and chooses. The choice is not theirs” [al-Qasas 28:68], and the sura “Say, O unbelievers.” In the second unit he recites the Opening of the Book and “Say, He is God, One.” After the salutation he makes the supplication transmitted for this purpose.

He does this for every important matter that he wishes to undertake and accomplish, then begins his task. If God’s choice in it is good for him, God makes its means easy for him until it comes about and its outcome is praiseworthy.

If some of its means prove difficult and it cannot be obtained easily, he should refrain from opposing the decree. He should know that if God’s choice in it had been good for him, its means would not have proved difficult. He thus knows that God