Qur'an randomly, then they look for anything in the page that they
have chosen of the Mushaf to give them a hint to help them make their
decision. For example, there is a married daughter who came to live
with her parents, because her husband is not giving her her rights,
and she wants to get divorced. Her mother opened the Mushaf (at
random) and there was the story of Moosa (peace be upon him) and his
mother, (where Allah said to her): "but when you fear for him, then
cast him into the river" [al-Qasas 28:7]. From this story, she
understood that her daughter should go back to her husband. Can you
explain this matter to me?
Praise be to Allah.
Salaat al-istikhaarah is a confirmed Sunnah that is proven in reports
from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and it
cannot be replaced by what you have mentioned about seeking auspicious
omens in the Qur'an. Rather this seeking omens in the Mushaf is haraam
according to a number of scholars, because it comes under the same
heading as divination with arrows.
Al-Qarraafi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: With regard to the
haraam pursuit of auspicious omens, at-Tartooshi said in his
commentary that looking for auspicious omens in the Mushaf, geomancy,
drawing lots, throwing grains of barley (and interpreting the patterns
in which they fall), and all such things are haraam, because they come
under the same heading as divination with arrows. During the
Jaahiliyyah, they had arrows or pieces of wood, on one of which was
written "Do it"; on other arrows were written the words "Do not do it"
and "Not clear (or try again)". A person would draw one of them, and
if he found the words "Do it" he would go ahead with what he was
thinking of doing; if he found the words "Do not do it", he would turn
away from what he wanted to do and think that it was bad; if he found
the word "Not clear (or try again)," he would try again. Thus he was
seeking his share of the unseen by means of these arrows, so that if
it was good he would pursue it and if it was bad he would forget about
it. The same applies to one who looks for auspicious omens in the
Mushaf or elsewhere; the one who does that thinks that if he sees
something good he will pursue it or if he sees something bad he will
try to avoid it. This is exactly what is meant by divination with
arrows which the Qur'an states is haraam. End quote fromal-Furooq,
4/240
Al-Nafraawi said: The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) liked good omens, which refers to anything that makes one feel at
ease, such as a good word. Inas-Saheehit says: "There isno tiyarah
(superstitious belief in bad omens), and the best of it is a good
omen." It was said: O Messenger of Allah, what is a good omen? He
said: "A good word that one of you hears." According to another
report, he said: "But I like good omens." An example of that is if a
person sets out on a journey or to go and visit a sick person and he
hears the wordsYaa saalim(O safe one),yaa ghaanim(O winner) oryaa
'aafiyah(O healthy one). This applies if he was not seeking such an
omen (and heard that by coincidence); but if he was seeking an omen so
that he could act upon whatever he heard, whether it was good or bad,
then it is not permissible, because it is like the haraam divination
with arrows that they used to do during the Jaahiliyyah. A similar
practice, which is also not permissible, is looking for omens in the
Mushaf, because this also comes under the same heading as divination
with arrows, because he may find something in the Qur'an that appears
to point to something he does not like, and that may lead him to
regard the Qur'an as "unlucky". If a person wants to do something then
hears something that upsets him, he should not change his plans;
rather he should say: "O Allah, no one brings good except You and no
one brings evil or wards off evil except You."
End quote fromal-Fawaakih ad-Dawaani, 2/342
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked
about looking for good omens in the Mushaf. He replied: With regard to
looking for good omens in the Mushaf, there is no report of that from
the early generations, and the later generations disputed concerning
it. Al-Qaadi Abu Ya'la mentioned a dispute concerning it. He narrated
from Ibn Battah that he did it and said that someone else disliked it.
But this is not the kind of good omen that the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) liked; he liked good omens
and disliked superstitious belief in bad omens. The kind of good omen
that he liked is when a person does something or decides to do
something, putting his trust in Allah, then he hears a good word that
makes him happy, such as if he hears the wordsYaa najeeh(O successful
one),Yaa muflih(O prosperous one),Ya sa'eed(O happy one),Yaa mansoor(O
victorious one) and so on. For example, during his hijrah (migration
to Madinah) he met a man en route and said to him: "What is your
name?" He said: Yazeed (meaning increase). He said: "O Abu Bakr,yazeed
amruna(our matter will increase in good)." As for superstitious belief
in bad omens, if a person has done something, putting his trust in
Allah, or he has decided to do something, then he hears a word that he
dislikes, such as "it will not reach its goal" or "he will not
prosper" and so on, and he takes it as a bad omen and gives up his
plans, this is forbidden. It is narrated inas-Saheehthat Mu'aawiyah
ibn al-Hakam as-Sulami said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, among us
are some people who superstitiously believe in bad omens. He said:
"That is something that one of you feels in his heart; do not let it
prevent you from going ahead." Thus the Prophet (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) forbade letting superstition prevent one from
doing what one intended to do. In both cases, even though he liked
good omens and disliked superstitious belief in bad omens, he would
still pray istikhaarah (seeking Allah's help in making a decision),
put his trust in Allah and go ahead on the basis of what is prescribed
of taking appropriate measures. In the case of a good omen, he did not
make it a reason or motive for going ahead, and he did not let a bad
omen prevent him from going ahead. Rather it was the people of the
Jaahiliyyah who based their decision whether to go ahead or not on
that, for which they would use arrows for divination. Allah forbade
using arrows for divination in two verses of the Qur'an; when they
(the people of the Jaahiliyyah) wanted to make a decision, they would
bring sticks like arrows or pebbles or something else on which they
had made marks to indicate "good", "bad" or "unclear (or try again)."
If they picked up the one that said "good," they would go ahead with
their plans; if they picked up the one that said "bad", they would
refrain; and if they picked up the one that said "unclear", they would
try again. And there are other actions that could come under the same
heading, such as throwing pebbles or barley grains (and "reading" the
patterns in which they fall), or using boards, pieces of wood or
pieces of paper on which were written Arabic letters, verses of poetry
and the like, by means of which a person would decide whether to go
ahead with his plans or not. All of these are forbidden because they
come under the same heading as seeking divination with arrows. Rather
it is Sunnah to pray istikhaarah, seeking guidance from the Creator,
and to consult other people and find out on the basis of shar'i
evidence what Allah likes and is pleased with and what He dislikes and
forbids. These superstitious practices are sometimes intended to find
out whether what a person wants to do is good or bad, and sometimes
they are intended to find out about its usefulness, in the past or in
the future. In either case it is not allowed or prescribed. And Allah,
may He be glorified and exalted, knows best.
End quote fromMajmoo' al-Fataawa, 23/66
Thus it is clear that seeking good omens from the Mushaf by opening it
and looking at the page, then basing one's decision on that, is haraam
and is the same as seeking divination with arrows. This is in contrast
to good omens that come immediately after one has taken a decision,
when hearing a good word by coincidence, when not looking for that.
What is mentioned in the question about the wife who is not being
given her rights by her husband indicates that the method mentioned is
not correct, because one may say: Rather the verse mentioned indicates
that she should separate from him and stay away, even if she fears the
consequences thereof, as the mother of Moosa threw her son into the
river, but the consequences were good for her.
In such cases it is essential to examine the problem and its causes
and ways of dealing with it in the appropriate shar'i manner, such as
offering sincere advice, and looking for arbitrators from the
husband's family and the wife's family, and so on.
And Allah knows best.
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