A RESEARCH ON THE LIFE OF ISTIKHARA AS THE FORM OF DREAM IN THE CONTEXT OF PSYCHOLOGY OF RELIGION

Abstract

Istikhara means sleeping by praying after performing ablution in order to receive some signs in a dream whether a job is good or not (TDK, 2005: 988), and asking Allah for His guidance (Aydar, 2009: 9). In addition, it is also described as waiting for a spiritual sign in a dream when after praying two rakats, when a person is undecided about any work that is not a religious obstacle (Serinsu, 2009: 181). According to Islamic sources, istikhara is recommended by Prophet Muhammad (SAAS) only in the form of performing prayer and reciting prayer. However, although different forms of istikhara such as "tasbeeh" and "Qur'an" emerged in the following period, istikhara as a form of waiting for a sign in a dream was widely practiced. The reason why this form has become widespread is that people want to receive a concrete sign from Allah. For dream is an experience consisting of imaginary reflections, in which people continue their daily, mental and spiritual life during sleep; in other words, it can be defined as the continuation of life in sleep (Jung, 2015: 35; Kara, 2015:2; Hafiz, 2020: 7). This study, which examines the effects of istikhara on people's religious and psychological lives, is important in terms of examining the reflections of this experience on practical life in the context of the psychology of religion.