I was not selected for job for which I aspired a lot and I feel very much sorrow and grief all the times for not being selected .Later I read that if a man do ISTIKHARA he will never regret .Then my pain further increased and I thought “ O ALAS IF I HAD DONE ISTIKHARA BEFORE APPLYING I SHOULD HAVE NEVER FELT REGRET IF I HAD DONE ISTIKHARA“. Now I am thinking and blaming myself again and again for this as in istikhara I might get the indication of either not applying for job .Or at least if I had done istikhara I will never feel regret despite being rejected and bear it patiently . Please help me out

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

The belief in Qadar (Predestination) is one of the six pillars of faith. When a person is certain that whatever Allaah wills happens and whatever Allaah does not will, does not happen, and he knows that what has befallen him was not to pass him, and what has passed him was not to befall him, his heart will be content and filled with trust in Allaah. In this manner, he will not regret the past or rejoice over what is not from his own accord. Allaah says (what means): {No disaster strikes upon the earth or among yourselves except that it is in a register before We bring it into being — indeed that, for Allaah, is easy —} [Quran 57:22]

Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet said: “A strong believer is better and more beloved to Allaah than a weak believer, and there is good in both. Strive to attain that which will benefit you, seek the help of Allaah and do not despair; and if a misfortune befalls you, do not say: “If only I had done such and such, it would have been better'', but rather say: "Qaddar Allaah wa maa shaa' fa'al ('Allaah predestined so, and whatever Allaah wills happens)”, as the word 'if only' opens the door to the devil.’" [Muslim]

So, do not think about the past and do not regret. This is from the devil. He wants to make you sad and spoil your life. Be optimistic about the future and continue your life as if nothing happened; and remember that it might be that this job may have been bad for you, and Allaah took that bad thing away from you, as Allaah knows all outcomes. Allaah says (what means): {But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allaah knows, while you know not.} [Quran 2:216]

For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 83577, 92500 and 96529.

Istikhaarah prayer fulfills the function named above. That is, it helps you to have faith in the Predestination and surrender to the Divine Decree of Allaah. The function of Istikhaarah is to put the matter in the Hands of Allaah. On that note, it is not necessary that a person sees a dream or the like; rather, he should proceed to undertake the matter for which he performed Istikhaarah. Then, the result of the Istikhaarah is whether or not Allaah facilitates it for him. For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 81434.

Allaah Knows best.