The Book of Istikhara (edition 1991)

This odd little volume isn't so much a book as a tool of divination. The author is a follower of Imam Warithuddin Muhammad, also known as Wallace Muhammad, whose father, Elijah Muhammad, lead the Nation of Islam. Imam Muhammad transformed the Nation into a more orthodox Islamic group. This book, published by the Muhammad Ali Education Humanitarian Foundation, is meant to learn the mind of God. The practice of Istikhara, as the author expounds, involves seaching the Qu'ran to know God's disposition towards one's undertaking. This book is meant to facilitates that. After praying the appropriate prayers and reciting the appropriate chapters of the Qu'ran, as explained in the book, one opens the book to a random page. One is then confronted with a verse from the Qu'ran and an interpretation thereof. For example, should one land on page 35, one would find the Qu'ranic passage, "Therefore I have warned you of the fire that flames," followed by the warning "DO NOT DO IT / IT WILL DISPLEASE YOU." Keep in mind of course that one may only ask questions of activities that are permitted under the laws of Islam. The practice is of course very similar to forms of lectio divinia by which the Bible is scanned for divintory purposes. One will of course be pleased to note that the odds favor one who uses this book. Of the 97 possible outcomes, 53 are unreservedly positive, 14 are indifferent, and only 30 are negative or exhort the user to wait before acting.