Asalaamu Alaikum,
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How To Pray Salat-Ul-Istikhara
Source: Fiqh-us-Sunnah, volume 2, number 32 and volume 4, number 141.
Often, we have to make major life-changing decisions: whether to undertake a major project or not, whether to
apply for a promotion or not, whether to change career or not, whether to invest in a certain company or not,
whether to get married or not, whom to get married to, etc.
Istikhara (Arabic) means to ask Allah to guide one to the right thing concerning any affair in one’s life,
especially when one has to choose between two permissible alternatives, e.g. a career choice, getting married,
etc. Similarly, a traveller should consult good righteous persons before setting out on a journey, because Allah
says, “
And consult them (O Prophet) in affairs (of moment),” (Qur’an, 3: 159) and one of the characteristics of
the believers is that “they (conduct) their affairs by mutual consultation” (Qur’an, 42: 38). Qatadah said, “Every
people who seek the pleasure of Allah and consult with one another are guided to the best course in their
affairs.” The traveller should also make istikharah and seek guidance from Allah.
Sa’ d ibn Waqas reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Istikharah (seeking guidance from Allah)
is one of the distinct favors (of Allah) upon man, and a good fortune for the son of Adam is to be pleased with
the judgment of Allah. And a misfortune of the son of Adam is his failure to make istikharah (seeking Allah’s
guidance), and a misfortune for the son of Adam is his displeasure with the judgment of Allah.” Ibn Taimiyyah
said, “He who seeks guidance from the Creator and consults the creatures will never regret it.”
Salatul Istikharah is a sunnah. It is a prayer that one may pray if one must choose between permissible
alternatives: it is two non-obligatory rak’at (that can be recited separately or in combination with the regular
sunnah prayers or the prayer for entering the mosque […] during any time of the day or night, and to recite
therein whatever one wishes of the Qur’an after reciting al-Fatihah. After the two-rak’ats, one praises Allah and
sends salutations to the Prophet sallallahu alehi wasallam and recites the following supplication which has been
recorded by al-Bukhari in Jabir’s hadith (see full text below): “The Prophet sallallahu alehi wasallam would teach us al-istikhara for all of our affairs as he would teach us a surah from the Qur’an. He said: ‘If one of you is deliberating over an act, he should pray two non-obligatory rak’at and say:
(Here are the English transliteration and translation of the dua)
Allahumma inni astakhiruka bi’ilmika, Wa astaqdiruka bi-qudratika, Wa asaluka min fadlika al-’azim Fa-innaka taqdiru Wala aqdiru, Wa ta’lamu Wala a’lamu, Wa anta ‘allamu l-ghuyub. Allahumma, in kunta ta’lam anna hadha-l-amra Khairun li fi dini wa ma’ashi wa’aqibati amri (or ‘ajili amri wa’ajilihi) Faqdirhu li wa yas-sirhu li thumma barik li Fihi, Wa in kunta ta’lamu anna hadha-lamra shar-run li fi dini wa ma’ashi wa’aqibati amri (or fi’ajili amri wa ajilihi) Fasrifhu anni was-rifni anhu. Waqdir li alkhaira haithu kana Thumma ardini bihi
O Allah, I consult You as You are All-Knowing and I appeal to You to give me power as You are Omnipotent, I ask You for Your great favor, for You have power and I do not, and You know all of the hidden matters . O Allah ! If you know that this matter (then he should mention it) is good for me in my religion, my livelihood, and for my life in the Hereafter, (or he said: ‘for my present and future life,’) then make it (easy) for me. And if you know that this matter is not good for me in my religion, my livelihood and my life in the Hereafter, (or he said: ‘for my present and future life,’) then keep it away from me and take me away from it and choose what is good for me wherever it is and please me with it.”
The Fiqh-us-Sunnah scholars maintain that there is nothing authentic concerning something specific (e.g.
specific qur’anic ayats, etc.) that is to be recited in the prayer nor is there any authentic report concerning how
many times one should repeat salat-ul-Istikhara.
An-Nawawi holds that “after performing the istikharah, a person must do what he is wholeheartedly inclined
to do and feels good about doing and should not insist on doing what he had desired to do before making the
istikharah. And if his feelings change, he should leave what he had intended to do, otherwise he is not
completely leaving the choice to Allah, and would not be honest in seeking aid from Allah’s power and
knowledge. Sincerity in seeking Allah’s choice, means that one should completely leave what he himself had
desired or determined.”
The above duas for salat ul Istikhara was derived from hadiths (referred above in Fiqh-us-Sunnah) and narrated
by Jabir bin Abdullah about Salat-ul-Istikhara in Sahih Bukhari (volume 2, hadith number 263 and again
volume 9, hadith 487).
How to pray Salat-ul-Istikhara step-by step:
1. Perform Wudu (the ablution) if you do not have it already.
2. Pray 2 raka’at either with the intention of praying Istikhara separately by itself or jointly with 2 rakat of,
for example, tahajjud.
3. Immediately after you have completed the 2 rakats, recite the abovementioned Istikhara Dua.
4. Name the deed you wish Allah to provide you with guidance about.
5. Follow An Nawawi’s advice on how to interpret Allah’s guidance (again see above).
6. There is no limit on the number of times you can pray Salat-ul-Istikhara.
May Allah guide you to make the right decision.
Salaam