بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
“In the name of Allah the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.”
•Istikharah means to seek Khair (goodness) from Allah ﷻ in making a correct decision on an issue. In other words it is a dua through which a person takes mashwera (consults) Allah ﷻ when making choices in life.
•When doing istikharah do not put Allah ﷻ on a timetable. And we should not expect some sort of miracle, or a dream full of signs and symbols. These things are not necessary. We simply say our prayers and trust that Allah ﷻ has heard us and will answer us in the way that is best.
•What needs to be noted is that the answer to one’s istikhara prayer does not come simply in the form of dreams and feelings but in how Allah ﷻ facilitates and unfolds events for an individual after he or she genuinely strives to do what is best. In other words after you have done istikharah whatever happens next will be Khair (good) for you.
•When making istikhara make the intention ‘Should i marry him’ or ‘should i study chemistry’ NOT ‘should i marry him or not’ or ‘should i study chemistry or biology’.
• Istikhara can be done at any time of the day, one does not need to sleep or see a dream. Whatever step one decides to take after performing istikhara will be from Allah ﷻ .
• If one feels confused after performing istikhara, continue performing it for odd number of days till one gets their answer. Istikharah is not limited to 3,5 or 7 days.
•If one does see a dream after istikhara and feels it means something then one may get it interpreted by a person of knowledge.
•Istikhara should be done by the person himself. For eg what a mother may find suitable in a guy for her daughter, a daughter may not. Therefore if a mother does istikhara for her daughter she may get a positive vibe whilst the daughter may get a negative vibe.
Method
When in the most calm state of mind recite manzil (this is recommended by scholars to protect you from the whispers of Shaitaan but can be left out), then offer 2 raka’at nafl salaah with the intention of asking Allah ﷻ for guidance for your work. Recite the du’aa below and upon reaching the words ’hadhal amr’ think about what you are doing istikhara for.
Du’aa for istikhara:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْتَخِيرُكَ بِعِلْمِكَ وَأَسْتَقْدِرُكَ بِقُدْرَتِكَ وَأَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ الْعَظِيمِ فَإِنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ وَلَا أَقْدِرُ وَتَعْلَمُ وَلَا أَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتَ عَلَّامُ الْغُيُوبِ اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرَ خَيْرٌ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي فَاقْدُرْهُ لِي وَيَسِّرْهُ لِي ثُمَّ بَارِكْ لِي فِيهِ وَإِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرَ شَرٌّ فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي وَاصْرِفْنِي عَنْهُ وَاقْدُرْ لِيَ الْخَيْرَ حَيْثُ كَانَ ثُمَّ ارْضِنِي بِهِ
‘Allahumma inni astakhiruka bi’ilmika, Wa astaqdiruka bi-qudratika, Wa as’alaka min fadlika al-‘azlm 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 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 al-khaira haithu kana Thumma ardini bihi.’
(O Allah! I ask guidance from Your knowledge, And Power from Your Might and I ask for Your great blessings. You are capable and I am not. You know and I do not and You know the unseen. O Allah! If You know that this job is good for my religion and my subsistence and in my Hereafter–(or said: If it is better for my present and later needs)–Then You ordain it for me and make it easy for me to get, And then bless me in it, and if You know that this job is harmful to me In my religion and subsistence and in the Hereafter–(or said: If it is worse for my present and later needs)–Then keep it away from me and let me be away from it. And ordain for me whatever is good for me, And make me satisfied with it).
Sahih Al-Bukhari – Book 21 Hadith 263
Short Istikharah
When the Prophet ﷺ intended in doing something he would recite:
اللَّهُمَّ خِرْ لِيْ وَاخْتَرْ لِي
Allahuma khirli wakhtarli
O Allah choose & select for me (the better of the two things)
[Tirmidhi]
If a decision needs to be taken and there is no opportunity to perform the full istikharah, the above dua should be recited.
Tayyibah Tree 
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