The guidance prayer
How to pray Salat al-Istikhara
Istikhara — “seeking the better choice” — is a two-rak‘ah prayer followed by a specific dua, prayed whenever a permissible matter has more than one reasonable path and the better one is not clear. Jabir ibn Abdullah reported that the Prophet ﷺ taught it to his Companions with the same care he taught them a surah of the Qur’an.
The method
- 1Settle the intentionIstikhara is asked before a decision is made, not after — while more than one path is still genuinely open. The intention is to want whichever outcome Allah knows is better, not to ask Him to confirm a choice already made.
- 2Pray two rak‘ahsAny two rak‘ahs of voluntary prayer, prayed with the matter in mind. The hadith does not specify particular surahs for them — an ordinary two-rak‘ah prayer, prayed attentively, fulfils it.
- 3Recite the duaAfter the prayer, recite the supplication below, naming the actual matter at the point marked in the translation — “this marriage,” “this move,” “this job,” rather than leaving it general.
- 4Proceed, and trust what unfoldsIstikhara is not a request for a dream or a sign — none is promised in the hadith. Having asked, go ahead with what still seems the reasonable choice, and take however the matter subsequently opens up or closes off as itself part of the answer.
The dua
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 هَـٰذَا الْأَمْرَ خَيْرٌ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي فَاقْدُرْهُ لِي، وَإِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَـٰذَا الْأَمْرَ شَرٌّ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي وَاصْرِفْنِي عَنْهُ، وَاقْدُرْ لِيَ الْخَيْرَ حَيْثُ كَانَ، ثُمَّ أَرْضِنِي بِهِ.
O Allah, I seek Your guidance by virtue of Your knowledge, and I seek ability by virtue of Your power, and I ask You of Your great bounty. You have power, I have none. And You know, I do not know. You are the Knower of hidden things. O Allah, if in Your knowledge this matter — [and here name the matter] — is good for me in my religion, my livelihood and the outcome of my affairs, then ordain it for me. And if in Your knowledge this matter is bad for me in my religion, my livelihood and the outcome of my affairs, then turn it away from me and turn me away from it, and ordain for me the good wherever it is, and make me content with it.