Salah tul Istikhara

Istikhara is done by a person who intends to seek goodness from Allah in an important task. It is performed by the person to know Allah’s will in a certain matter whether it is good or bad for him or not.

Dua-e- Istikhara

Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah the Prophet (saw) used to teach us the way of doing Istikhara, in all matters as he taught us the Surahs of the Quran. He said, "If anyone of you thinks of doing any job he should offer a two Rakat prayer other than the compulsory ones and say (after the prayer)

How to perform Salah tul Istikhara

Salat tul Istikhara is a normal two rakat nafil prayer. In the first raka' after Surah Fatiha recite Surah al-Kafirun and in the second raka' after Fatiha recite Surah al-Ikhlas. After finishing prayer recite the dua-e- istekharah.

Importance of Istikhara

Allah says in the Holy Qur'an: "And it is very possible that you dislike something whereas it is good for you; and (similarly) it is very possible that you like something whereas it is bad for you". (Baqarah 16)

We humans have incomplete knowledge and scarce intellect. Everything we desire is based on our feelings rather than our mind power to speculate what’s good and bad for us. As the above ayah says we may desire something, which may prove harmful to us, and on the other hand, we may dislike something, while it is good for us. So before making important decisions in life it’s better to do Istikhara because He is the solitary possessor of perfect knowledge and knower of the unseen. According to one Hadith: "It is from the good fortune of man that he makes Istikharah (seeks good) from Allah, and it is from his misfortune that he discards Istikharah."

Also, the Prophet (sws) said: "It is from the happiness of the son of Adam to practice Istikharah and be pleased with what Allah has ordained for him. And it is from the misery of the son of Adam to drop the Istikhaarah of Allah and be displeased at Allah's decrees." (Sunan at-Tirmidhee, hasan)