Before any major decision, pray Salat-ul-Istikhara
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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: “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 following hadith (referred
above in Fiqh-us-Sunnah) is narrated by Jabir bin Abdullah about
Salat-ul-Istikhara in Sahih Bukhari (volume 2, hadith number 263 and
again volume 9, hadith 487):
The Prophet (peace be upon him)
used to teach us the way of doing Istikhara (Istikhara means to ask
Allah to guide one to the right sort of action concerning any job or a
deed), in all matters as he taught us the Suras 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):
'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 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)." The Prophet added that then the person should name
(mention) his need.
Similar hadiths were reported by Jabir (r) in Sahih Bukhari (volume 8, hadith number 391).
It is not necessary that you get a dream or even a “feeling.” Rather,
the istikhara is a prayer that Allah guide you towards that which is
best (khayr) for you. If you do the prayer of guidance (istikhara) with
the proper manners, the most important of which is to truly consign the
matter to Allah and suspend your own inclinations, then Allah will make
events unfold in the direction that is the best for your worldly and
next-worldly affairs.
