How Do We Establish Istikhara Prayer? How Do We Perform Istikhara?

How do we establish istikhara prayer? How do we perform istikhara?

Istikhara means to perform a two-rakat prayer and make dua to Allah before going to bed in order to have a sign about the goodness or badness of a deed which is intended to be done by a person. Sometimes people cannot tell what is better for them both for their life in the world and in the Hereafter when they need to make an important decision about their lives or make a choice. For this purporse, they consult each other and ask for Allah’s help. In this respect, istikhara is to wish that the deed will be good and that it is realized with the help of Allah if it is good. The Prophet Muhammad (saw) taught istikhara to his companions as if he was teaching them a chapter of the Qur’an (Bukhari, Tahajjud, 25; Abu Dawud, Witr, 31).

Istikhara prayer is mandub (recommended). Surah al-Kafirun is recited after Fatiha in its first rakat and Surah al-Ikhlas is recited after Fatiha in its second rakat. The dua of istikhara is made after the prayer. The Prophet Muhammad (saw) recommended to make the following dua for istikhara:

“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, 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, 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.” (Bukhari, Tahajjud, 25; Da’awat: 48; Tirmidhi, Salat, 237)

Istikhara is not performed for the things that are certainly good such as acts of worship and good deeds, or that are certainly known to be evil such as the haram and evil acts. It is performed when a person cannot decide if doing a deed would be right or wrong, and can be repeated for seven times. After istikhara, the heart of a person relieves and s/he acts by accepting that the first thing s/he feels is good (Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar, II, 470-471). There is no ground of having a dream after istikhara and interpreting it as bad or good. In the event that istikhara prayer cannot be performed, one may recite its dua only.

Source: Presidency Of Religious Affairs The Turkey, High Board of Religious Affairs FATWAS