Salat al-Istikharah is a prayer recited by Muslims when in need of guidance on an issue in their life. The salat is a two raka'ah salat performed to completion followed by the supplicationsSalat al-Istikharah.
Description of the salat
The description of Salat al-Istikharah was narrated by Jabir ibn ‘Abd-Allah al-Salami, who said: "The Messenger of Allah used to teach his companions to make Istikharah in all things, just as he used to teach them Surahs from the Qur'an. He said: 'If any one of you is concerned about a decision he has to make, then let him pray two rak'ahs of non-obligatory prayer and say A translation of the supplication is as follows: "O Allah, I seek Your counsel by Your knowledge and I seek Your assistance by Your power and I ask You from Your immense favor, for verily You are able while I am not, and verily You know while I do not, and You are the knower of the Unseen. O Allah, if You know this affair to be good for me in relation to my religion, my life and aftermath, my present and future, then decree it and facilitate it for me, and bless me with it, and if You know this affair to be ill for me concerning my religion, my life and end, my present and future, then remove it from me and remove me from it, and decree for me what is good, whatever it may be, and make me satisfied with it." Another translation is as follows: 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 know not. You are the Knower of hidden things. O Allah, if in Your knowledge, this matter is good for me both in this world and the hereafter, then ordain it for me, make it easy for me, and bless it for me. And if in Your knowledge it is bad for me and for my religion, my livelihood and my affairs, then turn me away from it, , and ordain for me the good wherever it may be and make me pleased with it."
Conditions of the salat
One must perform ablution before entering into any salat and so ablution must be performed before doing Salat al-Istikharah. Ibn Hajr said, commenting on this hadith: "Istikharah is a word which means asking Allah to help one make a choice, meaning choosing the best of two things where one needs to choose one of them." With the salat completed one should immediately say the supplications al-Istikharah. Istikharah is done when a decision is to be made in matters which are neither obligatory nor prohibited. So one does not need to do Istikharah for deciding whether he should go for hajj or not. Because if he is financially and physically able to do it then hajj is obligatory and he does not have a choice. But Istikharah can be done in all kind of other permissible matters where a choice needs to be made such as buying something permissible, taking a job or choosing a spouse etc. It is related in the Hadith that Muhammad used to teach the Istikharah to the Sahaabah for every matter just as he used to teach them the Sürah from the Qur'an. In another Hadith it is stated that 'He does not fail who makes Istikharah and he does not regret who makes consultation.'
Method
Muhammad said, "If one of you is concerned about some practical undertaking, or about making plans for a journey, he should perform two cycles of voluntary prayer." Then with all sincerity recite the following Du'a. Allahumma innee astakheeruka bi ilmika wa-astaqdiruka biqudratika wa-as'aluka min fadhlika al-adheem. Fa innaka taqdiru walaa aqdiru. Wa ta'lamu walaa a'alamu wa anta allaamul ghuyoob. Allahumma in kunta ta'lamu anna haadhal-amr khayrun liy fiy deeniy wa-ma'aashiy wa-'aaqibati amriy, faqdur hu liy wa-'yassar hu- liy thumma baarik liy feehi. Wa in-kunta ta'lamu anna haadhal amr sharrun liy fiy deeniy wa-ma'aashiy wa-'aaqibati amriy. Fa-srifhu 'annee wa-srifni 'anhu. Wa aqdur lial khayra haythu kaana thumma a-rdhiniy bihee
'''Salat al-Istikharah Meaning'''
O Allah! Behold I ask you the good through Your Knowledge, and ability through Your Power, and beg out of Your infinite Bounty. For surely you have Power; I have none. You know all; I know not. You are the Great Knower of all things. O Allah! If in Your Knowledge this matter be good for my faith, for my livelihood, and for the consequences of my affairs, then ordain it for me, and make it easy for me, and bless me therein. But if in Your Knowledge, this matter be bad for my faith, for my livelihood, and for the consequences of my affairs, then turn it away from me, and turn me away therefrom, and ordain for me the good wherever it be, and cause me to please with it.
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--. The Prophet added that then the person should name his need.
