Question

Please can you tell me how to pray the Istakhara salat. Is it permissible to read the dua that is written on paper or from mobile phone.

Answer

One should first pray two rak’at Nafl Salah. It is preferred (Mustahab) to pray Surah al-Kafirun after Surah al-Fatiha in the first rak’at and Surah al-Ikhlas after Surah al-Fatiha in the second rak’at.

Once the Salah is complete, read the following Dua, which has been mentioned in the Hadith. Jabir bin Abdullah narrated that the Messenger of Allah would teach the way of doing Istikhaarah, in all matters just as he taught us the chapters of the Qur’an. The Messenger of Allah said, "If any of you intends on doing any task, he should offer a two rak’at Nafl prayer and say (after the prayer) [Bukhari]:

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِى أَسْتَخِيرُكَ بِعِلْمِكَ وَأَسْتَقْدِرُكَ بِقُدْرَتِكَ وَأَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ الْعَظِيمِ فَإِنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ وَلَا أَقْدِرُ وَتَعْلَمُ وَلَا أَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتَ عَلَّامُ الْغُيُوبِ اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرَ خَيْرٌ لِىْ فى دِينى وَمَعَاشِى وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِى وعَاجِلِ أَمْرِى وآجِلِهِ فَاقْدُرْهُ لِىْ وَيَسِّرْهُ لِىْ ثُمَّ بَارِكْ لِىْ فِيهِ وَإِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرَ شَرٌّلِىْ فِي دِينى وَمَعَاشِى وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِى وعَاجِلِ أَمْرِى وآجِلِهِ فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّى وَاصْرِفْنِى عَنْهُ وَاقْدُرْ لِىْ الْخَيْرَ حَيْثُ كَانَ ثُمَّ رضِّنِى بِهِ

The two places in the Dua where the words Hadha al-Amra (highlighted in red) are mentioned, one should either straight after it or in place of these words, mention his need. For example, if it is for a journey, then one should pray Hadha al-Safaru… in both places. It is Mustahab to pray Surah al-Fatiha and Durood Sharif before and after reciting this Dua. After reciting the Dua, some scholars have stated that one should sleep in the Sunnah manner facing the Qibla with Wudu. It is permissible to read this Dua from a piece of paper or even from a mobile phone.

It is also better to do Istikhaarah seven times, as it has been stated in one Hadith,

“O Anas! When you intend to undertake a task, do Istikhaarah to your Lord seven times. Then look at what crossed your heart, as verily there is goodness in it.” [Kanzul Ummal].

If in the dream one sees whiteness or greenness then the task for which he/she did Istikhaarah is good, and if one sees redness or blackness then the task is bad and should be avoided. If one does not remember the dream or does not see any colours, then he/she should follow their heart. Whichever intention grows stronger in the heart for the intended task, follow it after completing seven days of Istikhaarah and Allah knows best.

Muhammad Kalim
13^th Ramadan Al-Kareem 1436AH

The answer is correct and it is important to note that Istikhaarah is only permissible for permissible matters. As for those matters which are forbidden or are the cause of Allah’s anger, it is not permissible to do Istikhaarah and Allah knows best.

Zahid Hussain Al-Qadiri
13^th Ramadan Al-Kareem 1436 AH