Istikhara: How to Pray It, and the Dua Line by Line

Istikhara is two rak'ah of voluntary prayer, then a dua asking Allah (SWT) to choose the good for you in a matter you have in mind. The Prophet ﷺ taught it to his Companions with the words of the dua, and the hadith is in Sahih al-Bukhari in three places. It is graded sahih in at-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud.

Every hadith here was read on sunnah.com. Where a question needs a ruling for your own case, this guide says so and leaves the answer to your teacher.

What Istikhara Is

Jabir ibn Abdullah said: "The Prophet (p.b.u.h) used to teach us the way of doing Istikhara", "in all matters as he taught us the Suras of the Qur'an" (Sahih al-Bukhari 1166). A surah is taught word by word, and that is the care the Companions gave this dua.

The word shares its root with khayr, the good, as astakhiruka in the dua does. The English translation on sunnah.com explains it in a bracket: "Istikhara means to ask Allah to guide one to the right sort of action concerning any job or a deed". In the dua you say astakhiruka: I ask You to choose the good for me.

The hadith opens on a person who has something in mind: "If anyone of you thinks of doing any job" («إِذَا هَمَّ أَحَدُكُمْ بِالأَمْرِ»). Two other narrations in al-Bukhari say the Prophet ﷺ taught it "for each and every matter" (Sahih al-Bukhari 6382 and 7390). A move, a job offer, a marriage proposal, a purchase: the hadith sets no size.

The Hadith, Its Numbers and Its Grade

All five narrations are from Jabir ibn Abdullah.

Al-Bukhari placed the hadith three times: in a chapter on voluntary prayers offered two by two, in the Book of Invocations under "The invocation on making Istikharah", and in the Book of Tawheed under a chapter named after Qur'an 6:65, a verse on the power of Allah (SWT). The dua itself says to Him: "You are capable and I am not."

At-Tirmidhi called the hadith of Jabir hasan sahih gharib, and added that it is known only through Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi al-Mawali. The chain of Sahih al-Bukhari 1166 runs through the same man, and both collectors counted the hadith sound.

How to Pray Istikhara, Step by Step

1. Have the matter in mind. The hadith begins when you "think of doing" something: a choice that is in front of you.
2. Make wudu and stand for prayer, for Allah (SWT) alone. Our guide to performing salah step by step walks through each position.
3. Pray two rak'ah "other than the compulsory ones", in the hadith's words. Pray them as any voluntary prayer of two rak'ah; our guide to sunnah and nafl prayers places them among the others. The hadith names no surah for them.
4. Then say the dua. The Arabic is «ثُمَّ لِيَقُلِ», "then let him say". Whether it is said before or after the closing salam is a question for your teacher.
5. Name your need. The hadith ends: "then the person should name (mention) his need." Where the dua says "this matter", you have your own matter in mind; the exact point at which to name it is a question for your teacher.
6. Leave the outcome to Allah (SWT). The dua has already asked Him for the good.

A quiet heart helps here as in every prayer. Our guide to khushu in salah has practical ways to arrive at the two rak'ah present.

The Dua, Line by Line

Below is the dua as Sahih al-Bukhari 1166 gives it on sunnah.com. The Arabic is the collection's text. The English is sunnah.com's translation, word for word. The transliteration is ours, a help for reading, not a replacement for learning the Arabic from someone who knows it.

The two rows that begin "or said" are the narrator's doubt, kept in the hadith: either the Prophet ﷺ said "fi dini wa ma'ashi wa aqibati amri", or he said "ajili amri wa ajilihi". Which wording you say, or whether you say both, is a question for your teacher.

The translation says "this job" where the Arabic says hadha l-amr, "this matter": the matter you named. Like the adhkar after salah, the dua is short enough to learn by heart, a line a day.

What Comes After the Dua

The hadith mentions no dream, no sign and no feeling to wait for. Read what the dua asks. If the matter is good for you, that Allah (SWT) decree it, make it easy and bless it. If it is harmful, that He turn it away from you and you away from it. And in both cases, that He decree the good wherever it is, and make you content with it.

How to read what happens next, and whether to repeat the istikhara, are questions for your teacher: the reports quoted here do not answer them.

Istikhara sits beside asking people you trust. The Qur'an puts consultation, decision and reliance on Allah in one verse:

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...and consult them in the matter. And when you have decided, then rely upon Allah. Indeed, Allah loves those who rely [upon Him].

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One Companion's answer shows the spirit of it. When the Prophet ﷺ sent Zayd to Zaynab bint Jahsh with a proposal of marriage, she said: "I will not do anything until I consult my Lord." She went to her place of prayer, and the Qur'an about her marriage was revealed (Sunan an-Nasa'i 3251, graded Sahih (Darussalam); also Sahih Muslim 1428b, whose grade is the collection's own, sahih).

An-Nasa'i placed this report under the chapter "A Woman Doing Istikharah If She Receives A Proposal Of Marriage". The reports do not say what she prayed there, and this guide adds nothing to them.

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