If you are intending to do something from two or more things like proposing to many women for marriage, then you may need to know the woman you should marry who will be beneficial to you and your religion. In this article, I will show you how to do or perform Istikhara for marriage step by step.
Istikhara is the Islamic prayer which you can pray to seek goodness from God (glory be to Him). That is, when one intends to do an important thing, they should do istikhara before that thing. Any one who does the istikhara prayer is the one who requests Allah to help him or her choose the best one among the things.
According to Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 21, Number 263 (narrated by Jabir bin ‘Abdullah):
The Prophet (Sallal Laho Alaihi Wasallam) used to teach us the way of doing Istikhara, in all matters as he taught us the Suras of the Quran. He said that if anyone of you thinks of doing any job he or she should offer a two Rakat prayer other than the compulsory ones and perform Assalat Istikhara as we are going to teach you here.
How to pray Istikhara step by step for marriage and other things
One must wash themselves (do ablution) ahead of the Salat al-Istikharah, in the same manner as one would do when praying any salat.
Read this also: how to pray for something as a Moslem to make Allah answer you very quickly.
Ibn Hajr (may peace be upon him) said, commenting on this Ahadith: “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 salaa completed one should immediately say the supplication of Istikhara.
Istikhara is done when a decision is to be made in matters which are neither obligatory nor prohibited. For example, one does not need to seek counsel from Allah for deciding whether he should go for Hajj or not, because if he is financially and physically able to do it then it is obligatory and he does not have a choice.
But seeking counsel from Allah, Istikhara can be done in all kind of other permissible matters where a choice needs to be made such as buying something, taking a job or choosing a spouse etc.
It is recorded in Ahadith that Muhammad used to teach his companions to seek counsel from Allah (Istikhara) for every matter just as he used to teach them the Sürah from the holy book, Quran.
Meanwhile, in another Ahadith, prophet Muhammad said:
“He who performs Istikhara from Allah with pure mind or intention will not fail and he who consults and seeks advice from people will not regret”
In the same vein, Istikhara prayer can be performed in any language, as Allah is considered to be the God of all tribes, not just of the Arabs and he therefore accepts all prayers and deeds providing they are correct in nature and purely dedicated to Him alone.
In fact, reading any prayer in Arabic language is not considered essential, what is essential is that the reader’s heart should be sincerely rendered humble to God in full reliance and trust.
How to perform Istikhara (recommended steps)
The following steps are the ones you should follow when performing the recommended Istikhara prayer. Do you want your Istikhara prayer for marriage or one important thing to get an answer quickly? If yes, then read the following carefully.
- Make yourself clean internally and externally in an islamic manner
- Perfom two raka of salat
- In the first raka, it is very important to recite Sura Alkhafirun (Quran chapter 109) after Surah Fatiha was being recited
- It is also an added advantage for you if you can recite Sura Alikhlas (Quran chapter 112) after Surah Fatiha like I have explained the previous step
- After you have finished performing two raka’a Nafil salat, do not do any tesbih
- Now, you can doing the prayer of Istikhara with any of your intention
- For example, if you doing Istikhara purposely for choosing a spouse, then you must be able to mention all the names of ladies who you love to marry
- Please note that Istikhara should not be done after you have mostly done the thing but before doing the thing
- Do not pray Istikhara on a lady who you have already married or dated, if you do it after you have selected a spouse, that means you are jocking with Allah of the most high.
Please make sure that you are not doing Istikhara during the three times when it is unadvisable to pray as reported in one Ahadith reported in Muslim 1040.
Muslim 1040 narrated that there were three times that Allah’s Messenger (Prophet Muhammed) forbade us from praying Nafil salat or burying the corpse (ie. funeral prayer). Those times are when the sun begins to rise; when the sun is at its height until it passes
the meridian; and when the sun begins to set until it is completely set.
However, matters that are immediate and cannot be delayed, Istikhara can be prayed even during these three times listed above.
Pray 2 raka’at either with the intention of praying Istikhara separately by itself or jointly with two nonobligatory rak’at (e.g. the regular sunnah prayers or tahajjud, etc). Immediately after you have completed the 2 raka’ats, recite the Istikhara Dua below:
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْتَخِيرُكَ بِعِلْمِكَ وَأَسْتَقْدِرُكَ بِقُدْرَتِكَ، وَأَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ الْعَظِيمِ، فَإِنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ وَلاَ أَقْدِرُ وَتَعْلَمُ وَلاَ أَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتَ عَلاَّمُ الْغُيُوبِ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الأَمْرَ(—-) خَيْرٌ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي فَاقْدُرْهُ لِي وَيَسِّرْهُ لِي ثُمَّ بَارِكْ لِي فِيهِ، وَإِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الأَمْرَ شَرٌّ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي وَاصْرِفْنِي عَنْهُ، وَاقْدُرْ لِي الْخَيْرَ حَيْثُ كَانَ ثُمَّ أَرْضِنِي بِهِ
Dua Istikhara
Transliteration in Arabic:
Allahumma inni astakhiruka bi’ilmika, Wa astaqdiruka bi-qudratika, Wa asaluka min fadlika al-‘azim Fainnaka taqdiru Wala aqdiru, Wa ta’lamu Wala a’lamu, Wa anta ‘allamu l-ghuyub. Allahumma, in kunta ta’lam anna hadha-l-amra (then mention the matter for which you are seeking Allah’s Guidance) Khairun li fi dini wa ma’ashi wa’aqibati amri Faqdirhu li wa yas-sirhu li thumma barik li Fihi, Wa in kunta ta’lamu anna hadhalamra shar-run li fi dini wa ma’ashi wa’aqibati amri Fasrifhu anni was-rifni anhu. Waqdir li al-khaira haithu
kana Thumma ardini bihi.
Translation in English:
”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 God! If you know that this matter (then mention the matter for which you are seeking
Allah’s Guidance) is good for me in my religion, my livelihood, and for my life in this world and Hereafter, 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 this world and Hereafter, 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.”
While reciting the above du’a, please mention the matter for which you are seeking Allah’s Guidance you have at the appropriate point (indicated in red in the du’a above).
How many times should you do Istikhara prayer
How many times you should do Istikhara prayer for marriage or anything depends. Sometimes, it takes only once to get an answer and sometimes it takes longer. Meanwhile, the maximum time to do istakhara for one case is seven (7) times. If you have received an answer as explained in the section below, stop doing istikhara.
You do not have to continue to do Isitkhara for 7 days. It is better to sleep with ablution (people who cannot keep the ablution for longer times due to health problems do not have to worry about ablution before falling asleep) facing the direction of the Qibla (facing the Qibla is not required but it is a Sunnat of our beloved Prophet Peace Be Upon Him).
It is better to recite salutations (durood or salawat) on the Prophet of Allah (may the Grace and Peace be upon him) before and after you do Istikhara prayer.
How to know if your Istihaara prayer is being answered
If in the dream you see whiteness (means any thing white in color, for example: milk, white paper, white sky, white clothes, white light etc.) or greenness (means any thing green in color, for example: grass, plants, trees, green clothes, green light etc.), then understand that your intention is better.
In other word, if you see redness (means any thing red in color, for example: blood, red clothing, red fruit, red light etc.) or blackness (means any thing black in color, for example: black water, black light, black clothings, black sky, black wall etc.), then understand it is bad and avoid it.
If cannot remember any dream or do not see any colors then follow your heart. Whatever intention grows stronger in your heart within seven days of doing Istikhara for a marriage or regarding your targated work follow it.
Conclusion
This article has ended. Now, if you know that it has helped you know how to do Istikhara prayer for marriage or any other thing, then share it with your friends and remember to comment with any question you may have to ask through the comment section.
For more important information and update, you may like the Facebook page of the writer of this article, mallam Abdulrazaq Yahaya.
Read this also: list of all twelve English months and their meaning in Arabic language.
