đ” Narrated Jabir ibn âAbdullah: âThe Prophet (ï·ș) used to teach us the way of doing istikhara in all matters, as he (ï·ș) taught us the surahs of the Qurâan.â [Sahih Al-Bukhari 1166]
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This hadith shows how important istikhara is â itâs as important as learning the Qurâan!
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Istikhara means to ask Allah to guide us to the right decision that is good for our religion, dunya, and hereafter. So for example, letâs say Iâm planning to buy a car. Iâve done my research, and consulted with those who are experts in cars. Iâve narrowed it down to 2 choices and I am just slightly leaning towards the Corolla, but Iâm still unsure on which of the two cars I should ultimately get.
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At this point one should make istikhara. Prophet Muhammad ï·ș said:
đ” âWhen one of you has a matter of concern, let him perform two rakaâat of prayer, besides the obligatory prayers.â [Sahih Al-Bukhari 1166]
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So first, pray 2 rakaâat of voluntary prayer. Then at the end of the prayer, recite the istikhara duâa (please refer to the image for the duâa). One scholarly opinion is to make the duâa before the tasleem (i.e. the salaam at the end of the prayer).
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In the istikhara duâa, we mention the choice that weâre slightly leaning towards. So I recite the duâa and include: âIf You know that the Corolla is good for meâŠâ and complete the rest of the duâa.
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Alhamdulillah, Iâve done my istikhara. Do I now wait for a dream?
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No. There is nothing that weâre aware of in the shariâah that says dreams are the responses of our istikhara. So, what do we do afterwards?
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We proceed with the choice that weâre slightly leaning towards, the one that we mentioned in our istikhara. If everything goes smoothly, and we got our Corolla, then that is what is best for us. But if there were restrictions and difficulties in attaining the Corolla (for example, it was sold out), then we move on to our second choice. Allah will guide us to the choice that is khayr.
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This is how we do proper istikhara, and I encourage everyone to memorize the duâa.
