The Criterion for the Prayer of Seeking Guidance
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The questioner, Muhammad, asks, may Allah protect you: He says: I pray the prayer of seeking guidance (istikharah), and afterward I feel at ease with the matter for which I sought Allah's guidance. However, the next day I begin to feel distressed about that matter. So I ask you to clarify for me what is the criterion for the prayer of seeking guidance? What is the solution for this change? And is this from the whispers of Satan?
Answer:
The prayer of seeking guidance, as explained by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), is to pray two rak'ahs that are not part of the obligatory prayer, then after the taslim, to recite the supplication of seeking guidance, and then to act on whichever of the two matters one is hesitating between seems more likely or which one's heart inclines toward. If whispers come to him after that, he should seek refuge in Allah from Satan, and it will not harm him, if Allah wills. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you.
The questioner, Muhammad, asks, may Allah protect you: He says: I pray the prayer of seeking guidance (istikharah), and afterward I feel at ease with the matter for which I sought Allah's guidance. However, the next day I begin to feel distressed about that matter. So I ask you to clarify for me what is the criterion for the prayer of seeking guidance? What is the solution for this change? And is this from the whispers of Satan?
Answer:
The prayer of seeking guidance, as explained by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), is to pray two rak'ahs that are not part of the obligatory prayer, then after the taslim, to recite the supplication of seeking guidance, and then to act on whichever of the two matters one is hesitating between seems more likely or which one's heart inclines toward. If whispers come to him after that, he should seek refuge in Allah from Satan, and it will not harm him, if Allah wills. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you.
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 03/272 — archive.org (12:32)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.