The Ruling on Istikhara and Its Manner
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy. Your Excellency the Shaykh, a questioner asks: When is istikhara (the prayer for guidance in a decision) obligatory for a servant?
Answer:
Istikhara is not obligatory; it is among the recommended practices. If a person intends to do something and it is not clear to him whether it is beneficial or not, and the benefit does not predominate in his view,
and he is hesitating whether to proceed with it or leave it, then he prays two rak'ahs (units of prayer) other than the obligatory prayer, then he supplicates after the taslim (closing salam of prayer)Sunan an-Nasa'i 1306Hasan (Darussalam), for You know and I do not know, and You have power and I do not have power, Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 22:279 and he names the specific matter, and if there is evil in it Sahih al-Bukhari 6382 this is the istikhara, and it is not obligatory but rather recommended.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. Peace be upon you and Allah's mercy. Your Excellency the Shaykh, a questioner asks: When is istikhara (the prayer for guidance in a decision) obligatory for a servant?
Answer:
Istikhara is not obligatory; it is among the recommended practices. If a person intends to do something and it is not clear to him whether it is beneficial or not, and the benefit does not predominate in his view,
and he is hesitating whether to proceed with it or leave it, then he prays two rak'ahs (units of prayer) other than the obligatory prayer, then he supplicates after the taslim (closing salam of prayer)
O Allah, by Your knowledge of the unseen and Your power over creation
اللهم بعلمك الغيب وقدرتك على الخلقand You are the Knower of the unseen. O Allah, if there is good in this matter
وأنت علام الغيوب، اللهم إن كان في هذا الأمرfor me in my religion, the present of my affair, and its future, then decree it for me. And if there is evil in it
خير لي في ديني وعاجل أمري وآجله فاقدره لي، وإن كان فيه شرfasrifhu 'anni was-rifni 'anhu wa aqdur li alkhaira haithu kana, thumma Raddani bihi
فاصرفه عني واصرفني عنه واقدر لي الخير حيث كان ثم رضني بهThe presenter:
May Allah reward you,
Source
شرح كتاب الكبائر للإمام محمد بن عبد الوهاب، بداية من باب تشييع الفاحشة في المؤمنين — islamhouse.com (50:09)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.