Istikharah is performed in a matter whose outcome one does not know
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Your Eminence! Are the two rak'ahs of istikharah prescribed only for a matter in which the benefit is not clear, or is it performed for every matter one undertakes, even if its apparent aspect is good, such as leading a mosque or marrying a righteous woman, and the like?
I ask for clarification?
The prayer of istikharah is when a person intends to do something and hesitates about its outcome,He seeks Allah's counsel, meaning: he asks Allah for the better of the two options: proceeding or abstaining. He prays two rak'ahs that are not part of the obligatory prayer, and when he concludes the prayer, he says: (O Allah, I seek Your counsel through Your knowledge, and I seek Your power through Your might, and I ask You of Your great bounty. You know and I do not know, and You have power and I do not have power, and You are the Knower of the unseen. O Allah, if You know that this matter—and he names it—is good for me in my religion, my worldly life, and the outcome of my affair, both in the immediate and the long term, then decree it for me and make it easy for me. And if You know that it is evil for me in my religion, my worldly life, and the outcome of my affair, both in the immediate and the long term, then turn it away from me and turn me away from it, and decree for me the good wherever it may be, and then make me content with it.)or he said: ...the outcome of my affair and its immediate aspect, so decree it for me and make it easy for me. And if You know that it is evil for me in my religion, my worldly life, and the outcome of my affair and its immediate aspect, then turn it away from me and turn me away from it, and decree for me the good wherever it may be, and then make me content with it) If he does this and his decision settles after this on proceeding or leaving it, then Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), if He has accepted it from him, will place the good in what results.
However, he does not perform istikharah for everything.Meaning: It is not permissible for a person, if he wants to have lunch, to say: I seek Allah's counsel. If he wants to go pray with the congregation, he should not say: I seek Allah's counsel. Rather, he seeks Allah's counsel in a matter whose outcome he does not know.And among them: Leading the mosque: if the position of leading the mosque is offered to him and he does not lean toward proceeding or abstaining, let him seek Allah's counsel. Leadership is good in itself, but the outcome is the issue; because a person does not know in the future whether he will fulfill the duty of leadership or not, whether he will remain stable in this mosque or not, and whether he will be suitable for the congregation or not. He does not seek counsel regarding whether leadership is good in itself or not, but regarding the outcome. How many people have been imams in a mosque and then been followed by exhaustion, failure to fulfill the duty, and problems with the congregation, such that they wish they had not been an imam. Likewise, a righteous woman: a righteous woman is undoubtedly good, (and marry the one of faith, and let your right hand be dust) as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said. But I do not know what the outcome will be? She may be a righteous woman, but she may not be compatible with her mother; because some mothers, may Allah spare us, have jealousy. If they see the good relationship between their son and his wife, they become jealous and try to ruin the relationship between them. Likewise, her family: perhaps if they see that the daughter has found a husband with them and that she loves him and prioritizes him over what her mother or father wants, they may try to ruin the relationship between her and him. So a person may seek Allah's counsel not because he is proceeding to marry a righteous woman, but because he does not know the outcome of marrying this woman.
And the important thing is that in everything in which you hesitate, you must turn to Allah, seek refuge in Him, and ask Him for the better of the two options.
I ask for clarification?
The prayer of istikharah is when a person intends to do something and hesitates about its outcome,He seeks Allah's counsel, meaning: he asks Allah for the better of the two options: proceeding or abstaining. He prays two rak'ahs that are not part of the obligatory prayer, and when he concludes the prayer, he says: (O Allah, I seek Your counsel through Your knowledge, and I seek Your power through Your might, and I ask You of Your great bounty. You know and I do not know, and You have power and I do not have power, and You are the Knower of the unseen. O Allah, if You know that this matter—and he names it—is good for me in my religion, my worldly life, and the outcome of my affair, both in the immediate and the long term, then decree it for me and make it easy for me. And if You know that it is evil for me in my religion, my worldly life, and the outcome of my affair, both in the immediate and the long term, then turn it away from me and turn me away from it, and decree for me the good wherever it may be, and then make me content with it.)or he said: ...the outcome of my affair and its immediate aspect, so decree it for me and make it easy for me. And if You know that it is evil for me in my religion, my worldly life, and the outcome of my affair and its immediate aspect, then turn it away from me and turn me away from it, and decree for me the good wherever it may be, and then make me content with it) If he does this and his decision settles after this on proceeding or leaving it, then Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He), if He has accepted it from him, will place the good in what results.
However, he does not perform istikharah for everything.Meaning: It is not permissible for a person, if he wants to have lunch, to say: I seek Allah's counsel. If he wants to go pray with the congregation, he should not say: I seek Allah's counsel. Rather, he seeks Allah's counsel in a matter whose outcome he does not know.And among them: Leading the mosque: if the position of leading the mosque is offered to him and he does not lean toward proceeding or abstaining, let him seek Allah's counsel. Leadership is good in itself, but the outcome is the issue; because a person does not know in the future whether he will fulfill the duty of leadership or not, whether he will remain stable in this mosque or not, and whether he will be suitable for the congregation or not. He does not seek counsel regarding whether leadership is good in itself or not, but regarding the outcome. How many people have been imams in a mosque and then been followed by exhaustion, failure to fulfill the duty, and problems with the congregation, such that they wish they had not been an imam. Likewise, a righteous woman: a righteous woman is undoubtedly good, (and marry the one of faith, and let your right hand be dust) as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said. But I do not know what the outcome will be? She may be a righteous woman, but she may not be compatible with her mother; because some mothers, may Allah spare us, have jealousy. If they see the good relationship between their son and his wife, they become jealous and try to ruin the relationship between them. Likewise, her family: perhaps if they see that the daughter has found a husband with them and that she loves him and prioritizes him over what her mother or father wants, they may try to ruin the relationship between her and him. So a person may seek Allah's counsel not because he is proceeding to marry a righteous woman, but because he does not know the outcome of marrying this woman.
And the important thing is that in everything in which you hesitate, you must turn to Allah, seek refuge in Him, and ask Him for the better of the two options.