What is the prayer of istikharah, and what are the surahs that we must recite?
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The questioner : I ask for your guidance, may Allah preserve you, regarding the prayer of istikharah, and what are the surahs we recite in this prayer, may we be rewarded?
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets and the Imam of the Pious, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment:
The prayer of istikharah means that a person prays to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, asking Him to make easy for him the better of the two matters. That is, when a person intends to do something and hesitates about doing it, and the correct course is not clear to him, he turns to Allah, Glorified and Exalted, asking Him to make easy for him the better of the two matters.
The description of this is that he prays two rak'ahs other than the obligatory prayer, and then when he says the taslim, he makes the famous supplication:.
No specific surah from the Qur'an is required in the prayer of istikharah, except for al-Fatihah, for there is no prayer for one who does not recite it. As far as I know, it does not have specific surahs; rather, a person recites whatever is easy for him from the Qur'an along with al-Fatihah.
And the supplication is to be made after the taslim, as indicated by his saying:Sunan Ibn Majah 1383Sahih (Darussalam) This is explicit in the order that the supplication is to be made after the prayer of the two rak'ahs.
As for supplication other than in istikharah, it is better for one who wants to supplicate to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, for something to do so before he says the taslim, because when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned the tashahhud, he said:Sahih Ibn Hibban 10:238.
It is not recommended to supplicate after the voluntary prayer, nor after the obligatory prayer either, because we said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) guided to the fact that the supplication is to be after the tashahhud and before the taslim. This is also more appropriate, because it is better for a person to supplicate to Allah the Exalted before he leaves his prayer and becomes distracted in his life, than for him to supplicate after he has left his prayer and the communion between him and his Lord has been cut off.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, O honorable Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets and the Imam of the Pious, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment:
The prayer of istikharah means that a person prays to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, asking Him to make easy for him the better of the two matters. That is, when a person intends to do something and hesitates about doing it, and the correct course is not clear to him, he turns to Allah, Glorified and Exalted, asking Him to make easy for him the better of the two matters.
The description of this is that he prays two rak'ahs other than the obligatory prayer, and then when he says the taslim, he makes the famous supplication:
O Allah, I seek Your guidance by Your knowledge, and I seek Your power by Your might, and I ask You of Your great bounty. For You know and I do not know, and You have power and I do not have power. O Allah, if this matter—and he names it—is good for me in my religion, my worldly life, and the outcome of my affair—or he said: and the immediate and the deferred—then decree it for me and make it easy for me. And if You know that it is not good for me, 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.
اللهم إني أستخيرك بعلمك وأستقدرك بقدرتك، وأسألك من فضلك العظيم، فإنك تعلم ولا أعلم، وتقدر ولا أقدر، اللهم إن كان هذا الأمر -ويسميه- خيراً لي في ديني ودنياي وعاقبة أمري -أو قال: وعاجل أمري وآجله- فاقدره لي ويسره لي، وإن كنت تعلم أنه ليس خيراً لي فاصرفه عني واصرفني عنه، واقدر لي الخير حيث كان ثم رضني بهNo specific surah from the Qur'an is required in the prayer of istikharah, except for al-Fatihah, for there is no prayer for one who does not recite it. As far as I know, it does not have specific surahs; rather, a person recites whatever is easy for him from the Qur'an along with al-Fatihah.
And the supplication is to be made after the taslim, as indicated by his saying:
then let him pray two Rak’ah of non- obligatory prayer, then say
فليصل ركعتين من غير الفريضة ثم ليقلAs for supplication other than in istikharah, it is better for one who wants to supplicate to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, for something to do so before he says the taslim, because when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned the tashahhud, he said:
Then let him choose whatever he wishes from supplication.
ثم ليتخير من الدعاء ما شاءIt is not recommended to supplicate after the voluntary prayer, nor after the obligatory prayer either, because we said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) guided to the fact that the supplication is to be after the tashahhud and before the taslim. This is also more appropriate, because it is better for a person to supplicate to Allah the Exalted before he leaves his prayer and becomes distracted in his life, than for him to supplicate after he has left his prayer and the communion between him and his Lord has been cut off.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, O honorable Shaykh.