1. nope, it can be for big/small specific matters and for general guidance.
2. nope, istikhara prayer can be prayed at any time but after isha and just before going to sleep is the best time.
3. yup, as istikhara prayer can be prayed at any time it doesn't matter whether you sleep that night. the prayer doesn't know your sleeping pattern, its whenever you next go to sleep.

heyyyy
u said u didnt know how to perform it and i wanted to know too.
i was told* that u pray 2 nafl either at night or in the morning after fardh salah (u cant just do istikhara) and then theres a duaa its really long but basically u say " o Allah please show me a sign, if this is good for my imaan, my deen and for me bring it closer to me if it isnt take it away from me." sort of thing. i think u do have to say the exact words but i havent got it so if/when i do il tell you
you do this for 7 days and in that time u should get a "sign". you must follow this whether u like the outcome or not!
mayb u should do it before u get married inshallah;) lol

* my cousin told me what she had read in a book.

i think that link is reliable as it matches what i said
and i guess thats the duaa u should read! plus it gives u the interpretation of the dream.

thats the thing that ticks me off...

It depends. Sometimes it takes only once to get the answer and sometimes

it takes longer. It is better to do istakhara seven (7) times.

where anywhere does it say its better to do it 7 times?

 It is better that right after reciting

the supplication, given above, sleep with ablution (people who

cannot keep the ablution for longer times due to health problems do not

have to worry about ablution before falling asleep) facing the

direction of the Qibla (facing the Qibla is not required but it is

a Sunnat of our beloved Prophet Peace Be Upon Him). It is better to

recite salutations (durood/ salawat) on the Prophet Allah's Grace and

Peace be upon him before and after the above Dua (supplication).

the underline bits (edit: bold bits, underline didnt come up), we're suppose to do that EVERYNIGHT, why say it in this way! like, you shld do this just for istikharah. sending salaam on the prophet sallAllahu'alaihiwassalam is also a good thing, but thats it, its a GENERAL good thing, why make it sound like that!

and the interpretation of dreams, i know nothing abt interpretation of dreams, but why dont they provide evidences? or are we too dumb to understand? thats how it makes me feel.

Lilly wrote:

thats the thing that ticks me off...

 

It depends. Sometimes it takes only once to get the answer and sometimes

it takes longer. It is better to do istakhara seven (7) times.

where anywhere does it say its better to do it 7 times?

 It is better that right after reciting

the supplication, given above, sleep with ablution (people who

cannot keep the ablution for longer times due to health problems do not

have to worry about ablution before falling asleep) facing the

direction of the Qibla (facing the Qibla is not required but it is

a Sunnat of our beloved Prophet Peace Be Upon Him). It is better to

recite salutations (durood/ salawat) on the Prophet Allah's Grace and

Peace be upon him before and after the above Dua (supplication).

the underline bits (edit: bold bits, underline didnt come up), we're suppose to do that EVERYNIGHT, why say it in this way! like, you shld do this just for istikharah. sending salaam on the prophet sallAllahu'alaihiwassalam is also a good thing, but thats it, its a GENERAL good thing, why make it sound like that!

 

and the interpretation of dreams, i know nothing abt interpretation of dreams, but why dont they provide evidences? or are we too dumb to understand? thats how it makes me feel.

this is based on these fatwas

http://www.islamicacademy.org/html/Dua/How_to_do_Istakhara.htm

http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?ID=1056

http://www.irfi.org/articles4/articles_5001_6000/what%20is%20salaat%20al...

in regards to how to tell if a istikhaara dream is good or bad, according to the islamic acedamy link if you see colours like white or green dream which shows good things like milk grass trees etc then tis good, if its blakc like dark clouds then its bad

again its based on the fatwas whether its inquran hadith im not fully sure

Hmm I was told you should just say the dua and go ahead with what you want to do. If it doesn't work out then take it as it not being good for you and the whole dream stuff is not necessarily true - it may happen, but it's not what you should rely on. :/

you'd do isikhara after discussing it and knowing the pros and cons of an action and thinking about which direction you want to go in, and just using it alone.

TPOS wrote:

Hmm I was told you should just say the dua and go ahead with what you want to do. If it doesn't work out then take it as it not being good for you and the whole dream stuff is not necessarily true - it may happen, but it's not what you should rely on. :/

you'd do isikhara after discussing it and knowing the pros and cons of an action and thinking about which direction you want to go in, and just using it alone.

read this youll uderstand it better

http://islamqa.info/en/ref/72255

http://islamqa.info/en/ref/112151

http://islamqa.info/en/ref/11981

A step by step method for performing Istikhara.

Here's a useful video, created by one of my teachers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8j1EcM1_vbw

Reported by Imam Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 21, Number 263: Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah :The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) used to teach us the way of doing Istikhara, in all matters as he taught us the Surahs of the Quran. He said, "If anyone of you thinks of doing any action he should offer two Rakahs of prayer other than the compulsory ones and say:

"O Allah! I seek goodness from Your Knowledge and with Your Power (and Might) I seek strength, and I ask from You Your Great Blessings, because You have the Power and I do not have the power. You Know everything and I do not know, and You have knowledge of the unseen. Oh Allah! If in Your Knowledge this action is better for my religion and faith, for my life and end [longterm outcome] , (or he said )for here [in this world] and the hereafter then make it destined for me and make it easy for me and then add blessings [barakah] in it, for me. O Allah! In Your Knowledge if this action is bad for me, bad for my religion and faith, for my life and end [longterm outcome], (or he said) for here and the hereafter then turn it away from me and turn me away from it and whatever is better for me, ordain [destine] that for me and then make me satisfied with it."

Istikhara actually works some people get dream interpretation  and Allah puts in the heart of some people to do what is right my sister also did isthika before marriage and she saw in a dream that she was in white dress and her wed to be husband was with her and some feel a strong feeling in their hearts so it doesnt actually matter Allah will give you the feeling to either refrain or to accept the thing/proposal etc.