What Is Istikhara? Complete Guide to the Islamic Prayer for Guidance
In every Muslim’s life, there are moments of uncertainty—times when one must make choices that could change the course of their life. Whether it’s about marriage, career, or major personal decisions, Islam offers a beautiful and spiritual way to seek divine direction: Istikhara. The term Istikhara comes from the Arabic word khair, meaning “goodness” or “seeking what is best.” Performing Istikhara is a means of asking Allah (SWT) to guide us toward the decision that is best for our worldly life and Hereafter.
Marriage or not?
S.a. I have one question. One brother and I want to get married so we prayed istikhara..he asked his mom to do it and first time his mom saw herself standing in queue and she didn't have required documents so they pull her out of queue..then she founds them in the bag and gives them and when she turns she sees people in white coat like those ones in lab..second dream, second istikhara, she saw girls studYing and doing exams and someone was screaming talaq, divorce..same night I saw a dream, istikhara, and it was positive..also he did istikhara and was positive...after some time I saw a dream without istikhara, that I lost one shoe which means divorce..his mom did istikhara and it was negative two times and one time positive..I did that night too and saw dream ans was positive..now we don't know what to do..should we get married or not because of these divorce parts and what does this all mean?
What is the Istikhara prayer?
If you are unsure about a decision you have to make, there is a specific prayer that you can do to ask for Allah's help in making your decision. This prayer is called Salaat-ul- Istikhara (Prayer of guidance).
Istikhara is Sunnah and should be performed for all permissible acts which are not obligatory i.e. Salaah. Meaning one cannot perform Istikhara to see whether they should pray their Salaah five times a day or not, because Salaah is a direct obligation and an order from Allah. In the same way Istikhara cannot be done to see whether they should do something Haram or not.