What is istikhara, and how do you perform it?

Istikhara is a short prayer for guidance, performed when facing a decision — big or small — whose outcome is unclear. The Prophet Muhammad taught his companions this prayer just as he taught them chapters of the Quran, according to Jabir ibn Abdullah (Sahih al-Bukhari 1166). It involves praying two voluntary rak'ahs, then reciting a specific supplication that begins by acknowledging Allah's complete knowledge and power compared to the worshipper's own limitations, and asks Allah, if the matter under consideration is good for the person in this life and the next, to make it easy and bless it, or if it is harmful, to turn it away and turn the person's heart from it instead. Contrary to popular belief, istikhara does not require waiting for a dream or a dramatic sign; the 'answer' typically comes through the way circumstances unfold, one's own settled feeling of ease or unease afterward, and continued reliance on ordinary good judgment and consultation with others. It can be repeated for the same matter, and is recommended for any significant decision — marriage, travel, work, and beyond — as an expression of trusting Allah's superior wisdom over one's own.

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