Istikhara Dua — and How to Pray Istikhara
When a decision is genuinely open — a job, a marriage, a move — the sunnah is not to read omens. It is two short rak’ahs and this dua, taught by the Prophet ﷺ "as he taught us a surah of the Qur’an".
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْتَخِيرُكَ بِعِلْمِكَ وَأَسْتَقْدِرُكَ بِقُدْرَتِكَ وَأَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ الْعَظِيمِ فَإِنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ وَلَا أَقْدِرُ وَتَعْلَمُ وَلَا أَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتَ عَلَّامُ الْغُيُوبِ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرَ خَيْرٌ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي فَاقْدُرْهُ لِي وَيَسِّرْهُ لِي ثُمَّ بَارِكْ لِي فِيهِ، وَإِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرَ شَرٌّ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي وَاصْرِفْنِي عَنْهُ وَاقْدُرْ لِيَ الْخَيْرَ حَيْثُ كَانَ ثُمَّ أَرْضِنِي بِهِ
Allāhumma innī astakhīruka bi-ʿilmika wa astaqdiruka bi-qudratika wa as’aluka min faḍlikal-ʿaẓīm, fa-innaka taqdiru wa lā aqdir, wa taʿlamu wa lā aʿlam, wa anta ʿallāmul-ghuyūb. Allāhumma in kunta taʿlamu anna hādhal-amra khayrun lī fī dīnī wa maʿāshī wa ʿāqibati amrī, faqdurhu lī wa yassirhu lī thumma bārik lī fīh. Wa in kunta taʿlamu anna hādhal-amra sharrun lī fī dīnī wa maʿāshī wa ʿāqibati amrī, faṣrifhu ʿannī waṣrifnī ʿanhu, waqdur liyal-khayra ḥaythu kāna thumma arḍinī bih.
"O Allah, I seek Your guidance through Your knowledge, I seek strength through Your power, and I ask You of Your immense favour — for You are able and I am not, You know and I do not, and You are the Knower of the unseen. O Allah, if You know this matter to be good for me in my religion, my livelihood and my end, then decree it for me, make it easy for me, and bless me in it. And if You know this matter to be bad for me in my religion, my livelihood and my end, then turn it away from me and turn me away from it — and decree for me the good wherever it may be, then make me content with it."
Sahih al-Bukhari 1162 — when naming your matter, replace "hādhal-amra" with the decision itself
How and when to say it
Pray two rak’ahs outside the obligatory prayers, then say the dua — naming your specific decision.
You do not need to see a dream. Scholars explain the answer usually comes as events opening one way and closing the other, or your heart settling after you act.
You can repeat istikhara for the same decision, and it belongs with consultation (istishara) — ask trustworthy people too.
Hush keeps your duas, dhikr and daily verse in one gentle ritual — with a companion who remembers what matters to you.
Download Hush free Find your birthday verseHonest answers
How do you pray istikhara?
Pray two voluntary rak’ahs, then recite the istikhara dua from Sahih al-Bukhari 1162, naming your decision. Then proceed with what seems best — the answer comes through how events unfold, not necessarily a dream.
Do you have to see a dream after istikhara?
No. Nothing in the narration mentions dreams — scholars describe the answer as Allah easing the good path and closing the harmful one.