Facing a decision — a job, a move, a marriage, a purchase — a Muslim can ask God to choose. That is what istikhara means: seeking the good (khayr). It is a short voluntary prayer followed by a supplication, and the Prophet ﷺ treated it as something everyone should know:

"The Prophet (p.b.u.h) used to teach us the way of doing Istikhara … in all matters as he taught us the Suras of the Qur'an."

— Sahih al-Bukhari 11661

When to pray it

Whenever you intend to do something and want God's choice in it: "If anyone of you intends to do something, he should offer a two-rak'at prayer other than the obligatory prayer."2 The companions said he taught it "for each and every matter"2 — so it is not only for life-changing decisions.

Any time of day or night is fine, except the moments when voluntary prayer is set aside: from Fajr until the sun has fully risen, around midday when the sun is at its height, and from Asr until sunset.65

Step by step

  1. 1

    Make wudu

    Prepare as for any prayer — see How to Perform Wudu.

  2. 2

    Pray two rak'ahs

    Pray two rak'ahs "other than the obligatory prayer,"2 with the intention of istikhara, exactly like any two-rak'ah prayer. Recite whatever you know after Al-Fatihah; nothing special is required.

  3. 3

    Say the supplication

    After finishing the prayer,3 say the istikhara supplication below.

  4. 4

    Name your matter

    Where the supplication says "this matter," name what you are deciding — "then he should mention his matter (need)."2 You can say it in your own language.

The supplication

Istikhara · after the two rak'ahs

The supplication of istikhara 1

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْتَخِيرُكَ بِعِلْمِكَ، وَأَسْتَقْدِرُكَ بِقُدْرَتِكَ، وَأَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ الْعَظِيمِ، فَإِنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ وَلاَ أَقْدِرُ، وَتَعْلَمُ وَلاَ أَعْلَمُ، وَأَنْتَ عَلاَّمُ الْغُيُوبِ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الأَمْرَ خَيْرٌ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي، فَاقْدُرْهُ لِي وَيَسِّرْهُ لِي، ثُمَّ بَارِكْ لِي فِيهِ، وَإِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الأَمْرَ شَرٌّ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي، فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي وَاصْرِفْنِي عَنْهُ، وَاقْدُرْ لِي الْخَيْرَ حَيْثُ كَانَ، ثُمَّ أَرْضِنِي بِهِ

Allāhumma innī astakhīruka bi-ʿilmik, wa astaqdiruka bi-qudratik, wa asʾaluka min faḍlika-l-ʿaẓīm, fa-innaka taqdiru wa lā aqdir, wa taʿlamu wa lā aʿlam, wa anta ʿallāmu-l-ghuyūb. Allāhumma in kunta taʿlamu anna hādha-l-amra khayrun lī fī dīnī wa maʿāshī wa ʿāqibati amrī, fa-qdurhu lī wa yassirhu lī, thumma bārik lī fīh. Wa in kunta taʿlamu anna hādha-l-amra sharrun lī fī dīnī wa maʿāshī wa ʿāqibati amrī, fa-ṣrifhu ʿannī wa-ṣrifnī ʿanh, wa-qdur liya-l-khayra ḥaythu kān, thumma arḍinī bih

O Allah, I ask You to choose for me by Your knowledge, and to enable me by Your power, and I ask You of Your immense bounty. 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 that this matter is good for me in my religion, my livelihood, and the outcome of my affairs, then decree it for me, make it easy for me, and bless me in it. And if You know that this matter is bad for me in my religion, my livelihood, and the outcome of my affairs, then turn it away from me and turn me away from it, and decree for me the good wherever it may be, and make me content with it.

At 'this matter' (hādha-l-amr), name what you are deciding. The narrator recorded that the Prophet ﷺ said either 'the outcome of my affairs' or 'my affairs, sooner and later' (ʿājili amrī wa ājilih) — either wording is fine.

After the istikhara

The supplication doesn't ask for a dream or a sign. It asks God to make the matter easy for you if it is good, to turn you away from it if it is not, and to make you content with whatever He decrees.1 So once you have prayed, carry on with your decision in trust.

Istikhara also sits alongside good advice, not in place of it. The Quran tells the Prophet ﷺ to "consult them in the matter. And when you have decided, then rely upon Allah."4 Ask people who know, think it through, pray istikhara — and then decide.

In short

Before a decision: make wudu, pray two voluntary rak'ahs, then say the istikhara supplication, naming your matter where it says "this matter." Then go ahead, trusting God to open the way if it is good and close it if it is not. For other voluntary prayers, see The Sunnah Prayers and Beyond the Five.