Guidance
Dua al-Istikhara — Seeking Guidance from Allah
Salat al-Istikhara is a two rak'ah voluntary prayer followed by this dua, performed when facing an important decision. The Prophet ﷺ said: 'If any of you is concerned about a decision he has to make, then let him pray two rak'ahs of voluntary prayer, then say...' This dua delegates the decision to Allah — the only One with complete knowledge of what is best.
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 هَٰذَا الْأَمْرَ خَيْرٌ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي فَاقْدُرْهُ لِي وَيَسِّرْهُ لِي، ثُمَّ بَارِكْ لِي فِيهِ. وَإِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَٰذَا الْأَمْرَ شَرٌّ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي وَاصْرِفْنِي عَنْهُ وَاقْدُرْ لِيَ الْخَيْرَ حَيْثُ كَانَ ثُمَّ أَرْضِنِي بِهِ
Transliteration
Allāhumma innī astakhīruka bi-ʿilmik, wa-staqdiruka bi-qudratik, wa asʾaluka min faḍlika-l-ʿaẓīm. Fa-innaka taqdiru wa lā aqdiru, wa taʿlamu wa lā aʿlamu, 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 ʿanhu wa-qdur liya-l-khayra ḥaythu kāna thumma arḍinī bih.
Translation
O Allah, I seek Your guidance by Your knowledge, and I seek ability by Your power, and I ask You of Your great bounty. For You are able and I am not, You know and I do not know, and You are the Knower of the unseen. O Allah, if You know that this matter is good for me in my religion, livelihood, and in the hereafter, then decree it for me, make it easy for me, and bless it for me. And if You know this matter to be bad for me in my religion, livelihood and in the hereafter, then turn it away from me, and turn me away from it, and decree for me what is good wherever it may be, and make me content with it.
Source: Sahih al-Bukhari 1166, narrated by Jabir ibn Abdillah (RA)
When to recite
- After praying two voluntary rak'ahs (not during a makruh time for prayer).
- When facing any significant decision: marriage, job, travel, major purchase.
- When the heart inclines toward one option but guidance is needed — the answer comes through ease or difficulty in the matter, not necessarily a dream.
Virtues & Benefits
- The Prophet ﷺ taught this to his companions 'as he taught them a surah from the Quran' — emphasising its importance (Sahih al-Bukhari 1166).
- The answer to istikhara is not necessarily a dream — it manifests as ease or obstacles in pursuing the matter.
- Delegates the decision to the Only One with complete knowledge — a profound act of tawakkul.
More Guidance Duas
Dua for Parents
My Lord, have mercy upon them both as they brought me up when I was small.
Dua for Anxiety, Worry and Distress
O Allah, I am Your servant, son of Your servant, son of Your maidservant. My forelock is in Your hand, Your command over me is forever executed, and Your decree over me is just. I ask You by every name that belongs to You — by which You have named Yourself, or revealed in Your Book, or taught to any of Your creation, or kept with Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen — to make the Quran the spring of my heart, the light of my chest, the departure of my sadness, and the release of my anxiety.
Dua for Knowledge and Wisdom
My Lord, increase me in knowledge.
Dua When It Rains
O Allah, let it be a beneficial downpour.
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