Istikhara prayer

The prayer of Istikhara is a Sunnah, and the supplication in it is after the greeting, as mentioned in the authentic Hadith. Its description: that one prays two rak'ahs like other voluntary prayers, recites in each rak'ah Surah Al-Fatiha and whatever is easy from the Quran, then raises his hands after the greeting and supplicates with the supplication reported for that, which is: "O Allah, I seek Your guidance by Your knowledge, and seek Your help by Your power, and ask You from Your great bounty, for You are capable and I am not, and You know and I do not, and You are the Knower of the unseen. O Allah, if You know that this matter (and he names it, such as marriage, travel, or others) 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 pleased with it." Narrated by Imam Al-Bukhari in "His Sahih" (His authentic collection). Narrated by Al-Bukhari in (Friday) with number (1096). Table of Contents Chapter Page Introduction 2 Preliminary 6 The Wisdom of the Prayer of Istikhara 8 Chapter One: Study of the Hadith 10 (First Section) Hadiths related to Istikhara 12 Second Section: Some sayings of the Salaf regarding Istikhara 30 (Third Section) Explanation of the Hadith of Istikhara 36 Chapter Two: Jurisprudential Study 49 First Section: Its method and rulings 51 Method of performing the prayer of Istikhara 52 Number of rak'ahs 53 Time of Istikhara 53 Among the preferred times for supplication and where acceptance is hoped 54 In what matters to seek guidance 52 Is Istikhara performed for matters with known outcomes? 56 Recitation in the prayer of Istikhara 58 Place of supplication 59 Repeating Istikhara 60 Is it permissible to repeat it for the same matter? 60 When to start Istikhara 64 Proxy in Istikhara 65 Sign of acceptance 66 Necessity of adhering to the prescribed supplication in Istikhara 67 When your Istikhara is not beneficial 68 Reasons that may cause the acceptance of your Istikhara 71 Can the one seeking guidance know whether he was successful or not? 74 Example of the supplication for Istikhara 78 Second Section: Benefits of Istikhara 79 Some innovations related to this act of worship 83 Conclusion 85 Index of Hadiths and sayings 88 Index of References 90 Index of Topics 101