All praise is to Allah Subhanahu wa-ta'ala (God, glorified and exalted be He)

Istikhara (an Arabic word) means to ask Allah (God) to guide one towards the right path concerning any affair in one's life (when one has to choose between two permissible alternatives, e.g. a career choice, getting married, taking a job, buying a home, etc.)

Istikhara is a prayer that Allah guide you towards that which is best (khayr) for you. If you do the prayer of guidance (istikhara) with the proper manners, the most important of which is to truly consign the matter to Allah and suspend your own inclinations, then Allah will make events unfold in the direction that is the best for your worldly and next-worldly affairs.

The istikhara prayer may be made for a specific matter or be made for a general seeking of all that is best. Some scholars, including Imam Abd al-Wahhab al-Sha`rani and Ibn `Arafah before him saw this kind of istikhara prayer as being superior. Others, including Shaykh Ibn al-Arabi, recommended performing a general istikhara prayer for all that is good every day, ideally at the time of the Duha prayer (after sunrise).

Imam al-Nawawi mentioned that before the istikhara prayer, one should seek advice (istishara) from those whose knowledge, wisdom, and concern one is confident. Ibn Hajar al-Haytami and others mentioned that one of the benefits of this is to further distance oneself from the desires of one's own egotistic inclinations.

It is recommended to open the dua of istikhara (in this video), with praise of Allah and sending blessings on the Prophet (Allah bless him & give him peace), and to close it in this manner, too.

Please make Dua for the person who made this video, Jazakallah.

Lastly, please consult your local Alim (Islamic Scholar) for specific directions on how to perform the prayer of Istikhara (which incorporates the Dua of Istikhara).

And Allah knows best.

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