Seeking Allah's Counsel

Seeking Allah's Counsel!

When seeking guidance in decision-making (Istikharah)

On the authority of Jabir Ibn 'Abdullah he said: 'The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would instruct us to pray for guidance in all of our concerns, just as he would teach us a chapter from the Qur'an. He (peace and blessings be upon him) would say ' If any of you intends to undertake a matter then let him pray two supererogatory units (two Rak'a Nafilah) of prayer and after which he should supplicate this Dua'a.

Translation of Du'a:

'O Allah, I seek Your counsel by Your knowledge and by Your power I seek strength and I ask You from Your
immense favor, for verily You are able while I am not and verily You know while I do not and You are the Knower of the unseen. O Allah, if You know this aaffair and here he mention his needs to be good for me in relation to my religion, my life, and end, then decree and facilitate it for me, and bless me with it, and if You know this affair to be ill for me towards my religion, my life, and end, then remove it from me and remove me from it, and decree for me what is good wherever it be and make me satisfied with such.'

There is nothing authentic concerning anything specific that is to be recited in the prayer nor is there any authentic report concerning how many times one should repeat it.

An-Nawawi holds that "after performing the istikharah, a person must do what he is wholeheartedly inclined to do and feels good about doing and should not insist on doing what he has desired to do before making the istikharah. And if his feelings change, he should leave what he had intended to do, otherwise he is not completely leaving the choice of Allah, and would not be honest in seeking aid from Allah's power and knowledge. Sincerity in seeking Allah's choice means that one should completely leave what one oneself desired or determined."

May Allah swt accept Aameen.