Istikharah - Seeking Divine Guidance in the Light of the Sunnah

Aug 7, 2026

Istikharah—seeking goodness through a specific prayer grounded in the Prophetic example—is presented as a relationship of complete dependence on Allah in moments of choice and uncertainty. The book emphasizes deriving maximum spiritual benefit beyond the mere mechanics of the prayer, correcting misconceptions surrounding istikharah, and clarifying its reality, importance, and practical method. It also addresses du’a, dreams, the necessity and timing of salah, and special cases such as istikharah for marriage, supported by scholarly notes and references.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages36

Reading Time1 h 31 min

AccessFree to download

Publisher's Preface

Author's Preface

Deriving Maximum Benefit from the Book

Foreword

Author's Introduction

Confusion and Perplexity

What Is Istikharah?

The Importance of Istikharah

A Great Benefit of Istikharah

A Misconception

The Reality of Istikharah

How to make Istikharah

Istikharah for Marriage

Secrets and Significance of the Du'a

Status of Dreams in Istikhārah

Is Salah Necessary?

How Many Times?

The Shortest Form of Istikhārah

Conclusion

Summary

Appendix

Bibliography

Istikhara Seeking Divine GuidanceIn the Light of the Sunnah ABU USAMAH AYUB IBNMAWLANA MUHAMMAD JEENA gg0Istikharah Seeking Divine GuidanceIn the Light of the Sunnah Compiled byABŮ USAMAH AYUB IBNMAWLANA MUHAMMAD JEENA under the guidance ofSHEIKHAL-HADITH MAWLANAFADLAR-RAHMAN A‘ZAMī TURATH PUBLISHING Published by:Turath Publishing79 Mitcham RoadLondon sw199PD General Editor Copyright:Turath Publishing 1434/2013 ISBN:978-1-906949-26-6 British Library Cataloguingin Publication DataJeena,Abū Usāmah Ayūb ibn Mawlāna Muhammad Istikharah:Seeking Divine Guidance in the Light of the Sunnah Cover designDesign and typesetting Printed by Distributors for UKand EuropeAzhar Academy Ltd.54-56 Little Ilford LaneManor ParkLondon E125QA Distributors for America and CanadaWhite Thread Press wWw.whitethreadpress.cominf@whitethreadpress.com Author Editor Translation I.Title +44(208)767-3666 www.turathpublishing.com All rights reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in any retrievalsystem,or transmitted in any form or by any means,electronic or otherwise,withoutwritten permission of the publishers. Abū Usāmah Ayūb ibn Mawlana Muhammad JeenaMuhammed AnsaAisha BewleyYahya and Safira Batha Abdallateef Whiteman(www.cwdm.co.uk) ARM(info@whitethreadpress.com)Megaprinters,Istanbul,Turkey(ahmet@mega.com.tr) +44(208)89119797 sales@azharacademy.comwww.azharacademy.com Distributors for South Africa Darul-Ihsan Research and Education Centre WWw.darulihsan.com+27(31)5777868motala.m@darulihsan.com+27(31)5776012(fax) 怒可从众从众从众 It is from the good fortune of man that he makes istikharah(seeks good)fromAllah,and it is from his misfortune that he discards istikharah from Allah(Narrated by Hakim) Contents PUBLISHER'S PREFACEAUTHOR'S PREFACE Deriving Maximum Benefit from the BookFOREWORD AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTIONConfusion and PerplexityWhat Is Istikharah? The Importance of IstikharahA Great Benefit of IstikharahA MisconceptionThe Reality of IstikharahHow to make IstikharahIstikharah for Marriage Secrets and Significance of the Du'aStatus of Dreams in IstikhārahIs Salah Necessary?How Many Times? The Shortest Form of IstikhārahConclusionSummaryAPPENDIXBIBLIOGRAPHY # Publisher's Preface Tnthe name of Allah,the All Merciful,the Most Merciful.Praise belongs to AllahI alone who brought this world out of nothingness and who in His infinite know-and peace descend forever upon our master and the leader of both the worlds,ourMaster,Muhammad ,who brought the criterion to distinguish right from wrongand is the resolution of every difficulty This edition of this book comes from the spiritual upwelling of the illumined cityof Madinah al-Munawwarah,the city of the beloved Prophet .It was there that Imet the author,a man of knowledge and realisation,with a heart characterised bycomplete trust in Allah and contentment with His decree.He gave me this work as agift for the Muslims of Great Britain.Literally,istikharah is to seek out goodness,butin the terminology of Islam it refers to a specific prayer that underlies the relationshipbetween man and his Lord,a relationship that speaks of utter dependence.This bookgoes far beyond the simple mechanics of the prayer as it seeks to capture the essentialmeanings of faith in the choices that appear before us.It is my hope that the readerwill find in this book the keys of istikharah,keys that unlock the gates to much good-ness in this world and the next. The first edition of this book generated much correspondence between the writerand other scholars,expanding on the subject with invaluable notes and references,some of which became incorporated into the second edition.Subsequent editions ofthis book included these in their original Arabic as footnotes.For this edition we feltit important to make this valuable scholarly discourse accessible to English speakers,and so for the first time,this book is published with a complete translation

FAQs

What does istikharah mean in Islamic terminology?

Istikharah means seeking goodness through a specific prayer that establishes a relationship of utter dependence on Allah.

Why is istikharah important according to the book?

It is presented as central to sound decision-making and spiritual reliance, offering great benefit while correcting misunderstandings and excessive focus on dreams and interpretations.

How is istikharah performed and how many times should it be done?

The book explains how to make istikharah, discusses whether salah is necessary, and addresses the number of times it should be performed, including the shortest form.

Aug 7, 2026

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