In English letters
Istikhara dua transliteration
The istikhara dua in English letters, in short phrases you can say one at a time (Sahih al-Bukhari 1162).
The dua of Istikhara
قَالَ جَابرُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا: كَانَ رسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يُعَلِّمُنَا الْاسْتِخَارَةَ فِي الْأُمُورِ كُلِّهَا كَمَا يُعَلِّمُنَا السُّورَةَ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ، يَقُولُ: ((إِذَا هَمَّ أَحَدُكُمْ بِالْأَمْرِ فَلْيَرْكَعْ رَكْعَتَيْنِ مِنْ غَيْرِ الْفَرِيضَةِ، ثُمَّ لْيَقُلْ: اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْتَخِيرُكَ بِعِلْمِكَ، وَأَسْتَقْدِرُكَ بِقُدْرَتِكَ، وَأَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ فَضْلِكَ العَظِيمِ؛ فَإِنَّكَ تَقْدِرُ وَلاَ أَقْدِرُ، وَتَعْلَمُ وَلاَ أَعْلَمُ، وَأَنْتَ عَلاَّمُ الغُيُوبِ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الأمْرَ - وَيُسَمِّي حَاجَتَهُ - خَيْرٌ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي – أَوْ قَالَ: عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ - فَاقْدُرْهُ لِي وَيَسِّرْهُ لِي ثمَّ بَارِكْ لِي فِيهِ، وَإِنْ كُنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرَ شَرٌّ لِي فِي دِينِي وَمَعَاشِي وَعَاقِبَةِ أَمْرِي – أَوْ قَالَ: عَاجِلِهِ وَآجِلِهِ – فَاصْرِفْهُ عَنِّي وَاصْرِفْنِي عَنْهُ وَاقْدُرْ لِيَ الْخَيْرَ حَيْثُ كَانَ، ثُمَّ أَرْضِنِي بِهِ)).وَمَا نَدِمَ مَنِ اسْتَخَارَ الْخَالِقَ، وَشَاوَرَ الْمَخْلُوقِينَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَتَثَبَّتَ فِي أَمْرِهِ، فَقَدْ قَالَ اللَّه تعالى: ﴿وَشاوِرْهُمْ فِي الْأَمْرِ فَإِذَا عَزَمْتَ فَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ﴾ .
Allahumma inni astakhiruka bi‘ilmik, wa astaqdiruka biqudratik, wa as’aluka min fadlikal-‘azim, fa innaka taqdiru wa la aqdir, wa ta‘lamu wa la a‘lam, wa anta ‘allamul-ghuyub. Allahumma in kunta ta‘lamu anna hadhal-amra khayrun li fi dini wa ma‘ashi wa ‘aqibati amri (‘ajilihi wa ajilih), faqdurhu li wa yassirhu li thumma barik li fih. Wa in kunta ta‘lamu anna hadhal-amra sharrun li fi dini wa ma‘ashi wa ‘aqibati amri (‘ajilihi wa ajilih), fasrifhu ‘anni wasrifni ‘anh, waqdur liyal-khayra haythu kan, thumma ardini bih.
Jabir ibn ‘Abdillah said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to teach us to ask Allah to choose for us (istikhara) in all our affairs, as he taught us a surah of the Quran. He said: When one of you has a matter in mind, let him pray two rak‘ahs other than the obligatory prayer, and then say: “O Allah, I ask You to choose for me by Your knowledge, I ask You to give me 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, and You are the Knower of all that is hidden. O Allah, if You know that this matter (and he names what he needs) is good for me in my religion, my livelihood and the outcome of my affairs (or he said: my affairs now and later), then decree it for me, make it easy for me and bless it for me. And if You know that this matter is bad for me in my religion, my livelihood and the outcome of my affairs (or he said: my affairs now and later), then turn it away from me and turn me away from it, decree for me what is good wherever it may be, and make me content with it.” Whoever asks the Creator to choose for him, takes the advice of believers and is careful in his affairs will not regret it, for Allah the Exalted said: “And consult them in the matter; then, once you have decided, put your trust in Allah” (3:159).
The istikhara dua transliteration, phrase by phrase
Say it in short breaths. The same words as the dua above, split where you can pause, with the place to name your matter marked (Hisn al-Muslim 74).
- Allahumma inni astakhiruka bi‘ilmik,
- wa astaqdiruka biqudratik,
- wa as’aluka min fadlikal-‘azim,
- fa innaka taqdiru wa la aqdir,
- wa ta‘lamu wa la a‘lam,
- wa anta ‘allamul-ghuyub.
- Allahumma in kunta ta‘lamu anna hadhal-amra (name your matter)
- khayrun li fi dini wa ma‘ashi wa ‘aqibati amri,
- faqdurhu li wa yassirhu li thumma barik li fih.
- Wa in kunta ta‘lamu anna hadhal-amra (name it again)
- sharrun li fi dini wa ma‘ashi wa ‘aqibati amri,
- fasrifhu ‘anni wasrifni ‘anh,
- waqdur liyal-khayra haythu kan,
- thumma ardini bih.
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How to read the letters
Five marks to know.
- ‘ before a vowel, as in bi‘ilmik and ‘azim, is the letter ‘ayn: a sound pressed from deep in the throat, with no English match.
- ’ inside a word, as in as’aluka, is a short catch in the voice, like the break in “uh-oh”.
- dh, as in hadhal-amra, is the “th” of “this”; kh, as in astakhiruka, is the rough “ch” of the Scottish “loch”; gh, as in ‘allamul-ghuyub, is a soft gargled “g”.
- A hyphen joins words that run together when spoken, so fadlikal-‘azim is said in one flow.
- A doubled letter, as in ‘allamul and yassirhu, is held a moment longer.
Letters can only come close to the sounds of the Arabic. Listen to someone who recites well, and learn the Arabic script when you can.
Saying the istikhara dua after the prayer
Read it from this page if you need to. The hadith says to pray two rak‘ahs and then say the dua (Sahih al-Bukhari 1162), so it comes after the salam, when you can read it from your phone or a card until you know it by heart.