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Is it permissible to perform Salatul-Istikhara regarding an inquiry concerning "milk al-yamin" (what your right hand possesses), where the questioner believes it might be an affront to the religion?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The tradition, "Indeed, this knowledge is religion, so be careful from whom you take your religion," warns against acquiring knowledge from those who are not qualified, especially for beginners. Therefore, the questioner must turn away from those from whom he hears matters of religion if they are not trustworthy people of knowledge. Istikhara prayer is not prescribed in this case; rather, the obligation is to ask the people of remembrance when ignorant, as in His (Allah's) saying: "So ask the people of the remembrance if you do not know," and the hadith: "Why did they not ask when they did not know? Indeed, the cure for ignorance is asking." Thus, the knowledge of legal rulings is not gained from Istikhara, but by asking the people of knowledge. Istikhara is prescribed in matters of permissible and recognized difference of opinion among the sayings of the people of knowledge, when the evidences are equal and after exerting effort in preferring one opinion. Finally, the questioner is alerted to the distortion created by orientalists and their followers regarding issues of what the right hand possesses.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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