Which comes first: Istikhara or making a decision?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
prayer is the servant's request to Allah to choose for him the better of two matters. It is prescribed at the first thought of a matter, and before firmly deciding to do it or leave it. The servant describes his Lord with perfect knowledge and describes himself with lack of knowledge, asking Allah to choose what is good for him. The heart must be empty of any inclination towards a specific matter when performing Istikhara, because it has no place if the servant has already made up his mind about something. Istikhara is performed when in doubt, and is followed by determination and decision-making.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/12139
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 12139
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy