Anytime a Muslim is making a decision of family they should perform Istikhara. Istikhara is to seek guidance from ALLAH (SWT) – ALLAH only knows what is good or bad for us. There may be good in what we perceive as bad, and bad in what we perceive as good. Salat-e-Istikhara is a powerful tool that ALLAH has given us asked His guidance in all matters. We shouldn’t need to hesitate to pray Istikhara for making choice in life, big or small. You should perform Istikhara for marriage decision, admission in particular college or else everything. Things you should do before Istikhara: One must need to perform Istikhara for making decisions of their life. There are plenty of misconceptions among people while performing Istikhara. Such as Istikhara only performs by pious people but it is not dependent. Firstly clear your mind and put your trust in ALLAH and perform Istikhara. The method and things before Istikhara are mentioned below:
You should perform Ablution (Wudu) to ensure you’re clean
Make sure your space is clean enough to be suitable for prayer
You have to pray with sincerity and mind that you’re asking guidance and need help
Avoid begging or pleading – focus towards guidance
Don’t be impatient after prayer – you shouldn’t put ALLAH on timetable
It is important to do Istikhara with sincerity that only ALLAH can give us the guidance we seek. The signs and symbols of Istikhara are shown in dreams but you don’t need to be impatient after prayer. We should not expect some sort of miracle, or dream full of signs and symbols. These things are not necessary. We simply say our prayers and trust ALLAH has heard us and answer in a way that is best. Thus you can perform Istikhara for marriage, business, job or everything.