I have had a search, and there seam to be a few threads relating to this, however, I am still a little unsure as to how to perform this. Most sources say pray 2 rack’t nafil and then say the dua. But I remember reading somewhere that you should read surah Ikhlas and another I have forgetten, but I can’t seem to find where I read this.
Could somebody please explain the exact procedure to me? Also, do you still read alhumdullilah etc 33 times as you do after namaz before doing dua?
Any help would be much appreciated, as I feel I do really need to do this,
First pray Two Cycles (raka') of ritual Prayer (nafil) such that in the first raka' after Surah Fatiha (Allhamd…) recite Surah al-Kafirun (Chapter 109) and in the second raka' after Fatiha (Allhamd…) recite Surah al-Ikhlas (Chapter 112). After finishing prayer recite the dua for Istikhara.
A lot of the people say that you should do Istikhara on Wednesday night and keep on doing it for 7 days...unless you get an answer or know what you should do...you should also make sure that your clothes are clean and so is your bed sheet...
First pray Two Cycles (raka') of ritual Prayer (nafil) such that in the first raka' after Surah Fatiha (Allhamd…) recite Surah al-Kafirun (Chapter 109) and in the second raka' after Fatiha (Allhamd…) recite Surah al-Ikhlas (Chapter 112). After finishing prayer recite the dua for Istikhara.
A lot of the people say that you should do Istikhara on Wednesday night and keep on doing it for 7 days...unless you get an answer or know what you should do...you should also make sure that your clothes are clean and so is your bed sheet...
you're right about the istikhara up until the Wednesday part. Of my knowledge, there is nothing that says you should start on Wednesday. There is no special day to do istikhara.. It's asking Allah for guidance and you can do it whenever you can.
Also remember that for istikhara it is not necessary that you see a dream. It can be some kind of "positive" feeling or negative. Something like a sixth sense kinda thing.