Re: Istikhara
SO8 You can do Istikhara for as little as three days to as much as even 10 days. If it takes me longer than 7 days to get a “feeling” or see a dream, I start over for another 7 days & if even that doesn’t work, which has happened once in the past, then I just let things fall in their place. Like go with my initial plan or what seems right to me & let things happen as they happen. If the matter doesn’t fall through, that means there was some wisdom behind it that only Allah knows, & if it does go through then you know that this is the best in “deen” & duniya" for you.
For all you know, you might read the Istikhara prayer & have a change or heart or a much “determined” heart within one day. That often happens with me, where all of a sudden inclination towards a particular matter grows too much overnight. Or once there was a job opportunity we were excited about & in our mind it just seemed the best thing at the time, so while I was being neutral while reading the Dua, a part of me was convinced that the Istikhara was going to result in a positive answer. It was amazing to see that the next morning when I woke up. I was least concerned with that opportunity. That’s an example of a very strong change of heart. I still continued to do the Istikhara for another two days just to be sure. But, sure enough, even though we thought that was it. We had something even better waiting for us.
Here is a link with some information & the Istikhara dua. It also has an English translation at the bottom.
How to do (perform) Istikhara with dua. Arabic Text with Urdu and English Explaination - Istakhara
Let me know if this answers your questions. Good luck!