استخارة
Istikhāra
Topic
Islam forbids divination, but teaches the prayer of istikhara to ask God’s guidance in a decision.
What it means
The prayer of istikhara was taught by the Prophet: two units of prayer followed by a supplication, “O God, if You know that this matter is good for me in my religion and my life and the end of my affair, then decree it for me…” (Sahih al-Bukhari). It is a request for guidance, and not a way of foretelling the future.
What the sources say
Opening the Quran at random to predict the outcome of a venture, a custom of some, is disliked by most scholars as an innovation, and the Prophet said that whoever goes to a diviner and believes him has disbelieved in what was revealed to Muhammad (Abu Dawud).