Seeking good in a decision
اللهم إني أستخيرك بعلمك وأستقدرك بقدرتك وأسألك من فضلك العظيم
Allāhumma innī astakhīruka bi-ʿilmika, wa-astaqdiruka bi-qudratika, wa-asʾaluka min faḍlika l-ʿaẓīm.
Allah, I ask You to choose what is good through Your knowledge, to grant me ability through Your power, and I ask of Your immense favour.
فإنك تقدر ولا أقدر وتعلم ولا أعلم وأنت علام الغيوب
Fa-innaka taqdiru wa-lā aqdiru, wa-taʿlamu wa-lā aʿlamu, wa-anta ʿallāmu l-ghuyūb.
You have power and I do not; You know and I do not. You know all that is unseen.
اللهم إن كنت تعلم أن هذا الأمر خير لي في ديني ومعاشي وعاقبة أمري
Allāhumma in kunta taʿlamu anna hādhā l-amra khayrun lī fī dīnī wa-maʿāshī wa-ʿāqibati amrī,
Allah, if You know that this matter is good for my religion, my livelihood and the outcome of my affairs,
فاقدره لي
Fa-qdurhu lī.
then ordain it for me.
وإن كنت تعلم أن هذا الأمر شر لي في ديني ومعاشي وعاقبة أمري
Wa-in kunta taʿlamu anna hādhā l-amra sharrun lī fī dīnī wa-maʿāshī wa-ʿāqibati amrī,
And if You know that this matter is bad for my religion, my livelihood and the outcome of my affairs,
فاصرفه عني واصرفني عنه
Fa-ṣrifhu ʿannī wa-ṣrifnī ʿanh.
then turn it away from me and turn me away from it.
واقدر لي الخير حيث كان ثم رضني به
Wa-qdur lī l-khayra ḥaythu kāna, thumma raḍḍinī bih.
Ordain good for me wherever it may be, then make me content with it.
This report gives the alternative wording “in the immediate and later parts of my affairs”. The reader selects “the outcome of my affairs” in both conditional clauses. It does not combine the alternatives. Other reports add words about ease and blessing; those words are not part of this selected report. The narrator’s instruction to name the matter is context, not a formula inserted into the Arabic.
Sahih al-Bukhari 6382 (digital edition 6019) · Full selected invocation in digital narration 6019; first of two reported time-wordings · Compare narration
When to read
Jabir’s report says to pray two rakahs when considering a matter, then say this invocation and name the matter. This reader follows the 6382 wording, with the first reported time-phrase in both clauses. The report does not instruct the reader to await a dream, interpret a sign or repeat it a fixed number of times.
Sources for this reading
Arabic selections follow the credited digital editions below. Passage divisions, meanings and transliterations were prepared for this reader. Numbering can differ across editions; modern cross-references are separate.
صحيح البخاري/كتاب الدعوات
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