Fatwa ID: 01413

Answered by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Question:

What do different colours mean in istakhara? I mean what these colours suggest, red, black, white, green, sky-blue off white.

Answer:

In the name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful.

Istikharah is to seek guidance from Allah when one is faced with a problem.  
It is related by Jabir bin Abdullah that the Prophet of Allah used to teach us the way of doing Istikharah, in all matters as he taught us the Surahs of the Quran… (Sahih Al-Bukhari, 2.263) 
When making Istikharah a person should perform two Rakats Nafl Salat. Then with all sincerity recite the following Du'a.
Translation: O Allah!! Behold I ask You the good through Your Knowledge, and ability through Your Power, and beg (Your favour) out of Your infinite Bounty. For surely You have Power; I have none. You know all; I know not. You are the Great Knower of all things. O Allah! If in Your Knowledge this matter be good for my faith (Deen), for my livelihood, and for the consequences of my affairs, then ordain it for me, and make it easy for me, and bless me therein. But if in Your Knowledge, this matter be bad for my faith (Deen) for my livelihood, and for the consequences of my affairs, then turn it away from me, and turn me away therefrom, and ordain for me the good wherever it be, and cause me to be pleased therewith. 
Imam An-Nawawi has said, "After performing the istikharah, a person must do what he is wholeheartedly inclined to do and feels good about doing and should not insist on doing what he had desired to do before making the istikharah. And if his feelings change, he should leave what he had intended to do, otherwise he is not completely leaving the choice to Allah, and would not be honest in seeking aid from Allah's power and knowledge. Sincerity in seeking Allah's choice means that one should completely leave what he himself had desired or determined." (Fiqhus Sunnah: 2.32) 
After performing istikarah the person will (Insha Allah) get guidance from Allah and be inclined towards what is right. It is not necessary that it is seen in a dream or even as a vision while awake. The individual will just feel what is right and should then go on to do the task or make the decision.

Generally, seeing red, white, blue and green colours indicate to a good dream whilst black indicates to a bad dream. Saaidah Khadijah Radiallahu Anha once asked the Prophet of Allah regarding the state of Waraqah Bin Nawfal in the Hereafter. The Prophet of Allah said I saw him wearing a white garment in my dream. If his abode was the Fire of Hell he would have been wearing something other than white. (Sunan Tirmizi p.54 v.2)  

Only Allah Knows Best

Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham