Can Someone Else Perform Salāh al-Istikhārah on Your Behalf?
Source: Fatāwā Amunpūrī by Shaykh Ghulām Mustafa Zaheer Amunpūrī
Is it permissible to have someone else perform Salāh al-Istikhārah on your behalf?
The person concerned with the matter should perform istikhārah himself.
It is not permissible to appoint someone else to do it on your behalf.
Today, many TV channels have turned istikhārah into a business — offering to perform istikhārah for others. This may serve as a source of income for them, but it has no basis in the Sharīʿah. Such practices should be avoided. Instead, one should strengthen their personal connection with Allah, and that is where true benefit lies.
لا يصلي أحد عن أحد.
“No one should perform prayer on behalf of another.”
(al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Nasā’ī: 2918 – Chain is Ṣaḥīḥ)
This statement reflects the consensus (ijmāʿ) of the scholars: no one may offer prayer on behalf of another, not even in optional or voluntary prayers.
أما الصلاة فإجماع من العلماء أنه لا يصلي أحد عن أحد فرضا عليه من الصلاة، ولا سنة، ولا تطوعا، ولا عن حي، ولا عن ميت.
“There is consensus among the scholars that no one may perform prayer on behalf of another — whether the prayer is obligatory, Sunnah, or voluntary — and whether the person is alive or deceased.”
(al-Istidhkār: 10/167, 12/66)
✔ Istikhārah must be done by the individual himself — not delegated to anyone else.
✔ It is a personal act of worship and reliance upon Allah, which cannot be outsourced.
✔ Practicing this sincerely helps build direct reliance on Allah and strengthens personal spirituality.
✔ Avoid commercialized or delegated forms of istikhārah — they are not from the Sharīʿah.
Source: Fatāwā Amunpūrī by Shaykh Ghulām Mustafa Zaheer Amunpūrī
❖ Question:
Is it permissible to have someone else perform Salāh al-Istikhārah on your behalf?
✿ Answer:
The person concerned with the matter should perform istikhārah himself.
It is not permissible to appoint someone else to do it on your behalf.
Today, many TV channels have turned istikhārah into a business — offering to perform istikhārah for others. This may serve as a source of income for them, but it has no basis in the Sharīʿah. Such practices should be avoided. Instead, one should strengthen their personal connection with Allah, and that is where true benefit lies.
❀ Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh bin ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما said:
لا يصلي أحد عن أحد.
“No one should perform prayer on behalf of another.”
(al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Nasā’ī: 2918 – Chain is Ṣaḥīḥ)This statement reflects the consensus (ijmāʿ) of the scholars: no one may offer prayer on behalf of another, not even in optional or voluntary prayers.
❀ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr رحمه الله (d. 463 AH) wrote:
أما الصلاة فإجماع من العلماء أنه لا يصلي أحد عن أحد فرضا عليه من الصلاة، ولا سنة، ولا تطوعا، ولا عن حي، ولا عن ميت.
“There is consensus among the scholars that no one may perform prayer on behalf of another — whether the prayer is obligatory, Sunnah, or voluntary — and whether the person is alive or deceased.”
(al-Istidhkār: 10/167, 12/66)
Conclusion:
✔ Istikhārah must be done by the individual himself — not delegated to anyone else.
✔ It is a personal act of worship and reliance upon Allah, which cannot be outsourced.
✔ Practicing this sincerely helps build direct reliance on Allah and strengthens personal spirituality.
✔ Avoid commercialized or delegated forms of istikhārah — they are not from the Sharīʿah.
