Istikhara and Marriage I have known a girl for the past 1 / 2 year and now I want to marry her. When I told my father about it he said that his decision will depend on Istekhara. He asked a person to do Istekhara for him and that person after doing the Istekhara told my father that I should NOT marry that girl. Now my father is against this marriage. The girl is a muslim and is everything that I have always wanted in a wife. My father has told me to leave that girl immediatly. I am in a terrible situation. I do not want to do anything against my parent's wishes but I also do not want to leave that girl for no particular reason. What I want to know is, how legitimate are Istekhara's and is it necessary to obey the result of the Istekhara. What basically my father wants me to do is deceive that girl because I have already told her that I will marry her. I cannot break anyone's heart. I will really appreciate it if you would answer my question and if possible give me the name of a book or a Quranic verse in which this matter is discussed. Reply As your letter seems to require an urgent response, a short reply to your question follows. A detailed response shall inshallah be given, if so required, but that would take me quite some time, as I do not have any assistance on my work on the web, and a list of questions await my response. "Istikhara" really means asking Allah for "Khair" or good. It does not necessarily follow that each "istikhara" or prayer for good shall be followed by a dream. I believe that a person should always pray to Allah to provide him with the good of both the worlds. The wordings of the supplication of istikhara also support my point of view. Unless the person who actually has to take the decision (which in this case is you), is satisfied that he should or should not take a particular decision, the decision should not be taken on the satisfaction of some one else. In other words, you are not religiously bound or obliged to act according to the satisfaction of your father's istikhara. Obviously, it is highly recommended that you should try your utmost to change your father's mind (if you have decided to marry the lady). But even if you do not succeed in changing your father's mind, Islam does not prohibit you from marrying the lady. The issue does not pertain directly to the Qur'an, and therefore I am afraid, no relevant verses can be sited. I hope this helps. The Learner