Choosing a spouse is treated in Islam as one of life's weightiest decisions — significant enough that it's paired with prayer, not left to instinct or family pressure alone. Before a proposal is made or accepted, believers are encouraged to combine sincere effort — research, conversation, family counsel — with turning to Allah for guidance. Below are the key duas for this stage, alongside the etiquette that should surround it.
One of the most well-known supplications for this stage is narrated from Imam Reza (as), recommended before setting out to seek marriage. After performing a two-unit prayer, the hands are raised and the following is recited:
اللهم إني أريد الترويج فسهّل لي من البيع، أحسن خُلقًا وخَلقًا، وأعفني فرجًا، واحفظن نفسي وفي مالي، وأكملن جمالًا وأكثر من أولادًا.
Allāhumma innī urīdut-tazwīja fa-sahhal lī minan-nisā'i aḥsanahunna khalqan wa khulqan wa a'affahunna farjan wa aḥfaẓahunna nafsan fiyya wa fī mālī wa akmalahunna jamālan wa akthara hunna awlādan.
In essence: "O Allah, I intend to marry — so make easy for me a woman of the finest character and conduct, chastity, trustworthiness with what is entrusted to her, and one who will be blessed with a good family."
A shorter variant, transmitted from Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (as), is recommended right before making a formal proposal — a plea for a spouse of chastity, good character, and one through whom lasting barakah and righteous children enter one's life. (Source: Behaar al-Anwaar, vol. 91; see the fuller collection at duas.org.)
For anyone who feels their search is dragging without progress, a shorter dua is also recommended — recited 100 times daily after obligatory prayer for 40 days:
سَهِّلًا بِفَضْلِ كَ يَا عَزِيزُ
Sahlan bi-faḍlika yā 'Azīz
"Make it easy, by Your abundant grace, O Mighty One."
Istikhara — the prayer of seeking Allah's best outcome — is the tool most people reach for once a specific proposal is on the table and they're unsure how to proceed. It's a two-rak'at prayer followed by sincere supplication, asking Allah to make the path easy if it is good, and to turn the heart away gently if it is not.
Istikhara works alongside human effort, not instead of it. Before turning to it, it's worth first doing the groundwork — learning about the person's character, values, and compatibility, and having honest conversations — so the Istikhara is guiding a real decision rather than filling in for the homework that hasn't been done.