Dua for forgiveness (istighfar)

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informs that seeking forgiveness has certain wordings, the greatest of which is to say: "Allāhumma anta rabbi la ilāha illa ant khalaqtani wa ana ‘abduk wa ana ‘ala ‘ahdika wa wa‘dika mastata‘t a‘ūdhu bika min sharri ma sana‘t abū’u laka bini‘matika ‘alayya wa abū’u bidhanbi faghfir li fa innahu la yaghfiru adh-dhunūba illa ant (O Allah, You are my Lord. You created me, and I am Your slave. I will remain faithful to Your covenant and promise as much as possible. I seek refuge with You from the evil of what I have done. I acknowledge Your favor upon me, and I admit my sin. So, forgive me. Indeed, none can forgive sins but You)." Here, the slave first acknowledges the oneness of Allah and that Allah is his Creator and God, with no partner. He states that he adheres to his covenant with Allah Almighty, to believe in Him and obey Him as much as he can because no matter what the slave offers of worship, he cannot carry out all of Allah's commands or show sufficient gratitude for the blessings He has bestowed upon him. The slave, then, seeks refuge with Allah and holds fast to Him, as He is the One with Whom refuge is sought against the evil he committed. He willingly admits and acknowledges the favor of Allah upon him, and again admits and acknowledges his sins and misdeeds. After imploring Allah, he supplicates his Lord to forgive him by concealing his sins and protecting him from dire consequences through His pardon, favor, and mercy, as none can forgive sins but Allah Almighty. Then, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) stated that this supplication is from the morning and evening Adhkār (regular supplications), and whoever recites it with certainty while recalling its meanings and believing in them at the beginning of his day, from sunrise till the sun's decline, i.e., at daytime, and he dies, he will enter Paradise. And whoever recites it at night, from sunset till the break of dawn, and dies before the morning, he will enter Paradise.

Benefits

• There are various forms of Istighfār (seeking Allah's forgiveness) and some of them are better than others.
• One should be keen on reciting this supplication, which is the best in seeking Allah's forgiveness.

Read on HadeethEnc.com

The following is among the comprehensive supplications of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him):

"O Lord, forgive me my sin" and my misdeed, and "my ignorant sins" and what I committed unknowingly.

"My excess in all of my affairs", my negligence, and my transgression.

"And whatever You are better aware of than me,"  You know it, O Allah, whereas I forgot it.

"O Allah, forgive me my sins, my deliberate sins," and the sins I committed deliberately and knowingly.

"My seriousness, my humor," and what was done by way of joking and what I committed in both cases.

"And all this I have committed,"  as it collected the mentioned sins and defects.

"O Allah, forgive what I have done" in the past "and what I have left undone" in the future.

"What I have committed secretly" and stealthily, "and what I have committed openly" and publicly.

"You are the Advancer and You are the Delayer."  You make whomever You will of Your creation proceed to Your mercy through Your guidance to what pleases You, and You delay whomever You will from this through forsaking him. None can bring forward what You have delayed, and none can delay what You have put forward.

"And You have absolute power over everything", possessing the absolute ability and the perfect will, You do whatever You will.

Benefits

• The merit of this supplication, and that we should recite it following the Prophet's example.
• Extravagance is prohibited and the extravagant will be subject to punishment.
• Allah Almighty knows man better than himself; hence, one should entrust his affairs to Allah, as he could err unknowingly.
• Man could be held accountable for his joking just as he is held accountable for his seriousness, so he should be cautious when joking.
• Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalāni said: I have not found in any of its chains of transmission the place of reciting this supplication, and most of its last part have occurred... He used to say it during the night prayer. It is also mentioned that he used to say it at the end of the prayer. However, there are different narrations about whether he used to say it before or after Taslīm (salutation of peace ending the prayer). This is the cited wording.
• Does the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) err to seek forgiveness? It is said that he said this out of humility and self-suppression, or he considered missing perfection and not doing what is preferable as sins, or he was referring to what was committed out of forgetfulness or before being a prophet. It is also said: that seeking forgiveness is a form of worship that must be performed, not for the sake of forgiveness but as a form of worship. It is said as well: This is to warn and teach his Ummah so as not to feel secure and stop seeking forgiveness.

Read on HadeethEnc.com

Anyone who says "I ask forgiveness from Allah, there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of existence, and I turn to Him in repentance," his sins will be forgiven even if he fled from fighting the infidels on the battlefield. It is known from a Hadīth that desertion is one of the seven major sins. The correct meaning of the present Hadīth is that one should repent from all sins, including desertion. Otherwise, seeking forgiveness while continuing to commit a certain sin is useless, unless one repents from it.

Read on HadeethEnc.com

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him), whose past and future sins had been forgiven by Allah, swore that he would seek Allah's forgiveness and repent to Him over seventy times every day. The Prophet's pursuit of forgiveness was not necessarily for sins that he had committed, but it was part of his complete servitude to Allah, deep attachment to His remembrance, and the feeling of the tremendous duty towards Him and the shortcoming of His servants no matter how much they show gratitude. His act does also serve the purpose of prescribing the religious deeds for the Ummah.

Read on HadeethEnc.com

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) narrates from his Lord that if a servant commits a sin and then says, "O Allah, forgive my sin", Allah Almighty says: My servant committed a sin and then realized that he has a Lord Who forgives sins, covers him and pardons him, or punishes for sins. I have forgiven him. Then, the servant again commits a sin and says, "O Allah, forgive my sin", and Allah says: My servant committed a sin and then realized that he has a Lord Who forgives sins, covers him and pardons him, or punishes for sins. I have forgiven My servant. Then, again, the servant commits a sin and says, "O Allah, forgive my sin", and Allah says: My servant committed a sin and then realises that he has a Lord Who forgives sins, covers him and pardons him, or punishes for sins. I have forgiven My servant. Let him do whatever he wishes, as long as he gives it up every time he sins, feels regretful, and determines not to do it again; yet, his self overcomes him, and he falls into the sin again and again. So, as long as he acts like this, sinning and repenting, I will forgive him. Indeed, repentance abolishes what is before it.

Benefits

• The Hadīth shows Allah's vast mercy towards His servants and that no matter how often a person commits sins, if he repents and returns to Allah, He accepts his repentance.
• A believer in Allah Almighty hopes for the forgiveness of his Lord and fears His punishment, so he hastens to repent and does not persist in sin.
• The conditions of valid repentance: giving up the sin, feeling regretful about it, and determining not to do it again. If the repentance is from wrongful acts towards people, in terms of their property, honor, or life, a fourth condition is added, and that is: asking the wronged person for pardon or giving his right back to him.
• The Hadīth highlights the significance of knowing Allah, for such knowledge makes a person aware of the matters of his religion, and so he repents every time he commits a sin, and he does not despair or persist in sins.

Read on HadeethEnc.com

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that Allah Almighty said in a Qudsi Hadīth: O son of Adam, as long as you supplicate Me and hope for My mercy and do not despair, I will conceal your sin and eliminate it, not minding about that, even if the sin is one of the major ones. O son of Adam, if your sins grow so numerous that they fill what is between the heavens and the earth, extending over its different corners and areas, and then you ask forgiveness of Me, I shall erase and forgive all of them, not caring about how numerous they are.

O son of Adam, if you come to Me after death with sins and misdeeds nearly as great as the earth, and you have died as a monotheist, not associating anything with Me, I will meet these sins and misdeeds with forgiveness as great as the earth, for I am vast in forgiveness and I forgive all sins except for Shirk.

Benefits

• The Hadīth shows Allah's vast mercy, forgiveness, and bounty.
• It highlights the merit of Tawhīd and that Allah forgives the sins and misdeeds of the monotheists.
• It demonstrates the danger of Shirk and that Allah does not forgive the polytheists.
• Ibn Rajab said: This Hadīth comprises the three means whereby forgiveness of sins can be attained: First: supplication along with hope. Second: asking for forgiveness and repentance. Third: dying upon Tawhīd.
• This Hadīth is part of what the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) narrated from his Lord, and it is called a Qudsi or divine Hadīth. Its wording and meaning are from Allah; however, it does not have the unique characteristics of the Qur'an that include reciting it as a form of worship, getting purified for it, presenting it as a challenge, its miraculousness, etc.
• Sins are of three types: First: Associating partners with Allah; Allah does not forgive that. Allah Almighty says: {Whoever associates any partners with Allah, Allah has forbidden Paradise for him.} Second: A person doing wrong to himself through the sins and misdeeds committed between him and his Lord. Allah Almighty pardons and forgives that, if He so wills. Third: Sins of which Allah leaves nothing, and that is people's oppression to one another; in this regard, legal retribution is necessary.

Read on HadeethEnc.com