Seeking Forgiveness

Al-Agharr Al-Muzani (May Allah be pleased with him) said:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Sometimes I perceive a veil over my heart, and I supplicate Allah for forgiveness a hundred times in a day."

[Muslim].

وعن الأغر المزني رضي الله عنه أن رسول الله ﷺ قال: "إنه ليغان على قلبي، وإني لأستغفر الله في اليوم مائة مرة" ((رواه مسلم)).

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) said:
I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saying, "I swear by Allah that I seek Allah's Pardon and turn to Him in repentance more than seventy times a day."

[Al-Bukhari].

وعن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال: سمعت رسول الله ﷺ يقول “والله إني لأستغفر الله وأتوب إليه في اليوم أكثر من سبعين مرة" ((رواه البخاري)).

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) said:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "By the One in Whose Hand my soul is! If you do not commit sins, Allah would replace you with a people who would commit sins and seek forgiveness from Allah; and Allah will certainly forgive them."

[Muslim].

وعنه رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله ﷺ : "والذي نفسي بيده لو لم تذنبوا، لذهب الله تعالى بكم، ولجاء بقوم يذنبون فيستغفرون الله تعالى فيغفر لهم" ((رواه مسلم)).

Ibn 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) said:
We counted Messenger's saying a hundred times during one single sitting: Rabb- ighfir li, wa tubb 'alayya, innaka Antat-Tawwabur-Rahim. (My Rubb! Forgive me and pardon me. Indeed, You are the Oft-Returning with compassion and Ever Merciful."

[Abu Dawud and At- Tirmidhi].

وعن بن عمر رضي الله عنه قال: كنا نعد لرسول الله ﷺ في المجلس الواحد مائة مرة: "رب اغفر لي، وتب على إنك أنت التواب الرحيم" ((رواه أبوداود والترمذي)).

Ibn 'Abbas (May Allah be pleased with them) said:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "If anyone constantly seeks pardon (from Allah), Allah will appoint for him a way out of every distress and a relief from every anxiety, and will provide sustenance for him from where he expects not."

[Abu Dawud].

وعن ابن عباس رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله ﷺ : “من لزم الاستغفار ، جعل الله له من كل ضيق مخرجاً ومن كل هم فرجاً، ورزقه من حيث لا يحتسب" ((رواه أبو داود بإسناد ضعيف)).

Ibn Mas'ud (May Allah be pleased with him) said:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "He who says: 'Astaghfir ullah-alladhi la ilaha illa Huwal-Haiyul-Qayyumu, wa atubu ilaihi (I seek the forgiveness of Allah, there is no true god except Allah, the Ever-Living, the Self- Subsisting, and I turn to Him in repentance),' his sins will be forgiven even if he should have run away from the battlefield (while he was engaged in fighting for the Cause of Allah)."

[Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi and Al-Hakim (on conditions of Al-Bukhari and Muslim for accepting Hadith)].

وعن ابن مسعود رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله ﷺ : "من قال: أستغفر الله الذي لا إله إلا هو الحي القيوم وأتوب إليه ، غفرت ذنوبه ، وإن كان قد فر من الزحف" ((رواه أبو داود والترمذي والحاكم، وقال: حديث صحيح على شرط البخاري ومسلم)).

Shaddad bin Aus (May Allah be pleased with him) said:
The Prophet ﷺ said, "The best supplication for seeking forgiveness (Syed-ul- Istighfar) is to say: 'Allahumma Anta Rabbi, la ilaha illa Anta, khalaqtani wa ana 'abduka, wa ana 'ala 'ahdika wa wa'dika mastata'tu, a'udhu bika min sharri ma sana'tu, abu'u laka bini'matika 'alayya, wa abu'u bidhanbi faghfir li, fa innahu la yaghfirudh-dhunuba illa Anta. (O Allah! You are my Rubb. There is no true god except You. You have created me, and I am Your slave, and I hold to Your Covenant as far as I can. I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done. I acknowledge the favours that You have bestowed upon me, and I confess my sins. Pardon me, for none but You has the power to pardon).' He who supplicates in these terms during the day with firm belief in it and dies on the same day (before the evening), he will be one of the dwellers of Jannah; and if anyone supplicates in these terms during the night with firm belief in it and dies before the morning, he will be one of the dwellers of Jannah."

[Al-Bukhari].

وعن شداد بن أوس رضي الله عنه عن النبي ﷺ قال: "سيد الإستغفار أن يقول العبد : اللهم أنت ربي، لا إله إلا أنت ، خلقتني وأنا عبدك، وأنا على عهدك ووعدك ما استطعت أعوذ بك من شر ما صنعت أبوء لك بنعمتك علي، وأبوء بذنبي، فاغفر لي فإنه لا يغفر الذنوب إلا أنت، من قالها من النهار موقنا بها، فمات من يومه قبل أن يمسي، فهو من أهل الجنة، ومن قالها من الليل وهو موقن بها فمات قبل أن يصبح، فهو من أهل الجنة” ((رواه البخاري)). (1)

Thauban (May Allah be pleased with him) reported:
Whenever the Messenger of Allah ﷺ finished his Salat (prayer), he would beg forgiveness three times [by saying, 'Astaghfirullah' (3 times)] and then he would say: "Allahumma Antas-Salamu, wa minkas-Salamu, tabarakta ya Dhal-Jalali wal-Ikram. (O Allah! You are the Bestower of security and security comes from You; Blessed are You. O Possessor of glory and honour)." Imam Al-Auza'i (one of the subnarrators) of this Hadith was asked: "How forgiveness should be sought?" He replied: "I say: Astaghfirullah, Astaghfirullah (I seek forgiveness from Allah. I seek forgiveness from Allah)."

[Muslim].

- وعن ثوبان رضي الله عنه قال: كان رسول الله ﷺ إذا انصرف من صلاته ، استغفر الله ثلاثاً وقال: "اللهم أنت السلام، ومنك السلام، تباركت يا ياذا الجلال والإكرام" قيل للأوزاعي- وهو أحد رواته: كيف الإستغفار؟ قال: يقول: "أستغفر الله ، أستغفر الله" ((رواه مسلم)).

'Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) reported:
Prior to his demise, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to supplicate frequently: Subhan Allahi wa bihamdihi; Astaghfirullaha wa atubu ilaihi (Allah is free from imperfection, and I begin with praising Him. I beg forgiveness from Allah and I turn to Him in repentance."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

وعن عائشة رضي الله عنها قالت: كان رسول الله ﷺ يكثر أن يقول قبل موته "سبحان الله وبحمده، أستغفر الله، وأتوب إليه" ((متفق عليه)).

Anas (May Allah be pleased with him) said:
I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saying, "Allah, the Exalted, has said: 'O son of Adam! I shall go on forgiving you so long as you pray to Me and aspire for My forgiveness whatever may be your sins. O son of Adam! I do not care even if your sins should pile up to the sky and should you beg pardon of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam! If you come to Me with an earthful of sins and meet Me, not associating anything with Me in worship, I will certainly grant you as much pardon as will fill the earth."'

[At-Tirmidhi].

وعن أنس رضي الله عنه قال: سمعت رسول الله ﷺ يقول: “قال الله تعالى: يا ابن آدم إنك ما دعوتني ورجوتني غفرت لك ما كان منك ولا أبالي، يا ابن آدم لو بلغت ذنوبك عنان السماء، ثم استغفرتني ، غفرت لك ولا أبالي، يا ابن آدم إنك لو أتيتني بقراب الأرض خطايا، ثم لقيتني لا تشرك بي شيئاً، لأتيتك بقرابها مغفرة" . (2)

Ibn 'Umar (May Allah be pleased with them) said:
The Prophet ﷺ said, "O women folk! You should give charity and be diligent in seeking Allah's forgiveness because I have seen (i.e., on the Night of the Ascension to the highest heavens) that dwellers of the Hell are women." A woman amongst them said: "Why is it that the majority of the dwellers of Hell are women?" The Prophet ﷺ replied, "You curse frequently and are ungrateful to your husbands. In spite of your lacking in wisdom and failing in religion, you are depriving the wisest of men of their intelligence." Upon this the woman asked: "What is the deficiency in our wisdom and in our religion?" He ﷺ replied, "Your lack of wisdom can be well judged from the fact that the evidence of two women is equal to that one man. You do not offer Salat (prayer) for some days and you do not fast (the whole of) Ramadan sometimes, it is a deficiency in religion."

[Muslim].

وعن ابن عمر رضي الله عنهما أن النبي ﷺ قال: "يا معشر النساء تصدقن، وأكثرن من الاستغفار، فإني رأيتكن أكثر أهل النار" قالت امرأة منهن: مالنا أكثر أهل النار؟ قال: "تكثرن اللعن، وتكفرن العشير مارأيت من ناقصات عقل ودين أغلب لذي لب منكن" قالت: ما نقصان العقل والدين؟ قال" "شهادة امرأتين بشهادة رجل، وتمكث الأيام لا تصلي" ((رواه مسلم)).