6 supplications
Duas for Forgiveness (Istighfar)
The Prophet ﷺ sought forgiveness more than seventy times a day (Sahih al-Bukhari). Istighfar wipes away sins, opens the doors of provision and brings relief (Qur’an 71:10-12).
Sayyid al-Istighfar, the master of seeking forgiveness
اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ، خَلَقْتَنِي وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ، وَأَنَا عَلَى عَهْدِكَ وَوَعْدِكَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ، أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا صَنَعْتُ، أَبُوءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَيَّ، وَأَبُوءُ بِذَنْبِي، فَاغْفِرْ لِي فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ
Allahumma anta rabbi la ilaha illa ant, khalaqtani wa ana ‘abduk, wa ana ‘ala ‘ahdika wa wa‘dika mastata‘t, a‘udhu bika min sharri ma sana‘t, abu’u laka bi-ni‘matika ‘alayy, wa abu’u bi-dhanbi, faghfir li fa-innahu la yaghfirudh-dhunuba illa ant.
O Allah, You are my Lord; there is no god but You. You created me and I am Your servant, and I keep Your covenant and promise as best I can. I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done. I acknowledge Your favour upon me and I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me, for none forgives sins but You. Whoever says it with conviction in the day and dies before the evening, or at night and dies before the morning, is among the people of Paradise.
Source: Sahih al-Bukhari
Forgiveness from the Ever-Living
أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ الَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيَّ الْقَيُّومَ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ
Astaghfirullahal-ladhi la ilaha illa huwal-hayyal-qayyuma wa atubu ilayh.
I seek the forgiveness of Allah, besides whom there is no god, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer, and I repent to Him. His sins are forgiven even if he fled from the battlefield.
Source: Sunan Abi Dawud; Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi
Forgive me and accept my repentance×100
رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَتُبْ عَلَيَّ، إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ
Rabbighfir li wa tub ‘alayya, innaka antat-tawwabur-rahim.
My Lord, forgive me and accept my repentance; You are the Accepter of repentance, the Most Merciful. Counted a hundred times in a single sitting of the Prophet ﷺ.
Source: Sunan Abi Dawud; Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi
The dua taught to Abu Bakr
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي ظَلَمْتُ نَفْسِي ظُلْمًا كَثِيرًا، وَلَا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ، فَاغْفِرْ لِي مَغْفِرَةً مِنْ عِنْدِكَ، وَارْحَمْنِي، إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
Allahumma inni dhalamtu nafsi dhulman kathira, wa la yaghfirudh-dhunuba illa ant, faghfir li maghfiratan min ‘indik, warhamni, innaka antal-ghafurur-rahim.
O Allah, I have greatly wronged myself, and none forgives sins but You. So grant me forgiveness from You and have mercy on me; You are the Forgiving, the Merciful. Taught to Abu Bakr to say in his prayer.
Source: Sahih al-Bukhari; Sahih Muslim
The dua of Adam and Hawwa’
رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنْفُسَنَا وَإِنْ لَمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ
Rabbana dhalamna anfusana wa in lam taghfir lana wa tarhamna lanakunanna minal-khasirin.
Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we will surely be among the losers.
Source: Qur’an 7:23
I seek Allah’s forgiveness×100
أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ
Astaghfirullaha wa atubu ilayh.
I seek the forgiveness of Allah and I repent to Him. The Prophet ﷺ said: “I repent to Allah a hundred times a day.”
Source: Sahih al-Bukhari; Sahih Muslim
The conditions of sincere repentance
Scholars list the conditions of tawbah: stopping the sin, regretting it, resolving not to return to it, and, when the sin concerns people, returning their rights or seeking their pardon. Istighfar with the tongue is completed by these deeds of the heart and limbs. The best time is before dawn: Allah praises “those who seek forgiveness before dawn” (3:17).
The fruits of istighfar
Nuh told his people: “Ask forgiveness of your Lord; He is ever forgiving. He will send rain upon you in abundance and give you increase in wealth and children” (71:10-12). Istighfar opens the doors of provision and relief in this life as well as forgiveness in the next.
Duas for Forgiveness (Istighfar): questions and answers
What if I repent and then fall into the same sin?
Repent again. The Prophet ﷺ said that Allah forgives the servant who sins and repents each time, as long as he keeps turning back to Him (al-Bukhari, Muslim).