Chapter 3: The Prophet on Seeking Forgivenesss
‘Indeed, Allah SWT holds out His hand at night to accept the repentance of those who have sinned during the day, and He holds out His hand by day to accept the repentance of those who have sinned at night – until the sun rises from its place of setting.’ (Muslim)
‘O Allah, forgive me for my sins and ignorance, for my transgression in my affairs and what You know better than me. O Allah, forgive me (for what I have done) in earnest and in jest, inadvertently and deliberately, all of that could come from me. O Allah, forgive me my past and future sins, what I have done hidden and what I have done openly, and what You know better than me. You are the One Who brings forward and puts back and You have power over all things.’ (Bukhari, Muslim)
‘O People, repent to Allah, for I repent to Him one hundred times a day.’ (Muslim)
‘Whoever does wudhu, and does it well, his sins will come out of his body, even from beneath his nails.’ (Muslim)
‘Whoever does wudhu as I have done it, then stands up and prays two rak’ahs, in which he does not let his mind wander, will be forgiven for his previous sins.’ (Bukhari)
‘Whoever says: Subhaan Allahi wa bi hamdihi (glory and praise be to Allah), one hundred times a day, his sins will be erased even if they were like the foam of the sea.’ (Bukhari)
‘Whoever does Hajj for the sake of Allah and does not utter any obscene speech or do any evil deed, will go back as on the day his mother bore him.’ (Bukhari, Muslim)
‘Charity extinguishes sins as water extinguishes fire.’ (Ibn Majah)
‘Whoever says: Astagfirullah al-azeem alladhi laa ilaaha illa Huwa al-Hayyul-Qayyum wa atoobu Ilayhi (I seek forgiveness from Allah the Almighty, besides Whom there is no god worthy of worship, the Ever Living, the All-Sustaining and I repent to Him) will be forgiven, even if his sin was fleeing from the battlefield.’ (Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi)
‘O Allah, distance me from my sins just as You distanced the east from the west. O Allah, cleanse me of my sins as a white garment is cleansed of dirt. O Allah, wash my sins from me with snow, water and hail.’ (Bukhari)
‘O Allah, You are the Sovereign, there is no god worthy of worship except You. You are my Lord and I am Your slave. I have wronged myself and I admit my sin, so forgive me and all my sins, for no one forgives sins except You.’ (Tirmidhi)
‘Glory and praise be to You, O Allah our Lord. O Allah, forgive me.’ (Muslim)
‘O Allah, forgive me all my sins, small and great, first and last, open and hidden.’ (Muslim)
‘O Allah, I have wronged myself greatly and no one forgives sins but You, so grant me forgiveness from You, for You are the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.’ (Muslim)
When the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ finished his prayer, he would ask for forgiveness three times.
Aisha bint Abi Bakr said that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ would often say before he died: ‘Glory and praise be to You, I ask You for forgiveness and I repent to You.’
Aisha also said when the Prophet ﷺ was leaning on her chest before he passed away, he would say: ‘O Allah, forgive me and have mercy on me and join me to the higher companion.’ (Muslim)
‘By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if you did not commit sin, Allah would dispense with you and create people who would commit sins then ask Allah for forgiveness, then He would forgive them.’ (Muslim)
‘Every son of Adam is a sinner and the best of sinners are those who repent.’ (Tirmidhi)
‘Whoever says this during the day believing in it with certainty and dies that day before evening comes, will be one of the people of Paradise and whoever says it at night believing in it with certainty and dies before morning comes will be one of the people of Paradise.’ (Bukhari)
‘Whoever repents before the sun rises from its place of setting, Allah will accept his repentance.’ (Muslim)