Istighfar: Seeking Forgiveness & Repentance

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: ((وَاللَّهِ إِنِّي لأَسْتَغفِرُ اللَّهَ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ فِي الْيَوْمِ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ سَبْعِينَ مَرَّةٍ)).

(The Messenger of Allah said: ‘By Allah, I seek forgiveness and repent to Allah, more than seventy times a day.)

وَقَالَ صلى الله عليه وسلم: ((يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ تُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ فَإِنِّي أَتُوبُ فِي الْيَوْمِ إِلَيْهِ مِائَةَ مَرَّةٍ)).

(He also said: ‘O People, Repent! Verily I repent to Allah, a hundred times a day.)

(He also said: ‘Whoever says:(Astaghfirul-lahal-lathee la ilaha illa huwal-hayyul-qayyoomu wa-atoobu ilayh.) Allah would forgive him even if he was one who fled during the advance of an army.)

وَقَالَ صلى الله عليه وسلم: ((مَنْ قَالَ أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ الْعَظيمَ الَّذِي لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْحَيُّ القَيّوُمُ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيهِ، غَفَرَ اللَّهُ لَهُ وَإِنْ كَانَ فَرَّ مِنَ الزَّحْفِ)).

(He also said: ‘Whoever says:(I seek Allah’s forgiveness, besides whom, none has the right to be worshipped except He, The Ever Living, The Self-Subsisting and Supporter of all, and I turn to Him in repentance.) Allah would forgive him even if he was one who fled during the advance of an army.)

وَقَالَ صلى الله عليه وسلم: ((أَقْرَبُ مَا يَكُونُ الرَّبُّ مِنَ الْعَبْدِ فِي جَوْفِ اللَّيْلِ الآخِرِ فَإِنِ اسْتَطَعْتَ أَنْ تَكُونَ مِمَّنْ يَذْكُرُ اللَّهَ فِي تِلْكَ السَّاعَةِ فَكُنْ)).

(He said: ‘The nearest the Lord comes to His servant is in the middle of the night, so if you are able to be of those who remember Allah at that time, then be so.)

وَقَالَ صلى الله عليه وسلم: ((أَقْرَبُ مَا يَكُونُ الْعَبْدُ مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَهُوَ سَاجِدٌ فَأَكثِرُوا الدُّعَاءَ)).

(He also said: ‘The nearest a servant is to his Lord is when he is prostrating, so supplicate much therein.)

وَقَالَ صلى الله عليه وسلم: ((إِنَّهُ لَيُغَانُ عَلَى قَلْبِي وَإِنِّي لأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ فِي الْيَوْمِ مِائَةَ مَرَّةٍ)).

(He also said: ‘verily my heart becomes preoccupied, and verily I seek Allah’s forgiveness a hundred times a day.)(preoccupied: i.e. in a state of ‘forgetfulness’. The Prophet always used to increase in his remembrance of his Lord, in attaining a nearness to Allah and having consciousness of Allah to the extent that if this intensity lessened in anyway, he would regard it as a sin and would then race to seek forgiveness from Allah.)

((مَا مِنْ عَبْدٍ يُذنِبُ ذَنْباً فَيُحْسِنُ الطُّهُورَ، ثُمَّ يَقُومُ فَيُصَلِّي رَكْعَتَيْنِ، ثُمَّ يَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ إِلاَّ غَفَرَ اللَّهُ لَهُ)).

(Any servant who commits a sin and as a result, performs ablution, prays two units of prayer (i.e. two rakAAas) and then seeks Allah’s forgiveness, Allah would forgive him.)