Dua for Forgiveness
Dua 1: The Foremost Supplication for Seeking Forgiveness
Shaddad ibn Aws I narrated that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said that the best way of asking for forgiveness from Allah is:
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 لَكَ بِذَنْبِي ❁ فَاغْفِرْ لِي ❁ فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ ❁
Allāhumma anta Rabbī, lā ilāha illā anta, khalaqtanī wa-anā ʿabduka, wa-anā ʿalā ʿahdika wa-waʿdika mā staṭaʿtu, aʿūdhu bika min sharri mā ṣanaʿtu, abū'u laka bi-niʿmatika ʿalayya, wa-abū'u laka bi-dhanbī, fa-ghfir lī, fa-innahu lā yaghfiru dh-dhunūba illā ant.
O Allah, You are my Lord; there is no god but You. You created me and I am Your slave, and I remain committed to Your covenant and Your promise as best as I am able. I seek refuge in You from the evil I have done. I acknowledge Your favour upon me and I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me, for none forgives sins except You.
| Reference | Al-Bukhari (6306) |
Dua 2: Frequent Supplication for Seeking Forgiveness
Ibn Umar I reported: “We used to count the Messenger of Allah ﷺ saying one hundred times in a single sitting:”
رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي ❁ وَتُبْ عَلَيَّ ❁ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ ❁
Rabbi ghfir lī wa-tub ʿalayya. Innaka anta t-Tawwābu r-Raḥīm.
My Lord, forgive me and accept my repentance. Truly, You are the Accepter of Repentance, the Most Merciful.
| Reference | Abu Dawud (1516) |
Dua 3: A Comprehensive Supplication for Forgiveness and Repentance
Zayd I reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Whoever says: ‘I seek the forgiveness of Allah, besides Whom there is no god, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting, and I turn to Him in repentance,’ will be forgiven his sins, even if he has fled from the battlefield.”
أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ الَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ ❁ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ ❁
Astaghfiru Llāha lladhī lā ilāha illā huwa l-Ḥayyu l-Qayyūm, wa-atūbu ilayh.
I seek the forgiveness of Allah, besides Whom there is no god, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting, and I turn to Him in repentance.
| Reference | Abu Dawud (1517) |
