Buruja
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Dhikr & Du'a · Core remembrance

Istighfar

الاستغفار

Turning back to Allah

Istighfar needs no special time or place. Say it walking, working, lying awake; after every prayer, and especially in the last third of the night when Allah descends and asks who is seeking His forgiveness so He may forgive them.

Begin with the simplest, 'Astaghfirullah wa atubu ilayh,' and grow into Sayyid al-Istighfar, the chief of seeking forgiveness. And remember the Prophet's ﷺ words: the closest a servant comes to his Lord is in prostration, so make much du'a there.

  1. 1

    Sayyid al-Istighfar, the chief of seeking forgiveness

    اللّهـمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّـي لا إلهَ إلاّ أَنْتَ خَلَقْتَنـي وَأَنا عَبْـدُك وَأَنا عَلـى عَهْـدِكَ وَوَعْـدِكَ ما اسْتَـطَعْـت أَعـوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَـرِّ ما صَنَـعْت أَبـوءُ لَـكَ بِنِعْـمَتِـكَ عَلَـيَّ وَأَبـوءُ بِذَنْـبي فَاغْفـِرْ لي فَإِنَّـهُ لا يَغْـفِرُ الذُّنـوبَ إِلاّ أَنْتَ

    Allāhumma anta Rabbī lā ilāha illā ant, khalaqtanī wa anā `abduk, wa anā `alā `ahdika wa wa`dika mastaṭa`t, a`ūdhu bika min sharri mā ṣana`t, abū'u laka bi ni`matika `alay, wa abū'u bidhanbī faghfir lī fa'innahu lā yaghfirudh-dhunūba illā ant.

    O Allah, You are my Lord, there is none worthy of worship but You. You created me and I am your slave. I keep Your covenant, and my pledge to You so far as I am able. I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done. I admit to Your blessings upon me, and I admit to my misdeeds. Forgive me, for there is none who may forgive sins but You.

    sahihAl-Bukhari 7/150

    The Prophet ﷺ called this the best way to ask forgiveness: whoever says it by day with certainty and dies before evening, or by night and dies before morning, is among the people of Paradise.

  2. 2

    Astaghfirullah wa atubu ilayh

    100x

    أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ

    Astaghfirullāha wa atūbu ilayh.

    I seek the forgiveness of Allah and repent to Him. (Recite one hundred times in Arabic during the day.)

    sahihMuslim 4/2075

    The simple, endless istighfar. The Prophet ﷺ, though forgiven, sought forgiveness more than a hundred times a day. Say it in the gaps of yours.

  3. 3

    Astaghfirullah al-Azim, and I turn to Him

    أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ الْعَظيمَ الَّذِي لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْحَيُّ القَيّوُمُ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيهِ

    Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said: Whoever says: I seek the forgiveness of Allah the Mighty, Whom there is none worthy of worship except Him, the Living, the Eternal, and I repent to Him, Allah will forgive him even if he has deserted the army's ranks.

    sahihAbu Dawud 2/85, At-Tirmidhi 5/569, and Al-Hakim who declared it authentic and Ath-Thahabi agreed with him 1/511

    The Prophet ﷺ said whoever says it is forgiven, even if he had fled from the battlefield, one of the gravest sins.

Why we keep returning

Allah does not tire of forgiving; we only tire of asking. Istighfar is the door He left open on purpose, the one He promised is never shut while the sun has not yet risen from the west. Whoever keeps to it, the Prophet ﷺ said, Allah grants a way out of every distress and provides for him from where he never expected.

Astaghfirullah, astaghfirullah, astaghfirullah. O Allah, You are my Lord; there is no god but You; forgive me, for none forgives sins but You.

Questions

What is Sayyid al-Istighfar?
It is the 'chief' or 'master' way of seeking forgiveness, taught by the Prophet ﷺ: 'Allahumma anta Rabbi la ilaha illa anta, khalaqtani wa ana abduk...' He said whoever says it during the day with firm faith and dies that day, or says it at night and dies that night, is among the people of Paradise.
What is the simplest istighfar?
'Astaghfirullah wa atubu ilayh' (I seek the forgiveness of Allah and turn to Him in repentance). It is short enough to repeat throughout the day. The Prophet ﷺ, though already forgiven, said it more than a hundred times daily.
When is the best time for istighfar?
Any time, but especially after each prayer and in the last third of the night, the time of Allah's descent, when He invites those seeking forgiveness. Prostration is also described as the closest a servant is to his Lord, so it is a powerful place to ask.

The istighfar formulas are transcribed verbatim from Hisn al-Muslim (Sa'eed al-Qahtani) via sunnah.com (Sayyid al-Istighfar is in al-Bukhari, taken as sahih). This collection is curated: the Hisn 'istighfar' chapter is largely virtue-hadiths and encouragements, so the three core recitable formulas of the sunnah are gathered here, with the encouragements (the Prophet ﷺ seeking forgiveness 70-100x a day; nearness in prostration) carried in the framing. Recitation audio is the official Hisn al-Muslim audio (hisnmuslim.com). With thanks to lifewithallah.com; reflections are Buruja's own. FOR SCHOLAR REVIEW: confirm every Arabic text, reference and grading before publication.

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