Sayyid al-Istighfar
Sayyid al-Istighfar: The Best Way of Seeking Forgiveness
اَللّٰهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّيْ لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ ، خَلَقْتَنِيْ وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ ، وَأَنَا عَلَىٰ عَهْدِكَ وَوَعْدِكَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ ، أَعُوْذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا صَنَعْتُ ، أَبُوْءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَيَّ وَأَبُوْءُ لَكَ بِذَنْبِيْ ، فَاغْفِرْ لِيْ فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوْبَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ.
Allāhumma Anta Rabbī, lā ilāha illā Ant, khalaqtanī wa ana ʿabduk, wa ana ʿalā ʿahdika wa waʿdika mā’staṭaʿt, aʿūdhu bika min sharri mā ṣanaʿt, abū’u laka bi niʿmatika ʿalayya wa abū’u laka bi-dhambī fa-ghfir lī fa-innahū lā yaghfiru-dh-dhunūba illā Ant.
O Allah, You are my Lord. There is no god worthy of worship except You. You have created me, and I am Your slave, and I am under Your covenant and pledge (to fulfil it) to the best of my ability. I seek Your protection from the evil that I have done. I acknowledge the favours that You have bestowed upon me, and I admit my sins. Forgive me, for none forgives sins but You.
Shaddād b. Aws (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “The most superior manner of seeking forgiveness is that you say [the above]. Whoever says it during the day with firm belief in it and dies on the same day before the evening, he will be from the people of Paradise. And whoever says it during the night with firm belief in it and dies before the morning, he will be from the people of Paradise.” (Bukhārī 6306)
