Dua library

Dua for forgiveness, and repentance.

The best dua for forgiveness is the one the Prophet ﷺ called the master of seeking forgiveness, Sayyid al-Istighfar. With it come the dua of Adam from the Quran and the short istighfar he said many times a day. For Sayyid al-Istighfar line by line, see its own page.

Dua 1

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 ant, khalaqtanī wa ana ʿabduk, wa ana ʿalā ʿahdika wa waʿdika mastaṭaʿt, aʿūdhu bika min sharri mā ṣanaʿt, abūʾu laka bi-niʿmatika ʿalayya, wa abūʾu laka bi-dhambī, faghfir lī, fa-innahū lā yaghfirudh-dhunūba illā ant

O Allah, You are my Lord, there is no god but You. You created me and I am Your servant, and I keep Your covenant and promise as best I can. I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done. I acknowledge Your favour on me and I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me, for none forgives sins but You.

Sahih al-Bukhari 6306

Dua 2

قَالَا رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَآ أَنفُسَنَا وَإِن لَّمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلْخَٰسِرِينَ

Rabbanā ẓalamnā anfusanā wa illam taghfir lanā wa tarḥamnā lanakūnanna minal-khāsirīn

Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we will surely be among the losers. (The dua of Adam and Hawwa)

Quran 7:23

Dua 3Many times a day

أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ

Astaghfirullāha wa atūbu ilayh

I seek Allah's forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance.

Sahih al-Bukhari 6307

Our teachers will check the Arabic and transliteration on this page before launch.

Guide

When and how to say it.

The best dua for forgiveness is the one the Prophet ﷺ called the master of seeking forgiveness, Sayyid al-Istighfar. With it come the dua of Adam from the Quran and the short istighfar he said many times a day. For Sayyid al-Istighfar line by line, see its own page.

Say Sayyid al-Istighfar once in the morning and once in the evening.1 Real repentance has three parts: stop the sin, regret it, and resolve not to return to it. If it wronged a person, put it right with them too.

  1. Sahih al-Bukhari 6306.
  2. Sahih al-Bukhari 6306
  3. Quran 7:23
  4. Sahih al-Bukhari 6307

Questions

Good to know.

What is the best dua for forgiveness?

Sayyid al-Istighfar, the "master of seeking forgiveness": Allahumma anta rabbi la ilaha illa ant... (Bukhari 6306).

How many times should I say astaghfirullah?

The Prophet ﷺ sought forgiveness more than seventy times a day (Bukhari 6307), and in another narration a hundred times (Muslim 2702).