Sayyid al-Istighfār and other du‘ās for seeking forgiveness
Sayyid al-Istighfār, the short words of istighfār, the du‘ā of Abū Bakr and the du‘ā of Ādam, with the verses on asking forgiveness and every source listed.
Imeandikwa na AI · uhakiki wa wanazuoni unasubiriwa+
Maneno ya makala hii yameandikwa na AI kutoka maktaba ya Sabīl na vyanzo vyake, na yamekaguliwa na AI kwa kuyalinganisha navyo. Bado hakuna mwanazuoni aliyeihakiki. Maandishi ya Kiarabu, maana zake na vyanzo vyake ni vya maktaba na vya Qur’ani yenyewe, na vinaonyeshwa kama vilivyo huko hasa. Kwa fatwa kuhusu hali yako mwenyewe, muulize mwanazuoni mwenye sifa.
Makala hii bado haijaandikwa kwa lugha hii. Inaonyeshwa kwa Kiingereza.
Imechapishwa 3 Oktoba 2026Imesasishwa 21 Oktoba 2026Dakika 10 za kusoma
Asking Allah for forgiveness, istighfār, can be a single short sentence or a longer du‘ā that names what one has done and turns back to Him. This page brings together five du‘ās of forgiveness from the Sabīl library and two verses of the Qur’ān on the subject, and explains where each one belongs: through the day, inside the prayer, after it. Every du‘ā is shown with its Arabic, a transliteration, its meaning and the source the library gives; the narrations behind them are listed by number at the end, so you can open each one yourself. Under some verses the page also shows the notes of that edition; they are the edition’s words, not this page’s, and this page has not checked them.
What the Qur’ān says about asking forgiveness
The Qur’ān describes the people who seek forgiveness: when they do something shameful or wrong themselves, they remember Allah and ask forgiveness for their sins, and they do not knowingly keep on with what they did.
Na wale ambao wanapofanya uchafu au wakazidhulumu nafsi zao, humtaja Mwenyezi Mungu; na hapo wanamwomba kufutiwa dhambi zao. Na ni nani anayefuta dhambi isipokuwa Mwenyezi Mungu? Na wala hawaendelei na waliyoyafanya hali ya kuwa wanajua.
Qur’ani 3:135Swahili Translation - Rowad Translation Center · QuranEnc.com · version 1.0.5
And it speaks to those who have transgressed against themselves, telling them not to despair of Allah’s mercy.
Sema: Enyi waja wangu waliojidhulumu nafsi zao! Msikate tamaa na rehema ya Mwenyezi Mungu. Hakika Mwenyezi Mungu husamehe dhambi zote. Hakika Yeye ni Mwenye kusamehe, Mwenye kurehemu.
Qur’ani 39:53Swahili Translation - Rowad Translation Center · QuranEnc.com · version 1.0.5
The note the edition gives with 39:53 says that the verse is for those who repent and correct themselves, however great the sins, and that the one sin not forgiven is to die in disbelief or associating others with Allah.
Sayyid al-Istighfār
The du‘ā the library heads “Sayyid al-Istighfār” is in the Du‘ā Compilation. In it a person affirms that Allah is their Lord and Creator, says they hold to His covenant as far as they can, seeks refuge from the evil they have done, acknowledges both His favour and their own sin, and asks to be forgiven, because none forgives sins but Him.
Tafsiri ya rasimu: imetengenezwa na mashine kutoka Kiarabu na Kiingereza, na bado haijasomwa na mwanazuoni wala mhariri mzawa wa lugha. Pale mstari usipoeleweka, onyesha Kiingereza na utegemee Kiarabu.
Mistari inayohusu hukumu huonyeshwa kila mara pamoja na Kiingereza cha chapa chini yake. Mstari ambao rasimu yake haikupita ukaguzi huonyeshwa kwa Kiingereza pekee.
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 ‘alayya wa abū’u laka bi-dhanbī faghfir lī fa-innahu lā yaghfirudh-dhunūba illā ant
Ewe Allah, Wewe ndiye Mola wangu; hakuna mungu ila Wewe. Umeniumba nami ni mja Wako, nami niko juu ya agano Lako na ahadi Yako kadiri niwezavyo. Najikinga Kwako kutokana na shari ya niliyoyatenda. Nakiri Kwako neema Yako juu yangu na nakiri dhambi yangu — basi nisamehe, kwani hakuna anayesamehe dhambi ila Wewe.
Bukhari · sahihi — anayeisema kwa yakini asubuhi, kisha akafa siku hiyo, huingia Peponi; na vivyo hivyo usiku.
The library cites it to al-Bukhārī with the grade ṣaḥīḥ, and its source line sums up the virtue that the narration gives for saying it with firm faith by day and by night. The same du‘ā is on the poster Adhkār after Prayer, under “Sayyid al-istighfār”, and on the card “Morning & evening” of the Pocket Companion. The printed card sets it shorter, and that is an open question in the library’s own checking; on screen the card shows the whole text.
The short words of istighfār
The shortest form in the library is one sentence: asking Allah’s forgiveness and turning to Him in repentance. The library cites it to al-Bukhārī with the grade ṣaḥīḥ, and its source line says that the Prophet ﷺ said it more than seventy times a day.
Tafsiri ya rasimu: imetengenezwa na mashine kutoka Kiarabu na Kiingereza, na bado haijasomwa na mwanazuoni wala mhariri mzawa wa lugha. Pale mstari usipoeleweka, onyesha Kiingereza na utegemee Kiarabu.
Mistari inayohusu hukumu huonyeshwa kila mara pamoja na Kiingereza cha chapa chini yake. Mstari ambao rasimu yake haikupita ukaguzi huonyeshwa kwa Kiingereza pekee.
10Msamaha, kwa ufupi
أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ
astaghfirullāha wa atūbu ilayh
Namwomba Allah msamaha na natubu Kwake.
Bukhari · sahihi — yeye ﷺ aliisema zaidi ya mara sabini kwa siku, ilhali alikuwa ameshasamehewa.
The second du‘ā on that card is a different request, for what is lawful to be enough and for freedom from needing anyone but Allah. The library cites it to at-Tirmidhī with the grade ḥasan, and its source line ties it to debt: in the narration, ʿAlī teaches it to a man who could not pay what he owed for his freedom, as words the Prophet ﷺ taught him, and says that if he had a debt like a mountain, Allah would settle it for him. The poster Adhkār after Prayer has the same words of istighfār under “Seeking forgiveness”; the library’s own checking has a question open about that entry’s citation.
Inside the prayer: the du‘ā of Abū Bakr
Abū Bakr asked the Prophet ﷺ for a du‘ā to say in his prayer, and was taught this one, in which a person says they have wronged themselves greatly and asks for forgiveness and mercy from Allah. The library cites it to al-Bukhārī and Muslim with the grade ṣaḥīḥ.
Tafsiri ya rasimu: imetengenezwa na mashine kutoka Kiarabu na Kiingereza, na bado haijasomwa na mwanazuoni wala mhariri mzawa wa lugha. Pale mstari usipoeleweka, onyesha Kiingereza na utegemee Kiarabu.
Mistari inayohusu hukumu huonyeshwa kila mara pamoja na Kiingereza cha chapa chini yake. Mstari ambao rasimu yake haikupita ukaguzi huonyeshwa kwa Kiingereza pekee.
Allāhumma innī ẓalamtu nafsī ẓulman kathīran, wa lā yaghfirudh-dhunūba illā Anta, faghfir lī maghfiratan min ‘indika warḥamnī, innaka Antal-Ghafūrur-Raḥīm
Ewe Allah, nimeidhulumu nafsi yangu dhuluma nyingi, na hakuna anayesamehe dhambi ila Wewe. Basi nisamehe kwa msamaha utokao Kwako, na unirehemu. Hakika Wewe ndiye Mwingi wa kusamehe, Mwenye kurehemu.
Bukhari na Muslim · sahihi — alifundishwa Abu Bakr alipoomba dua ya kusema katika swala yake.
On the sheet Adhkār of the Prayers it stands in the part headed “before the salām”. The sheet’s note on that part, at the end of the entry “Within each rak‘ah”, sets out the final sitting: the tashahhud, the ṣalawāt, then two du‘ās, “which belong inside the prayer, not after it”. This du‘ā is the second of the two, lettered B. The last line shown with it, “Part 3 · after every farḍ”, is the heading of the sheet’s next part and not a note on this du‘ā. The Pocket Companion has it on its card “Before the salām”, where the print sets it shorter.
After the prayer: istighfār three times
The sheet’s third part, after every obligatory prayer, opens with istighfār: one phrase, marked to be said three times, which the library cites to Muslim with the grade ṣaḥīḥ. The Pocket Companion has it first on its card “After the salām · 1–4”.
Tafsiri ya rasimu: imetengenezwa na mashine kutoka Kiarabu na Kiingereza, na bado haijasomwa na mwanazuoni wala mhariri mzawa wa lugha. Pale mstari usipoeleweka, onyesha Kiingereza na utegemee Kiarabu.
Mistari inayohusu hukumu huonyeshwa kila mara pamoja na Kiingereza cha chapa chini yake. Mstari ambao rasimu yake haikupita ukaguzi huonyeshwa kwa Kiingereza pekee.
Among the du‘ās from the Qur’ān in the Du‘ā Compilation is the one its source line calls the words of Ādam, from 7:23: an admission of wrong done to oneself, and a request for forgiveness and mercy.
Tafsiri ya rasimu: imetengenezwa na mashine kutoka Kiarabu na Kiingereza, na bado haijasomwa na mwanazuoni wala mhariri mzawa wa lugha. Pale mstari usipoeleweka, onyesha Kiingereza na utegemee Kiarabu.
Mistari inayohusu hukumu huonyeshwa kila mara pamoja na Kiingereza cha chapa chini yake. Mstari ambao rasimu yake haikupita ukaguzi huonyeshwa kwa Kiingereza pekee.
The same card has the du‘ā of Mūsā from 20:25–28, which asks for something else: an open heart and an easy tongue before a hard conversation. The verse of Ādam’s du‘ā, in the Qur’ān’s text:
Wakasema: Mola wetu Mlezi! Tumezidhulumu nafsi zetu, na kama hutatufutia dhambi na ukaturehemu, hakika tutakuwa katika waliohasirika.
Qur’ani 7:23Swahili Translation - Rowad Translation Center · QuranEnc.com · version 1.0.5
Ādam’s du‘ā and the du‘ā of Abū Bakr both open by admitting a wrong done to oneself, and then ask for forgiveness and mercy.
References
Verses of the Qur’ān, by sūrah and verse, shown above: 3:135; 7:23; 39:53. Named in the prose: 20:25–28.
Narrations, by collection and number as sunnah.com numbers them: al-Bukhārī by the numbering of Fatḥ al-Bārī; Muslim by Muḥammad Fuʾād ʿAbd al-Bāqī’s numbers, with the letter sunnah.com adds where it divides one; al-Tirmidhī by sunnah.com’s numbering of the Jāmiʿ. The library names the collection under each du‘ā; the number is the narration it cites.
Sayyid al-Istighfār: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6306.
The short words of istighfār, more than seventy times a day: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 6307.
The du‘ā taught to the man in debt: Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī 3563.
The du‘ā of Abū Bakr: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 834; Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 2705a.
Istighfār three times after the prayer: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 591.
Morning & evening shows the entries of the Adhkār after Prayer poster, in order, Sayyid al-Istighfār among them.
Around the prayer and After the prayer follow the Adhkār of the Prayers sheet, from the adhān to the salām and from the salām onward. The entry “Within each rak‘ah” includes a short request for forgiveness between the two prostrations.
The tasbīḥ counter is a plain counter for after the prayer and through the day.
Ramaḍān has, on its card “The last ten”, a du‘ā labelled “Laylat al-Qadr” that asks for pardon; the library cites it to at-Tirmidhī and Ibn Mājah with the grade ṣaḥīḥ.