أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ وَأَتُوْبُ إِلَيْهِ
(100x)
I seek Allah’s forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “No morning has passed by except that I have sought Allah’s forgiveness in it a 100 times.” (Ṭabarānī: al-Muʿjam al-Awsaṭ 3879)
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “There is at times a thin shade that comes upon my heart, and I seek Allah’s forgiveness a hundred times a day.” (Muslim 2702)
Brief Commentary
• Seeking forgiveness is an essential part of the believer’s life. The Prophet ﷺ — despite being the best of men and forgiven by Allah — would constantly seek Allah’s forgiveness throughout the day and night. Abū Hurayrah (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) said, “I did not see anyone utter أستغفر الله وأتوب إليه more frequently than the Messenger of Allah ﷺ” (Ibn Ḥibbān). If this was the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, then how much more are we in need of seeking constant forgiveness.
• All of us are sinful. We commit sins and don’t even realise how we are suffering from their consequences.
• Sins take us far away from Allah and incur His anger and punishment. Sins remove blessings, and weaken the heart and the body. Sins deprive us from doing good deeds, prevent our duʿās from being accepted, result in a horrible death and lead to suffering in the hereafter.
• Sins can seal the heart to the extent that one’s heart becomes numb and no longer accepts any reminder or any form of good. This can lead to one becoming desensitised and not considering a sin as a sin.
• For the heart to be healthy and happy, it needs Allah. Even if one is not sinning, being absorbed in worldly matters makes a person distant from Allah. This leads to a thin layer forming around the heart. If a person continues like this, and does not remember Allah and do istighfār, he will remain imprisoned in the clutches of the world and Shaytan. The layer will become thicker, and the heart will become hard. It may eventually even lead to the death of the heart. Therefore, turning back to Allah with sincere repentance and istighfār is of paramount importance.
• Ibn al-Jawzī (raḥimahullāh) writes, “Sins are like a chain around the neck of the sinner. One can only be released from it through istighfār (seeking forgiveness) and tawbah (repentance).”
Action Points
• Make istighfār a constant part of your daily routine.
• Be sincere and mindful when seeking forgiveness. Seeking forgiveness is not merely about saying ‘astaghfirullah’ with the tongue. Sometimes we may utter ‘astaghfirullah’ with our tongues a hundred times in the morning, but the utterance is mindless and hollow. As long as we reach the 100 mark in the tasbīḥ counter, we feel satisfied that we have completed the task.
• Whilst uttering ‘astaghfirullah’, think about your sins, and feel shame and remorse. Sincerely apologise to Allah, and make a firm commitment to not repeat that sin.
• Just as you make istighfār for your sins, you should also ask Allah to forgive the deficiencies in your worship and good deeds. We can never fulfil the rights of Allah, and we can never worship Him as He deserves to be worshipped.
• Allah is always ready to forgive, so never lose hope, and no matter what you may have done, turn to Him. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Indeed Allah – Exalted and Majestic is He – stretches out His Hand at night to accept the repentance of those who sin in the day; and He stretches out His Hand in the day to accept the repentance of those who sin at night — (He will do this) until the sun rises from the west” (Muslim).
• Likewise, in a ḥadith qudsī, Allah says, “O My servants, you sin by night and by day, and I forgive all sins — so seek forgiveness of Me and I shall forgive you” (Muslim).
• Always begin and end your day with tawbah and istighfār, as you don’t know when death is round the corner. Prepare yourself to meet Allah by cleansing yourself from your sins.
