5 hadiths on repentance
and Allah’s forgiveness
Return to Allah with hope, find words to seek forgiveness and take seriously what needs to change.
Can we seek forgiveness after repeating the same sin? Which supplication should we learn? And what should we do if we have harmed someone?
These five authentic hadiths on repentance and Allah’s forgiveness are reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim. Repentance, or tawbah, means returning to Allah; istighfar means seeking forgiveness. Here you will find, among other texts, the supplication of sayyid al-istighfar in Arabic and English.
Article contents
Repentance is welcomed with joy
The context of the narration
Anas ibn Malik reports a comparison taught by the Prophet ﷺ to speak about repentance. It describes a traveller whose survival depends on his mount and the provisions it carries. The Prophet recounts its loss, then the immense joy of finding it again:“Allah rejoices more at the repentance of His servant when he returns to Him than one of you whose mount, carrying his food and drink, escapes from him in a barren land. He loses hope of finding it and lies down in the shade of a tree. While he has lost all hope, there it is standing beside him. He takes hold of its reins, then says in his overwhelming joy: “O Allah, You are my servant and I am Your lord!” He made a mistake because of his great joy.”
Read the Arabic text
لَلَّهُ أَشَدُّ فَرَحًا بِتَوْبَةِ عَبْدِهِ حِينَ يَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ أَحَدِكُمْ كَانَ عَلَى رَاحِلَتِهِ بِأَرْضِ فَلاَةٍ فَانْفَلَتَتْ مِنْهُ وَعَلَيْهَا طَعَامُهُ وَشَرَابُهُ فَأَيِسَ مِنْهَا فَأَتَى شَجَرَةً فَاضْطَجَعَ فِي ظِلِّهَا قَدْ أَيِسَ مِنْ رَاحِلَتِهِ فَبَيْنَا هُوَ كَذَلِكَ إِذَا هُوَ بِهَا قَائِمَةً عِنْدَهُ فَأَخَذَ بِخِطَامِهَا ثُمَّ قَالَ مِنْ شِدَّةِ الْفَرَحِ اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ عَبْدِي وَأَنَا رَبُّكَ أَخْطَأَ مِنْ شِدَّةِ الْفَرَحِ
Understanding this hadith
The man thought he would die in the desert. By finding his mount, he also regains the provisions on which his survival depends. His joy is so great that he misspeaks. The Prophet ﷺ states that Allah rejoices even more at the repentance of His servant.
It is the return to Allah that is welcomed with this joy. If shame prevents you from seeking forgiveness, remember this account: acknowledging your wrongdoing and seeking to leave it behind remain possible.
The Prophet ﷺ himself sought forgiveness every day
The context of the narration
Abu Hurayrah reports hearing the Messenger of Allah ﷺ speak of his own practice:“By Allah! I seek Allah’s forgiveness and repent to Him more than seventy times a day.”
Read the Arabic text
وَاللَّهِ إِنِّي لأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ فِي الْيَوْمِ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ سَبْعِينَ مَرَّةً
Understanding this hadith
The Prophet ﷺ sought forgiveness more than seventy times a day. Istighfar was part of his day; he did not reserve it for an exceptional event.
You can develop the habit of seeking Allah’s forgiveness while understanding what you say. The following supplication gives words to acknowledge His blessings and your wrongdoing, then ask for His forgiveness.
Also read: a formula for seeking forgiveness to learn.
Acknowledge Allah’s blessings and your own wrongdoing
The context of the narration
Shaddad ibn Aws reports that the Prophet ﷺ teaches sayyid al-istighfar, an eminent formula for seeking forgiveness. The account gives the words of the supplication, then explains the merit of saying them with certainty. Here is the complete supplication:اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي، لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ، خَلَقْتَنِي وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ، وَأَنَا عَلَى عَهْدِكَ وَوَعْدِكَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ، أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا صَنَعْتُ، أَبُوءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَىَّ وَأَبُوءُ لَكَ بِذَنْبِي، فَاغْفِرْ لِي، فَإِنَّهُ لاَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ
“O Allah, You are my Lord. None is worthy of worship except You. You created me and I am Your servant. I remain faithful to Your covenant and Your promise as far as I am able. I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done. I acknowledge Your blessing upon me and I acknowledge my sin. So forgive me, for none forgives sins except You.”
Understanding this hadith
The supplication begins by acknowledging Allah as Lord and Creator. The servant then affirms his commitment to Him, asks for protection from the evil of his deeds, acknowledges His blessings and admits his wrongdoing.
In the rest of the hadith, the Prophet ﷺ announces Paradise for whoever says it during the day with certainty and dies before evening, and for whoever says it at night with certainty and dies before morning.
To learn it, work through one sentence at a time with its translation. Understanding what you acknowledge and what you ask for helps you do more than recite it from memory.
On how to seek forgiveness, also read the advice to ask Allah without adding “if You will”.
A new sin calls for renewed repentance
The context of the narration
Abu Hurayrah reports an account in which the Prophet ﷺ conveys the words of the Lord. A servant commits a sin, seeks forgiveness and receives Allah’s forgiveness. After some time, he sins again and again seeks forgiveness. The scene repeats: each time, the servant acknowledges his sin and turns to his Lord. This excerpt gives the divine response to his first request:“Does My servant know that he has a Lord who forgives sin and holds him accountable for it? I have forgiven My servant.”
Read the Arabic text
أَعَلِمَ عَبْدِي أَنَّ لَهُ رَبًّا يَغْفِرُ الذَّنْبَ وَيَأْخُذُ بِهِ غَفَرْتُ لِعَبْدِي
Understanding this hadith
The servant does not only acknowledge that Allah forgives: he also acknowledges that Allah can punish him for his sin. He therefore seeks forgiveness for a wrong he knows he should abandon.
The account ends with the words “let him do what he wishes”. The Encyclopedia of Translated Prophetic Hadiths explains this passage through renewed repentance: leaving the sin, regretting it and resolving not to return to it. It is not permission to plan the next sin while counting on forgiveness in advance.
The servant in the account asks for forgiveness again after repeating the sin. A relapse is therefore no reason to give up repentance. Also look for what brings you back to the wrongdoing: the company you keep, a habit or an opportunity you could avoid.
Seeking Allah’s forgiveness does not erase the rights of a person wronged
The context of the narration
Abu Hurayrah reports a warning from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ to anyone who has wronged another person in their honour or another matter. After the excerpt below, the Prophet describes the settling of wrongs on the Day of Judgement: good deeds are taken from the wrongdoer in proportion to the harm; if he has none, sins of the person wronged are assigned to him.“Whoever has wronged someone in their honour or in any other matter should seek to be released from that wrong today, before there is neither dinar nor dirham.”
Read the Arabic text
مَنْ كَانَتْ لَهُ مَظْلَمَةٌ لأَحَدٍ مِنْ عِرْضِهِ أَوْ شَىْءٍ فَلْيَتَحَلَّلْهُ مِنْهُ الْيَوْمَ، قَبْلَ أَنْ لاَ يَكُونَ دِينَارٌ وَلاَ دِرْهَمٌ
Understanding this hadith
The hadith calls on whoever has wronged someone to act during this life. The settling of wrongs on the Day of Judgement shows why seeking Allah’s forgiveness does not remove the need to attend to the rights of the person wronged.
If you are withholding something that belongs to them, return it. If the harm concerns their reputation, making amends may be less straightforward: seek religious advice that takes the facts into account, particularly before revealing to someone remarks they do not know about.
The person hurt is not required to trust you immediately or resume the relationship. Taking steps to make amends is your responsibility; their response is not yours to decide.
For words that have hurt someone, see the passage on making amends for harm to their reputation.
In practice
- Shame prevents you from returningRead the comparison with the joy of a man who finds his mount after believing he would die.Reread the account of the mount
- You are looking for words to supplicateTake time to understand one sentence of the supplication before continuing to learn it.Read the supplication and its meaning
- You have repeated a sinSeek forgiveness again and look for what leads you to repeat it: a habit, the company you keep or an opportunity to avoid.Reread the passage on relapses
- Your action has wronged someoneIdentify the right that must be restored and, if the situation is complex, seek competent advice on making amends.Return to the reminder on others’ rights
Sources
- Sahih Muslim · 2747aDare to return to Allah
- Sahih al-Bukhari · 6307Seek forgiveness regularly
- Sahih al-Bukhari · 6306A supplication for forgiveness
- Sahih al-Bukhari · 7507Return after a relapse
- Sahih al-Bukhari · 2449Respect the rights of others
For an explanation of repentance after a relapse and a reminder about others’ rights: Encyclopedia of Translated Prophetic Hadiths — The servant who renews his repentance.
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