Duas for forgiveness

The Prophet Muhammad said, the one who repents for a sin is like the one who has not committed a sin (al-Bayhaqi and Ibn Majah). Peace and blessings be upon him.

Ramadan, according to one Hadith, is divided into three parts. Its beginning is mercy, its middle is forgiveness and its end is freedom from the Hellfire. As we are currently in the days of forgiveness, we thought it would be worthwhile to share a couple of supplications (Duas) from the Quran and Hadith whereby we can ask God's forgiveness by making dua for forgiveness. We have also included some suggested Duas of our own that you can use at the bottom of this article.

From the Quran

• Rabbanaa faghfir lana thunoobana wa kaffir 'anna sayyiaatinaa wa tawaffanaa ma 'al abraar.

  Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and efface our bad deeds and take our souls in the company of the righteous (Quran 3:193).

• Rabbana thalamnaa anfusanaa wa illam taghfir lanaa wa tar hamnaa lanakoo nunna meen al khasireen.

  Our Lord! We have sinned against ourselves and unless You grant us forgiveness and bestow Your mercy upon us, we shall most certainly be lost.

• Rabbanagh firlanaa wa li ikhwaa ninallatheena sabaqoonaa bil eemani wa la taj'al fee quloobinaa ghillall lillatheena aamanoo rabbanaa innaka raoofur raheem.

  Our Lord! Forgive us, and our brethren who came before us into the Faith, and leave not, in our hearts, rancour (or sense of injury) against those who have believed. Our Lord! Thou art indeed Full of Kindness, Most Merciful (Quran 59:10).

• Rabbanagh firlana thunoobana wa israfana fee amrina wa thabbit aqdaa mana wan surna alal qawmil kafireeen.

  Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and the lack of moderation in our doings, and make firm our steps and succor us against those who deny the truth (Quran 3:147).

From the Hadith

• Allahummagh firli thanbi kullahu diqqahu wa jillahu wa awwalahoo wa akhirahoo wa 'ala niyyatahoo wa sirrahoo.

  Oh Allah! Forgive me all my sins, great and small, the first and the last, those that are apparent and those that are hidden (Muslim).

• Astaghfir Allah wa atoobu ilayh.

  I seek the forgiveness of Allah and repent to Him (Bukhari, Muslim. It is recommended that this Dua be said 100 times during the day).

• Allhumma innaka afuwwun tuhibbul afwa fa'fu anni

  Oh Allah! You are Forgiving and love forgiveness so forgive me (Bukhari. This Dua is specifically recommended for the Night of Power or Laylatul Qadr).

Other Duas

• My Lord, the Forgiving One! I have committed so many sins every day of my life. Only You can forgive, please forgive me!

• My Merciful Creator, give me the strength to forgive others as I seek  Your forgiveness.

• Ya Allah, forgive me for all of my sins and help me always turn to You seeking forgiveness and Mercy until I die.

"The prayer" by MAHMOUD AL-TAMIMI - Flickr: The prayer. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_prayer.jpg#mediaviewer/File:The_prayer.jpg