Sayyid al-Istighfār and other du‘ās for seeking forgiveness

This page gathers five du‘ās for seeking forgiveness, istighfār, from the Sabīl library: the du‘ā the library heads Sayyid al-Istighfār, a short sentence of istighfār, a du‘ā the library places inside the prayer, the istighfār it places after the prayer, and one from the Qur’ān. Each entry quoted here is shown as the library has it, with its Arabic, a transliteration, its meaning and the source the library gives, and the grade where the library gives one.

It gives no ruling, and it adds no time, number or reward of its own: where one is mentioned, it is the library’s own line, repeated. For anything about your own circumstances, ask a scholar.

Sayyid al-Istighfār

The Du‘ā Compilation has a du‘ā under the heading “Sayyid al-Istighfār”. The library cites it to al-Bukhārī with the grade ṣaḥīḥ. Its source line stands beneath it, as the library prints it.

The library has this du‘ā in two other titles, which this page does not quote. The poster the library titles Adhkār after Prayer has it under “Sayyid al-istighfār”. On the card “Morning & evening” of the Pocket Companion the print sets it shorter, and a question about that is still open in the library’s own checking; on screen the card shows the text whole, taken from the Du‘ā Compilation’s card.

The short words of istighfār

Under the heading “Forgiveness, briefly”, the Du‘ā Compilation has one short sentence of istighfār. The library cites it to al-Bukhārī with the grade ṣaḥīḥ; its source line stands beneath it, as the library prints it.

The second du‘ā on the same card is a different request. The library cites it to at-Tirmidhī with the grade ḥasan, and its source line says it was taught to a man crushed by debt.

The poster the library titles Adhkār after Prayer, whose own heading is “Morning & Evening”, has the same words of istighfār under “Seeking forgiveness”.

Inside the prayer, before the salām

The sheet Adhkār of the Prayers has the du‘ā of Abū Bakr in its second part, “before the salām”. The sheet’s note on that part, which stands at the end of the entry “Within each rak‘ah”, sets out the final sitting: tashahhud, ṣalawāt, then two du‘ās “which belong inside the prayer, not after it”. The sheet letters the two A and B, and the du‘ā of Abū Bakr is B. The library cites it to al-Bukhārī and Muslim with the grade ṣaḥīḥ, and its source line says it was taught to Abū Bakr when he asked for a du‘ā to say in his prayer. The Pocket Companion has it too, on its card “Before the salām”, where the print sets it shorter.

The last line of that entry, “Part 3 · after every farḍ”, is the sheet’s heading for the part that follows it, and not a note on this du‘ā.

The sheet’s third part: after every farḍ

That third part opens with istighfār: one phrase, with the label 3×, which the library cites to Muslim with the grade ṣaḥīḥ. The Pocket Companion has it as the first item on its card “After the salām · 1–4”.

From the Qur’ān: the words of Ādam

The Du‘ā Compilation’s contents list cards 02 to 04 as “Rabbanā, from the Qur’ān”. One of the du‘ās on them, in the meaning the library gives, asks for forgiveness and mercy. Its source line gives the verse, 7:23, and calls it the words of Ādam. The same card has a du‘ā of Mūsā (20:25–28), which is a different request; its source line ends “For any hard conversation.”

The verse the first of these is taken from, as the Qur’ān’s text has it:

Where to go next

• Morning & evening shows the entries of the Adhkār after Prayer poster, in order.
• Around the prayer and After the prayer show entries of the Adhkār of the Prayers sheet: from the adhān to the salām, and from the salām onward. The sheet’s entry “Within each rak‘ah” includes a short request for forgiveness between the 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 under the label “Laylat al-Qadr” that asks for pardon; the library cites it to at-Tirmidhī and Ibn Mājah with the grade ṣaḥīḥ.