The Best Prayer for Forgiveness By: Muḥammad Ibn Ṣāliḥ al-‘Uthaymīn [1421H]

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Shehzad Sattar
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The Best Prayer for Forgiveness By: Muḥammad Ibn Ṣāliḥ al-‘Uthaymīn [1421H]

Postby Shehzad Sattar » Sun Jan 29, 2017 1:21 am

The Best Prayer for Forgiveness
By: Muḥammad Ibn Ṣāliḥ al-‘Uthaymīn

THE HADITH
عَنْ شَدَّادِ بْنِ أَوْسٍ ) رضي الله عنه ( عَنْ النَّبِيِّ ) صلّى الله عليه وسلّم ( قَالَ
سَيِّدُ الاِسْتِغْفَارِ أَنْ يَقُولَ العَبْدُ : اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي ، لا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ ، خَلَقْتَنِي وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ ، وَأَنَا عَلَى عَهْدِكَ
وَوَعْدِكَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ ، أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا صَنَعْتُ ، أَبُوءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَيَّ ، وَأَبُوءُ بِذَنْبِي
، فَاغْفِرْ لِي فَإِنَّهُ لا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ ، وَمَنْ قَالَهَا مِنْ النَّهَارِ مُوقِنًا بِهَا فَمَاتَ مِنْ يَوْمِهِ
قَبْلَ أَنْ يُمْسِيَ ، فَهُوَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ ، وَمَنْ قَالَهَا مِنْ اللَّيْلِ وَهُوَ مُوقِنٌ بِهَا فَمَاتَ قَبْلَ أَنْ
» يُصْبِحَ ، فَهُوَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ

Shaddad Ibn Aws ( رضي الله عنه ) said that the Prophet ( صلّى الله عليه وسلّم ) said: The best prayer for forgiveness is that a worshipper says:

“Oh Allah, you are my Lord. There is no (true) god but you. You created me and I am your servant, and I am under your covenant and promise as much as I am able. I seek protection with you from the evil of what I did. I recognize and admit your favors you bestowed on me, and I confess my sin. Forgive me for no one can forgive sins except you.”

Whoever says it during the day, sincerely believing in it, and he dies that day without reaching the evening, he is one of the people of Paradise. And whoever says it at night, sincerely believing in it, and dies before morning, he is one of the people of Paradise.[1]

THE EXPLANATION

((The best prayer for forgiveness)) The most honorable and best way of asking for forgiveness is to say:

((Oh Allah, you are my Lord. There is no (true) god but you.)) You know in your heart and say to Allah ( عزّ وجلّ ) with your tongue that he is your Lord, your owner. He is the one who plans everything that happens to you and the one who cares about your condition.

((You created me)) You recognize and admit to Allah that he created you. He brought you into existence from nothing.

((and I am your servant.)) You are his servant both in a creational, universal sense and in a religious sense.

You are his servant in a universal, creation way meaning that he does with you whatever he wants. If he wants, he causes you to become sick and if he wants, he heals you. If he wants, he makes you rich or he makes your poor. If he wants, he leaves you misguided or he guides you. He decides these matters based on his perfect wisdom. ( عزّ وجلّ )

You are also his servant in a religious way meaning that you have chosen to worship him as he commanded, doing what he has told you to do and staying away from what he has forbidden you to do.

((I am under your covenant)) You fulfill his covenant as much as you can. To every person, Allah has taken a covenant, or agreement, from him to act on whatever knowledge he may have.

وَإِذْ أَخَذَ اللَّهُ مِيثَاقَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ لَتُبَيِّنُنَّهُ لِلنَّاسِ وَلا تَكْتُمُونَهُ
And (remember) when Allah took a covenant from those who were given the scripture, (saying), “You must make it clear to people and not hide it.”[2]

So whenever Allah gives you any (religious) knowledge then by that he is taking a covenant from you to act according to that knowledge.

(( and promise as much as I am able)) I am under and expecting your promise – what you have promised the good people of good (rewards) and what you have promised the bad people of bad (punishment). But here, I am expecting what you promised of good because with these words, I am trying to get closer to you, Allah ( .( عزّ وجلّ

((I seek protection with you from the evil of what I did.)) Here, you are asking for Allah’s protection from the bad results or punishment of the sin you committed. In general, when a person does good he is rewarded and when he does bad he is punished. It is also possible the a person does a bad deed and that becomes a reason for his own misguidance as Allah ( تعالى ) says:

إِن تَوَلَّوْا فَاعْلَمْ أَنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ أَن يُصِيبَهُم بِبَعْضِ ذُنُوبِهِمْ
And if they turn away, then know that Allah only means to afflict them on account of some of their (own) sins.[3]

So you are asking Allah to protect you from any bad results because of the sin you committed.

((I recognize and admit your favors you bestowed on me)) Meaning: I recognize and admit all your great favors and blessings—which can never be counted—that you have given me.

((and I confess my sin.)) I admit and confess to you the sin I committed.

((Forgive me for no one can forgive sins except you)) Forgive me for committing this sin because you are the Forgiving, the Merciful.

So devote time to memorize this prayer (dua’) and always say it morning and evening because if you do so and you should die that day, you will be one of the people to enter Paradise, and if you should die that night, you will enter Paradise.

THE PRAYER

For Memorization download the dua and chart below link:
http://www.authentic-translations.com/t ... veness.pdf

Footnotes:

[1] Recorded by al-Bukhari
[2] The Quran, Surah Ali ‘Imran, 3:187
[3] Surah al-Maidah, 5:49
The Prophet ﷺ said:

“Make things easy and do not make things difficult. Give glad tidings and do not repel people..”

[متفق عليه]

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