By Yūsuf Badāt
Istighfār means to seek forgiveness with God from negligence and disobedience, by the means of both the tongue and the heart.
ONE: Compliance to and Fulfillment of God’s Command
وَاسْتَغْفِرُواْ اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ
“Seek forgiveness with God! Certainly, God is Ever Forgiving [and] Merciful.” – (Qurʾān: 73:20)
TWO: Protection from Godly Punishments
وَما كانَ اللَّهُ مُعَذِّبَهُمْ وَهُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ
“God will not punish them while they seek [God’s] forgiveness.” – (Qurʾān: 8:33)
THREE: God’s Bounties and Mercy
اسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ غَفَّارًا يُرْسِلِ السَّمَاء عَلَيْكُم مِّدْرَارًا وَيُمْدِدْكُمْ بِأَمْوَالٍ وَبَنِينَ وَيَجْعَللَّكُمْ جَنَّاتٍ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ أَنْهَارًا
“Ask forgiveness from your Lord; Verily, He is Ever-Forgiving. He will send rain to you in abundance, increase you in wealth, children, orchards and rivers.” – (Qurʾān: 71:10-12)
لَوْلا تَسْتَغْفِرُونَ اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ
“Why do you not seek forgiveness with God, so that you may receive [His] mercy?” – (Qurʾān: 27:46)
FOUR: Relief from Worry and Stress
مَنْ لَزِمَ الِاسْتِغْفَارَ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لَهُ مِنْ كُلِّ ضِيقٍ مَخْرَجًا وَمِنْ كُلِّ هَمٍّ فَرَجًا وَرَزَقَهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُ
“If anyone continually asks pardon, God will appoint for them a way out of every distress, a relief from every anxiety, and will provide for them from where they cannot imagine.” – (Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Ibn Mājah)
FIVE: Expansion in Provisions
وَأَنِ اسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّكُمْ ثُمَّ تُوبُوا إِلَيْهِ يُمَتِّعْكُمْ مَتَاعاً حَسَناً إِلَى أَجَلٍ مُسَمّىً
“Seek the forgiveness of your Lord, and turn to Him in repentance, that He may grant you good enjoyment [of provisions].” – (Qurʾān: 11:3)
SIX: Likeness to Prophets and the Pious
قَالاَ رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنفُسَنَا وَإِن لَّمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ
“Adam and Eve supplicated, “Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You do not forgive us or bestow Your Mercy upon us, we shall certainly be of the losers.” – (Qurʾān: 7:23)
إِنَّهُ لَيُغَانُ عَلَى قَلْبِي وَإِنِّي لأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ فِي الْيَوْمِ مِائَةَ مَرَّةٍ
Muḥammad (peace and blessings upon him) said, “There is [at times] some sort of shade upon my heart, and I seek forgiveness with God [at least] a hundred times a day.” – (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)
SEVEN: Forgiveness and Pardon
وَمَن يَعْمَلْ سُوءًا أَوْ يَظْلِمْ نَفْسَهُ ثُمَّ يَسْتَغْفِرِ اللَّهَ يَجِدِ اللَّهَ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا
“Whoever does evil or wrongs themselves but afterwards [sincerely] seeks God’s Forgiveness, they will find God Very Forgiving [and] Most Merciful.” – (Qurʾān: 4:110)
EIGHT: Entitlement to God’s Applaud and Glad-Tidings
طُوبَى لِمَنْ وَجَدَ فِي صَحِيفَتِهِ اسْتِغْفَارًا كَثِيرًا
“Glad tidings to those who have excessive ‘seeking forgiveness’ in the record of their deeds.” – (Ibn Mājah)
NINE: Entry into Paradise
وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُواْ فَاحِشَةً أَوْ ظَلَمُواْ أَنْفُسَهُمْ ذَكَرُواْ اللَّهَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُواْ لِذُنُوبِهِمْ وَمَن يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَلَمْ يُصِرُّواْ عَلَى مَا فَعَلُواْوَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ أُوْلَئِكَ جَزَآؤُهُم مَّغْفِرَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَجَنَّاتٌ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا وَنِعْمَ أَجْرُ الْعَامِلِينَ
“Those who have committed indecent actions or wronged themselves with evil, [thereafter] remember God and ask forgiveness for their sins; – and none can forgive sins but God – and do not knowingly persist in what [wrong] they have done. For such persons, the reward is forgiveness from their Lord, and gardens with rivers flowing underneath [in Paradise], wherein they shall reside forever. How excellent is this reward for the doers [of righteous deeds].” – (Qurʾān 3:136)
