One of the realities of life for us is that no matter how hard we try, we often fall short and commit sins. The good thing about being a Muslim however, is Allah (swt)’s promise that He will go on forgiving us no matter how many/big our sins are, as long as we pray to Him and aspire for His forgiveness (Tirmidhi). This is the purpose of istighfar- to seek forgiveness from Allah (swt) from every wrongdoing that we have committed.
Why should you seek forgiveness?
Every sin that a Muslim commits counts against them on the day of judgement, except if Allah (swt) chooses to forgive them. And we know that as humans, we are very fallible and prone to committing sins no matter how little. So we should always seek forgiveness so that our sins are wiped from our book of deeds and we can increase our chances of entering Jannah (paradise).
What are istighfar duas?
When we seek forgiveness from Allah (swt), we do so in the same way that we recite duas for other things that we ask him for. And like all duas that we recite in Islam, duas for istigfhar have been taught to us from the Quran, as well as the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw), so that we can use them as a means of seeking forgiveness and getting closer to Allah.
Here are some istighfar duas that you can incorporate into your daily worship as a way to consciously seek the forgiveness of Allah (swt).
