The chief of seeking forgiveness
Morning Adhkar
The chief of seeking forgiveness
اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا 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 لَا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ
Allahumma anta Rabbi, la ilaha illa anta, khalaqtani wa ana 'abduk, wa ana 'ala 'ahdika wa wa'dika ma-stata't, a'udhu bika min sharri ma sana't, abu'u laka bi-ni'matika 'alayya, wa abu'u bi-dhanbi faghfir li, fa-innahu la yaghfiru-dh-dhunuba illa anta.
O Allah, You are my Lord; there is no deity but You. You created me and I am Your servant, and I abide by Your covenant and promise as best I can. I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done. I acknowledge Your favour upon me, and I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me, for none forgives sins except You.
Plain text (no diacritics)
اللهم أنت ربي لا إله إلا أنت، خلقتني وأنا عبدك، وأنا على عهدك ووعدك ما استطعت، أعوذ بك من شر ما صنعت، أبوء لك بنعمتك علي، وأبوء بذنبي فاغفر لي فإنه لا يغفر الذنوب إلا أنت
Virtue: Whoever says it with certainty and dies that day enters Paradise.
About this dhikr
The Prophet ﷺ himself called this «the chief of seeking forgiveness», and he gave no other formula of istighfar a title like it. It earns the name by gathering in one place what is scattered elsewhere: an acknowledgement of Allah's lordship and oneness, an admission of the covenant and of falling short of it, seeking refuge from the harm of one's own actions, an admission of both the blessing received and the sin committed, and finally the request for forgiveness joined to the recognition that none forgives sins but Him.
The promise attached to it carries two conditions that are almost always dropped when it is quoted. The wording is: whoever says it during the day *with certainty in it* and dies before evening is among the people of Paradise, and whoever says it at night *with certainty in it* and dies before morning is among them (al-Bukhari 6306). The first condition is conviction; the second is that death falls within that same day or night. It is not an incantation whose effect is awaited after the tongue has moved.
Although it is listed here in the morning litany, it belongs to both ends of the day — the hadith names the day and the night alike.
When is it said?
The morning adhkar are said from dawn until the sun has risen, and best of all immediately after the Fajr prayer, before you leave the place where you prayed. If the window passes, say them when you remember — adhkar are not like obligatory prayers, which are not valid outside their time.
Where it comes in the litany
Dhikr number 7 of 22 in Morning Adhkar — read in the order they are said.
