‘A’isha told how the Prophet often said while bowing and prostrating himself, “Glory be to Thee, O God, our Lord, and praise be to Thee. O God, forgive me," thus complying with the [command in] the Qur’an (Al-Qur’an; 110-3). (Bukhari and Muslim.)

Thauban said that when God’s Messenger finished his prayer he asked forgiveness three times and said, “O God, Thou art Peace, and peace comes from Thee. Blessed art Thou, O Possessor of glory and honour.” Muslim transmitted it.

We set out on a journey along with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) in which we faced many hardships. 'Abdullah b. Ubayy said to his friends: Do not give what you have in your possession to those who are with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) until they desert him. Zubair said: That is the reciting of that person who recited as min haulahu (from around him) and the other reciting is man haulahia (who are around him). And in this case when we would return to Medina the honourable would drive out the meaner therefrom (lxiv. 8). I came to Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) and informed him about that and he sent someone to 'Abdullah b. Ubayy and he asked him whether he had said that or not. He took an oath to the fact that he had not done that and told that it was Zaid who had stated a lie to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him). Zaid said: I was much perturbed because of this until this verse was revealed attesting my truth:" When the hypocrites come" (lxiii. 1). Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) then called them in order to seek forgiveness for them, but they turned away their heads as if they were hooks of wood fixed in the wall (lxiii. 4), and they were in fact apparently good-looking persons.

When the Messenger of Allah (SAW) sat in a gathering or prayed, he said some words, and 'Aishah asked him about those words. He said: "If he has spoken some good words (and he says this statement of remembrance), it will be a seal for them to preserve them until the Day of Resurrection, and if he has said something other than that, it (these words) will be an expiation for him: 'Subhanak Allahumma wa bihamdika, astaghfiruka wa atubu ilayk (Glory and praise be to You, O Allah, I seek Your forgiveness and I repent to You.)'"

The Prophet (SAW) used to say at the end of witr: Allahumma inni audhu bi ridaka min sakhatika wa bi mu'afatika min uqubatika, wa audhu bika minka la uhsi thana'an 'alayka, anta kama athwart ala nafsik ( O Allah, I seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your wrath and in Your forgiveness from Your punishment. And I seek refuge in You from You; I cannot praise You enough; You are as You have praised Yourself.)."

"I said to Ayyub: 'Do you know anyone who said concerning the phrase 'It is up to you' that it is equivalent to three (divorces) except Al-Hasan?' He said: 'No.' Then he said: 'O Allah! Grant forgiveness, sorry.'" Qatadah narrated to me from Kathir the freed slave of Ibn Samurah, from Abu Salamah, from Abu Hurairah, that the Prophet said: "Three." I met Kathir and asked him, and he did not know of it. I went back to Qatadah and told him, and he said: "He forgot."

"Forgive him." But he refused. He said: "Take the Diyah," but he refused. He said: "Go and kill him then, for you are just like him." So he went away, but some people caught up with the man and told him that the Messenger of Allah had said: "Messenger of Allah had said: "Kill him for you are just like him." So he let him go, and the man passed by me dragging his string.

"I looked for the Messenger of Allah [SAW] one night in my bed, and I did not find him. I struck my hand on the head of the bed, and my hand fell on the soles of his feet. He was prostrating and saying: 'A'udhu bi 'afwika min 'iqabika, wa a'udhu bi ridaka min sakhatika, wa a'udhu bika minka (I seek refuge in Your forgiveness from Your punishment, and I seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your wrath, and I seek refuge in You from You.)'"

"A man came to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, if I am killed in the cause of Allah with patience and seeking reward, facing the enemy and not running away, do you think that Allah will forgive my sins?' The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: 'Yes.' When the man turned away, the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) called him back and said: 'What did you say?' He repeated his question, and the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: 'Yes, except debt. Jibril told me.'"

"O Messenger of Allah, if I am killed in the cause of Allah, will Allah forgive my sins?" The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "Yes, if you are killed in the cause of Allah, and you are patient and seek reward, and you are facing the enemy, not running way - except for debt. Jibril (peace be upon him) told me that."

“None of you should say: ‘O Allah forgive me if You wish. O Allah have mercy on me if You wish.’ Let him be firm in asking, for there is none that can compel Him to do things.”

"I heard the Messenger of Allah (SAW) reciting: 'Say: "O My slaves who have transgressed against themselves! Despair not of the mercy of Allah, verily, Allah forgives all sins and I do not mind (referring to 39:53)."

Muhammad b. an-Nu‘man who traced the tradition back to the Prophet reported him as saying, “If anyone visits the grave of his parents, or of one of them, every Friday he will be granted forgiveness and it will be recorded as filial piety.” Baihaqi transmitted it in mursal form in Shu'ab al-iman.

Allāhumma ‘innī ẓalamtu nafsī ẓulman kathīran, wa lā yaghfiru-dhdhunūba illā 'anta, faghfir lī maghfiratam’min `indika warḥamnī innaka 'anta ‘l-Ghafūr ur-Rahīm. O Allah, I have greatly wronged myself, and no one forgives sins but You. So, grant me forgiveness and have mercy on me. Surely, you are Forgiving, Merciful. Reference: Al-Bukhari 8/168, Muslim 4/2078.

The Prophet (saws) said to him: “Should I not direct you to the chief of supplications for forgiveness? ‘O Allah, You are my Lord, there is none worthy of worship except You, You created me and I am Your slave. I am adhering to Your covenant and Your promise as much as I am able to, I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I have done. I admit to You your blessings upon me, and I admit to my sins. So forgive me, for there is none who can forgive sins except You (Allāhumma anta rabbī lā ilāha illā anta, khalaqtanī wa ana `abduka, wa ana `alā `ahdika wa wa`dika ma-staṭa`tu. A`ūdhu bika min sharri ma ṣana`tu, wa abū'u ilayka bini`matika `alayya wa a`tarifu bidhunūbī faghfirlī dhunūbī innahu lā yaghfirudh-dhunūba illā ant).’ None of you says it when he reaches the evening, and a decree comes upon him before he reaches morning, except that Paradise becomes obligatory upon him. And none says it when he reaches the morning, and a decree comes upon him before he reaches evening, except that Paradise becomes obligatory for him.”

Bismillah (in the Name of Allah). When he got on his mount, he said: Al-Hamdu Lillah. `Glory be to the One Who has placed this (transport) at our service and we ourselves would not have been capable of that, and to our Lord is our final destiny` [Az-Zukhruf 43:13,14]. Abu Sa’eed, the freed slave of Banu Hashim, said: Then he said Al-Hamdu Lillah three times and Allahu Akbar three times, then he said Subhan Allah three times. Then he said: There is no god but You. Then he [the narrator] went back to the hadeeth of Wakee’ and said: Glory be to You, I have wronged myself, so forgive me; no one forgives sins but You. Then he smiled, and I said: What made you smile? He said: I was riding behind the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and he did what you have seen me do, then he smiled and I said: What made you smile, O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)? He said: `Allah, may He be blessed and exalted, says: How remarkable is My slave; He knows that no one forgives sin except Me.`

Abu Bakr said that God’s messenger mounted the pulpit, then wept and said, "Ask God for forgiveness and health, for after being granted certainty, one is given nothing better than health." Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it, Tirmidhi saying this is a hasan tradition whose isnad is gharib.

When the Prophet (saws) uttered salutation at the end of the prayer, he used to say: "O Allah, forgive me my former and latter sins, what I have kept secret and what I have done openly, and what I have done extravagance; and what You know better than I do. You are the Advancer, the Delayer, there is no god but You."

“He (Allah) is the One, deserving that mankind should be afraid of, and should be dutiful to Him, and should not take any Ilah (god) along with Him, and He is the One Who forgives (sins).” [74:56] Then he said: “Allah says: ‘I am the One Who deserves to be feared, so no other god should be appointed alongside Me. Whoever avoids appointing another god alongside Me, I am the One Who should forgive him.”

Another chain reports a similar hadith.

When the Messenger of Allah (saws) stood up for prayer, he uttered the takbir (Allah is most great), then said: I have turned my face, breaking with all others, towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, and I am not a polytheist. My prayer and my devotion, my life and my death belong to Allah, the Lord of the Universe, Who has no partner. That is what I have been commanded, and I am first of Muslims (those who surrender themselves). O Allah, Thou art the King. There is no God but Thee. Thou art my Lord and I am Thy servant. I have wronged myself, but I acknowledge my sin, so forgive me all my sins; Thou Who alone canst forgive sins; and guide me to the best qualities. Thou Who alone canst guide to the best of them; and turn me from evil ones. Thou who alone canst turn from evil qualities. I come to serve and please Thee. All good is in Thy Hands, and evil does not pertain to Thee. I seek refuge in Thee and turn to Thee, Who art blessed and exalted. I ask Thy forgiveness and turn to thee in repentance. When he bowed, he said: O Allah, to Thee I bow, in Thee I trust, and to Thee I submit myself. My hearing, my sight, my brain, my bone and my sinews humble themselves before Thee. When he raised his head, he said: Allah listens to him who praises Him. O our lord, and all praises be to Thee in the whole of the heavens and the earth, and what is between them, and in whatever Thou creates afterwards. When he prostrated himself, he said: O Allah, to Thee I prostrate myself, to Thee I trust, and to Thee I submit myself. My face prostrated itself before Him Who created it, fashioned it, and fashioned it in the best shape, and brought forth its hearing and seeing. Blessed is Allah, the best of creators. When he saluted at the end of the prayer, he said: O Allah, forgive me my former and my latter sins, my open and secret sins, my sins in exceeding the limits, and what Thou knowest better than I. Thou art He Who puts forward and puts back. There is deity but Thee.

Malik related to me from Nafi that when Abdullah ibn Umar sneezed and someone said to him, "May Allah have mercy on you," (Yarhamuka'llah), he said, "May Allah have mercy on us and you, and forgive us and you." (Yarhamuna'llah wa yaghfirlana wa lakum).

the Prophet said: “No group gather in a sitting in which they do not remember Allah, nor sent Salat upon their Prophet, except it will be a source of remorse for them. If He wills, He will punish them, and if He wills, He will forgive them.”

Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Wealth is not diminished by giving (in charity). Allah augments the honour of one who forgives; and one who displays humbleness towards another seeking the pleasure of Allah, Allah exalts him in ranks."

[Muslim].

Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Wealth does not diminish by giving Sadaqah (charity). Allah augments the honour of one who forgives; and one who serves another seeking the pleasure of Allah, Allah will exalt him in ranks."

[Muslim].

Abu Huraira said that when the Prophet stated that his people would be granted forgiveness on the last night in Ramadan and was asked whether it was Lailat al-qadr, he replied, “No, but a workman is paid his full wages only when he has finished his work.” Ahmad transmitted it.

Ibn ‘Umar reported God’s messenger as saying, “When you meet one who has performed the pilgrimage, greet him, shake hands with him and tell him to ask forgiveness for you before he enters his house, for he has been forgiven.” Ahmad transmitted it.

"Allah,Most High said: 'O My Slaves! All of you are astray except whom I guide, so ask Me for guidance and I shall guide you. All of you are poor except whom I enrich, so ask Me and I shall provide you. All of you are sinners except whom I have pardoned, so whoever among you knows that I am the One able to forgive, and seeks My forgiveness, I shall forgive him, without concern for Me (and it will not affect Me). If the first of you and the last of you, the living among you and the dead among you, the fresh among you and the dry among you were to gather together to help the heart with the most Taqwa among My slaves, that would not add a mosquito's wing to My sovereignty. If the first of you and the last of you, the living among you and the dead among you, the fresh among you and the dry among you were to gather together to help the worst heart of My slaves, that would not diminish a mosquito's wing to My sovereignty. I shall forgive him, without concern for Me (and it will not affect Me). If the first of you and the last of you, the living among you and the dead among you, the fresh among you and the dry among you were to gather together upon one plateau, and each person among them were to ask for his utmost desire, and I were to give each what he asked for, that would not diminish from My sovereignty, except as if one of you were to pass by an ocean and dip a needle into it and then remove it. That is because I am the Most Liberal without need, the Most Generous, doing as I will. I give by My speech and I punish by My speech, whenever I will something I only say: "Be" and it shall be.'"

Another chain reports a similar narration.

When the Messenger of Allah (saws) entered upon Abu Salamah, his eyes were fixedly open. So he closed them. The members of his family cried. He said: Do not pray for yourself anything but good, for the angels utter Amin to what you say. He then said: O Allah, forgive Abu Salamah, raise his rank among those who are guided, and grant him a succession in his descendants who remain. Forgive both us and him, Lord of the universe. O Allah,make his grave spacious for him, and grant him light in it.

Abu Dawud said: The eyes of the deceased should be closed after his expiry. I heard Muhammad b. al-Nu'man al-Muqri say: I heard a man who was devoted to Allah say: I closed the eyes of Ja'far al-Mu'allim when he was dying. He was a man devoted to Allah. I saw him in a dream on the night he died. He said: The biggest thing for me was closing the eyes by you before I died.

"I noticed the Messenger of Allah (SAW) was missing one night, and I found him when he was prostrating with his feet held upright, and he was saying: 'Allahumma, inni a'udhu biridaka min sakhatik, wa bimu'afatika min 'uqubatik, wa bika minka la uhsi thana'an 'alaika anta kama athnaita 'ala nafsik (O Allah, I seek refuge with Your pleasure from Your wrath, in Your forgiveness from Your punishment and in You from You. I cannot praise You enough, You are as You have praised Yourself.)"

"Whoever loves to meet Allah, Allah loves to meet him, and whoever hates to meet Allah, Allah, hates to meet him." Amr (one of the narrators) added in his narration: "t was said: 'O Messenger of Allah mean hating death? Fore all of us hate death.' He said; 'That is when he is dying; if he is given the glad tidings of the mercy and forgiveness of Allah, he loves to meet Allah and Allah loves to meet him. But if he is given the tidings of the punishment of Allah, he hates to meet Allah and Allah hates to meet him."'

"I asked 'Aishah with what the Messenger of Allah [SAW] would start Qiyam Al-Lail. She said: 'You have asked me about something that no one else has asked me about. He used to say Allahu Akbar ten times, and Subhan-Allah ten times, and Istaghfir-Allah ten times, and he would say, Allahummaghfirli, wahdini, warzuqni, wa'afini (O Allah, forgive me, guide me, grant me provision and give me good health,) and he would seek refuge from the difficulty of the standing on the Day of Resurrection.'"

Whenever a man entered the fold of Islam, the Prophet (PBUH) would show him how to perform Salat and then direct him to supplicate: "Allahumm-aghfir li, warhamni, wa-hdini, wa 'afini, warzuqni (O Allah! Forgive me, have mercy on me, guide me, guard me against harm and provide me with sustenance and salvation)."'

[Muslim].

In another narration Tariq said: A man came to the Prophet (PBUH) and said to him: "O Messenger of Allah! What shall I say if I want to pray to my Rubb?" He (PBUH) said, "Say: 'Allahumma-ghfir li, warhamni, wa 'afini, warzuqni (O Allah! Forgive me, have mercy on me, protect me and provide me with sustenance).' Surely, this supplication is better for you in this life and in the Hereafter."

Abu Moosa al-Ash’ari visited al-Hasan bin ‘Ali when he was sick. ‘Ali (رضي الله عنه) said to him: Are you visiting him because he is sick, or is this a social visit? Abu Moosa said: Rather I have come to visit him because he is sick. `Ali (رضي الله عنه) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: “Whoever visits a sick person in the morning, seventy thousand angels will go out with him, all of them praying for forgiveness for him, until evening comes, and he will have a garden in Paradise. And whoever visits a sick person in the evening, seventy thousand angels will go out with him, all of them praying for forgiveness for him until morning comes, and he will have a garden in Paradise.

O Allah, forgive him? O Allah, take mercy on him, until he turns away, or he is defiled. He was asked: what is meant by defilement? He replied: he breaks wind gently or loudly.

He said that the Prophet used to fast on Mondays and Thursdays, and when someone remarked on this to him he said, “On Monday and Thursday God forgives every Muslim except two who are at variance, for He says they must be left till they make peace with one another.” Ahmad and Ibn Majah transmitted it.

Abu Sa'id reported God's messenger as saying, "My confidants to whom I turn are my family, and my close friends are the Ansar, so forgive those of them who do wrong and accept the excuses of those of them who do good." Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a hasan tradition.

“If I heard a Hadith from the Messenger of Allah (saw), Allah benefitted me with it as much as He willed, and if I heard it from anyone else, I would ask him to swear me an oath, then if he swore an oath I would believe him. Abu Bakr told me and Abu Bakr spoke the truth that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: ‘There is no man who commits a sin then he performs ablution and does it well, then he prays two Rak’ah,’ (one of the narrators) Mis’ar said: ‘then performs prayer and seeks the forgiveness of Allah, but Allah will forgive him.’

Allah's Messenger said: "When one of you is sleepy and he is performing Salat, then let him lie down until the sleep is gone from him. For when one of you performs Salat while he is sleepy, perhaps he wants to seek forgiveness but he curses himself."

Abu Huraira reported God’s Messenger as saying, “If anyone rescinds a sale with a Muslim, God will cancel his slip* on the day of resurrection.” * God will forgive his fault. Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah transmitted it; and it occurs in Sharh as-sunna with the wording in al-Masabih on the authority of Shuraih ash-Shami in mursal form.

‘Amr b. Shu'aib, on his father’s authority, told that his grandfather, ‘Abdallah b. ‘Amr b. al-‘As, reported God’s Messenger as saying, “Forgive the infliction of prescribed penalties among yourselves, for any prescribed penalty of which I hear must be carried out.” Abu Dawud and Nasa’i transmitted it.

While we were with the Messenger of Allah! (saws) a man of Banu Salmah came to Him and said: Messenger of Allah is there any kindness left that I can do to my parents after their death? He replied: Yes, you can invoke blessings on them, forgiveness for them, carry out their final instructions after their death, join ties of relationship which are dependent on them, and honour their friends.

The Messenger of Allah (saws): When you attend dying man, you should say good words, for the angels say Amin to what you say. When Abu Salamah died, I said: What should I say, Messenger of Allah? He said: O Allah forgive him, and give us something good in exchange. She said: So Allah gave me Muhammad (saws) in exchange for him.

I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say, “Allah the Almighty has said: ‘O Son of Adam, as long as you invoke Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O Son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and you then asked forgiveness from Me, I would forgive you. O Son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the Earth, and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it [too].’ ” It was related by at-Tirmidhi, who said that it was a hasan hadeeth.

I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) say: Allah the Almighty said: O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it. It was related by at-Tirmidhi (also by Ahmad ibn Hanbal). Its chain of authorities is sound.

"There was a man among those who came before you who thought badly of his deeds, so when death was approaching he said to his family: 'When I am dead, burn my body and grind up my bones, then scatter me in the sea, for if Allah gets hold of me, He will never forgive me.' But Allah commanded the angles to seize his soul. He said to him: 'What made you do what you did?' He said:: 'O Lord, I only did it because I feared You.' So Allah forgave him."

"A man from among the Ansar accepted Islam, then he apostatized and went back to Shirk. Then he regretted that, and sent word to his people (saying): 'Ask the Messenger of Allah [SAW], is there any repentance for me?' His people came to the Messenger of Allah [SAW] and said: 'So and so regrets (what he did), and he has told us to ask you if there is any repentance for him?' Then the Verses: 'How shall Allah guide a people who disbelieved after their Belief up to His saying: Verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful' was revealed. So he sent word to him, and he accepted Islam."

Malik related to me from Zayd ibn Aslam from his father that Umar ibn al-Khattab came upon Abu Bakr as-Siddiq pulling his tongue. Umar said to him, "Stop, may Allah forgive you!" Abu Bakr replied, "This has brought me to dangerous places."

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Allah forgives every sin of a martyr, except his debt."

[Muslim].

Another narration in Muslim is: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Being martyred in the Cause of Allah expiates for everything, except debt."

The Prophet (PBUH) used to recite frequently in his bowing and prostration: "Subhanak- Allahumma, Rabbana wa bihamdika. Allahum-maghfir li (O Allah! You are free from imperfection and I begin with praising You. Forgive my sins)."

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

With reference to God’s words, “Except for slight faults ”* Ibn ‘Abbas reported God's messenger as saying, “If Thou forgivest, O God, Thou wilt forgive much sin, for which of Thy servants has not committed slight faults?” *Qur'an, liii, 32. Tirmidhi transmitted it, saying this is a hasan sahih gharib tradition.