Quick answer: The single most complete dua for forgiveness that the Prophet ﷺ taught is known as Sayyid al-Istighfar, “the master of seeking forgiveness,” recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari. Alongside it, the short phrase “I seek the forgiveness of Allah” (astaghfirullah) is reported as something the Prophet ﷺ said dozens of times a day. Both are said any time, with no fixed number required, though specific counts are reported for each.
Seeking forgiveness, istighfar in Arabic, runs through the Quran and the Sunnah as a constant, everyday act rather than something reserved for serious sin. The Quran tells believers never to lose hope in Allah’s mercy, however much they have done wrong.
۞ قُلْ يَٰعِبَادِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا۟ مِن رَّحْمَةِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
Say, "O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful."
That verse sets the tone for everything that follows. Istighfar is not a ritual of guilt. It is a return to Allah, repeated often, expected to be answered.
Sayyid al-Istighfar: the master prayer of forgiveness
The companion Shaddad ibn Aws (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet ﷺ called one particular supplication the best way of all to ask Allah for forgiveness. Scholars came to call it Sayyid al-Istighfar, the master or chief of forgiveness prayers, because of how completely it covers the relationship between a servant and Allah: acknowledging Him as Lord, admitting creation and servanthood, renewing the covenant, confessing sin, and then asking for pardon.
سَيِّدُ الاِسْتِغْفَارِ أَنْ تَقُولَ اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي، لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ، خَلَقْتَنِي وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ، وَأَنَا عَلَى عَهْدِكَ وَوَعْدِكَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ، أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا صَنَعْتُ، أَبُوءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَىَّ وَأَبُوءُ لَكَ بِذَنْبِي، فَاغْفِرْ لِي، فَإِنَّهُ لاَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلاَّ أَنْتَ ". قَالَ " وَمَنْ قَالَهَا مِنَ النَّهَارِ مُوقِنًا بِهَا، فَمَاتَ مِنْ يَوْمِهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُمْسِيَ، فَهُوَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ، وَمَنْ قَالَهَا مِنَ اللَّيْلِ وَهْوَ مُوقِنٌ بِهَا، فَمَاتَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يُصْبِحَ، فَهْوَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ
Narrated Shaddad bin Aus:The Prophet (ﷺ) said "The most superior way of asking for forgiveness from Allah is: 'Allahumma anta Rabbi la ilaha illa anta, Khalaqtani wa ana `Abduka, wa ana `ala `ahdika wa wa`dika mastata`tu, A`udhu bika min Sharri ma sana`tu, abu'u Laka bini`matika `alaiya, wa abu'u laka bidhanbi faghfir lee fa innahu la yaghfiru adhdhunuba illa anta." The Prophet (ﷺ) added. "If somebody recites it during the day with firm faith in it, and dies on the same day before the evening, he will be from the people of Paradise; and if somebody recites it at night with firm faith in it, and dies before the morning, he will be from the people of Paradise
Read slowly, the wording moves through several ideas in sequence. It opens by naming Allah as Lord and the only one worthy of worship, which scholars note mirrors the etiquette of beginning a request by praising Allah before asking anything of Him. It then states a fact (You created me), a relationship (I am Your servant), a commitment (faithful to Your covenant as much as I can), a request for protection (refuge from the evil I have done), an acknowledgement (Your favour on me, and my own sin), and finally the request itself (so forgive me).
The hadith continues with a promise attached to reciting it with certainty, not as a formula recited absent-mindedly but said while meaning every line. This sits with a wider principle found across the etiquette of dua: conviction in the heart while the tongue speaks, rather than hurried or distracted repetition.
There is no fixed count attached to Sayyid al-Istighfar itself. It is commonly placed within the morning and evening adhkar, said once in the morning and once in the evening, though nothing in the hadith restricts it to those two times only. Many people also say it after the obligatory prayers or whenever forgiveness comes to mind.
How often the Prophet ﷺ asked for forgiveness
Two further reports describe how often the Prophet ﷺ himself turned to istighfar, despite having no sin held against him. Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported one figure.
وَاللَّهِ إِنِّي لأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ فِي الْيَوْمِ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ سَبْعِينَ مَرَّةً
Narrated Abu Huraira:I heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) saying." By Allah! I ask for forgiveness from Allah and turn to Him in repentance more than seventy times a day
A separate report, from the companion al-Agharr al-Muzani (may Allah be pleased with him), gives a higher figure tied to a specific reason: moments when his heart felt a kind of covering, which he answered immediately with istighfar.
إِنَّهُ لَيُغَانُ عَلَى قَلْبِي وَإِنِّي لأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ فِي الْيَوْمِ مِائَةَ مَرَّةٍ
Al-Agharr al-Muzani, who was one amongst the Companions (of the Holy Prophet) reported that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said:There is (at times) some sort of shade upon my heart, and I seek forgiveness from Allah a hundred times a day
Commentators read the “shade” or veil mentioned here not as sin in the ordinary sense, but as the brief gaps in constant remembrance of Allah that come from being occupied with the needs of people and the affairs of daily life. Even those moments, in his case, were met with repeated forgiveness-seeking rather than left unanswered.
Between the two reports, scholars and writers on dhikr often describe a loose scale: the short phrase “astaghfirullah” said often through the day, a run of it after each of the five prayers, and a round number such as seventy or a hundred times taken as a target by those who want a fixed habit rather than an open-ended one.
The short phrase, and what is not quoted here
Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that in his final period the Prophet ﷺ frequently combined glorifying Allah with asking forgiveness and turning to Him in repentance, a report agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim. Because the exact combined wording in that narration is not confirmed here against a single checked hadith number, it is described rather than quoted. Readers who want the precise Arabic and English wording can look it up directly on a hadith portal such as sunnah.com under the chapter on seeking forgiveness.
A few other forgiveness-related phrases are widely shared online and attributed loosely to “the Sunnah.” Where a phrase cannot be traced to a specific, checkable report in Sahih al-Bukhari or Sahih Muslim, it is left out of this article rather than printed as if it were certain. Sayyid al-Istighfar and the two reports above are the ones that can be shown with a clear reference.
Etiquette: certainty, consistency, patience
A few points of etiquette come directly from these reports rather than from outside guesswork. First, certainty. The wording of Sayyid al-Istighfar ties its reward to saying it “with firm faith,” not as background noise. Second, consistency. Both reports about the Prophet ﷺ describe a habit repeated across the whole day, not a one-off plea said once and forgotten. Third, patience. Hadith literature elsewhere warns against giving up on a supplication out of impatience, which applies just as much to istighfar as to any other dua: it is said steadily, without expecting an instant, visible sign that it has been accepted.
Forgiveness-seeking sits alongside, rather than replaces, sincere effort to put right any harm done to another person. Scholars across the schools agree that istighfar addresses a person’s standing before Allah; where a wrong involves another person’s right, that right still needs to be settled directly with them.
When and how often: a quick table
| Dua or phrase | When it is said | Reported count | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sayyid al-Istighfar | Morning and evening, or any time | No fixed count; often once each session | Sahih al-Bukhari 6306 |
| Astaghfirullah (short form) | Through the day | More than seventy times a day | Sahih al-Bukhari 6307 |
| Astaghfirullah (short form) | When the heart feels distracted or covered | A hundred times a day | Sahih Muslim 2702a |
| Glorifying Allah with istighfar together | Reported in the Prophet’s ﷺ final period | Frequent, no number given | Agreed upon (al-Bukhari and Muslim) |
Fitting istighfar into a daily routine
None of these reports require special conditions. There is no requirement to be in a state of ritual purity, face a particular direction, or set aside dedicated time, though many people naturally say Sayyid al-Istighfar as part of their morning and evening adhkar, and the short phrase after each prayer alongside the dhikr that follows salah. A reader building a habit from scratch might start with the short phrase a set number of times after Fajr and after Maghrib, then add Sayyid al-Istighfar once in the morning and once at night, letting the rest of the day’s repetitions happen as they come to mind rather than as a strict quota.
For anyone carrying a specific worry or hardship alongside the wish for forgiveness, dua of this kind offers spiritual comfort and is not a substitute for proper medical or professional care where that is needed.
Readers who want to build a fuller daily routine around remembrance can also look at a structured Quran reading plan or track missed prayers with the qaza tracker as part of the same habit of returning to Allah regularly rather than occasionally.