The Virtue of Seeking Forgiveness and the Times When It Is Emphasized

Machine translationRead the Arabic original

Question:
May Allah reward you for this guidance, Shaykh. And my brother Hamad from abroad asks: What is the virtue of seeking forgiveness and glorifying Allah, and what is the preferred time for them? We ask the Honorable Shaykh to advise the brothers and sisters regarding this, and may he be rewarded.

Answer:
Seeking forgiveness is required at all times, but it becomes more emphasized in certain times or circumstances. It is emphasized after the obligatory prayers. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to seek forgiveness from Allah three times after completing the obligatory prayer while facing the qiblah. Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) described the people of Paradise as those who, in this world,

⁽¹⁷⁾ They used to sleep but little of the night, ⁽¹⁸⁾ And in the hours before dawn they would ask forgiveness,

قَلِيلًا مِّنَ اللَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ وَبِالْأَسْحَارِ هُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ

[Adh-Dhariyat 51:17-18]

. And He, the Exalted and Glorious, said: "and those who seek forgiveness in the last hours of the night."
In the authentic hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

Abu Hurairah reported the Prophet (May peace be upon him) as saying; Our lord gets down every night to the heaven of this world when a third night remains and says: (Is there anyone) who prays to Me so that I may accept his prayer? (Is there anyone) who asks of Me so that I may give him? (Is there anyone) who asks for my forgiveness so that I may forgive him?

ينزل ربنا كل ليلة إلى سماء الدنيا حين يبقى ثلث الليل الآخر، فيقول هل من مستغفر فأغفر له؟ هل من

Sunan Abi Dawud 4733Sahih (Al-Albani)

"Is there anyone who repents so that I may accept his repentance? Is there anyone who asks so that I may give him?" So seeking forgiveness is emphasized in the last part of the night, and after the obligatory prayers. It is also emphasized when repenting from a sin. If a person commits a sin, he should hasten to repent and seek Allah's forgiveness

⁽¹³⁵⁾ And those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves [by transgression], remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins - and who can forgive sins except Allah? - and [who] do not persist in what they have done while they know. ⁽¹³⁶⁾ Those - their reward is forgiveness from their Lord and gardens beneath which rivers flow [in Paradise], wherein they will abide eternally; and excellent is the reward of the [righteous] workers.

وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُوا فَاحِشَةً أَوْ ظَلَمُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ ذَكَرُوا اللَّهَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا لِذُنُوبِهِمْ وَمَن يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَلَمْ يُصِرُّوا عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلُوا وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ أُولَٰئِكَ جَزَاؤُهُم مَّغْفِرَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَجَنَّاتٌ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا وَنِعْمَ أَجْرُ الْعَامِلِينَ

[Ali 'Imran 3:135-136]

. Yes. May Allah reward you and bless you.

Source نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 03/254 — archive.org (5:36)

The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.

Flag this fatwa