Astaghfirullah (أسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ)

‘’Repentance Purifies and Nourishes One’s Soul’’

Astaghfirullah is a beautiful supplication and is recited to seek forgiveness from Allah (SWT). Astaghfirullah dua is an important prayer for Muslims as this is endorsed by the Prophet (S.A.W) and by the Quran. To repent from Allah for all of the bad deeds is a pathway to ‘Iman’.

‘’Allah loves those who truly seek forgiveness from HIM for their sins’’

Admitting to Allah about wrong actions and begging His forgiveness is the context of Astaghfirullah. In this blog, we will describe its meanings, context, origin, transliteration, translation, uses, and benefits. Let’s dive into this blog to explore Astaghfirullah.

Astagfirullah In the Quran Sharif

Allah (SWT) is AR-RAHMAN (الرَّحْمَنُ) and HE blesses His creature with His mercy. The concept of Istagfirullah not only explains the ‘’prayer of forgiveness’’ but also describes the mercy of Almighty Allah – Who loves to forgive His repenters and blesses them with so many benefits of doing Istaghfar. The Quran has often mentioned this concept by the Arabic word ‘’Ghaffar’’(غ-ف-ر) which is the true concept and base of this supplication. In the Quran, Allah narrates these three following mentioned terms 91 times collectively. It glorifies the importance of this dua.

• Al-Ghafir (The One Who Forgives)
• Al-Ghafoor (The All-Forgiving)
• Al-Ghaffar (The Oft-Forgiving)

Here are some references that signify the term ‘’Istaghfirullah’’ and its advantages.

Reference - 01

According to Almighty Allah,
Allah favors the one who adopts Astaghfar, moves towards it, and inverts from sins; it was mentioned [Surah Baqarah, Ayat no. 222]

From all these references, it should be crystal clear in our minds that to say Istaghfar is pretty important for all of us.

Reference - 02

In another place in the Holy Quran, Allah Has narrated;

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?
[Surah Al’ Imran 3:135]

Reference - 03

The Quran has mentioned the theme of forgiveness from Allah as;

But Allah would not punish them while you, (O Muhammad), are among them, and Allah would not punish them while they seek forgiveness.
[Surah Al-Anfal 8:33]

Astagfirullah In The Hadith Sharif

Hazrat Muhammad (ﷺ) inculcates the value, understanding, meanings, and implementations of Astagfirullah in His teachings. The references from Hadith are listed below;

Reference - 01

Another one of Anas’ narrations records Muhammad (PBUH) as saying;

“Every son of Adam sins, the best of the sinners are those who repent.”

[Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith no. 2499]

Reference - 02

Abu Ayyub Khalid bin Zaid relates that the Messenger (PBUH) said;

“Were you not to commit sins, Allah would create people who would commit sins and ask for forgiveness and He would forgive them.”
[Sahih Muslim, Riyad as-Salihin, Book 1, Hadith 423]

These references show the value and importance of its implementation in our daily activities. We all should seek salvation from Allah by requesting Him for His mercy through this supplication.

Difference Between Istighfar and Tawbah

There is no pact difference between Istighfar and Tawbah according to their intent and meanings. But here we described the information related to these terms in detail, to resolve the query of many people – who think that these two are different terms.

Tawbah:

It is a term that relates to asking forgiveness for sins and admitting humbly all the faults in front of Allah with a condition that he/she will not repeat the same sin ever again in their lives.

Istighfar:

This is a dhikar that is recited for getting Allah’s mercy. Istighfar meaning is a ‘Tasbih’ which is recited to request forgiveness from Allah about one’s faults that went against Allah’s Will. This is also included in Islamic Azkhaar. This is very important for developing a healthy connection with Allah.

Dua Astagfirullah Alternatives

Here are some other ways of saying Dua Astagfirullah, which are mentioned below;

1. Astaghfirullah rabbi min Kulli
2. Astaghfirullah rabbi
3. Astaghfirullah rabbi min Kulli zambiyon wa Atoobu
4. Subhanallahi wa bihamdihi Subhanallahil azeem wa bihamdihi astaghfirullah
5. Astaghfirullah al Azeem al Lazi la ilaha

These are some alternatives that are often recited by many people for asking forgiveness to Allah.

Benefits of Astaghfirullah

There are many useful advantages of reading Istaghfirullah. Some extraordinary benefits are listed below;

Decreases Sins

The recitation of Istighfar duas erases sins from the actions record of someone. The more you read this, the lesser your bad deeds will be.

Purifies Soul and Mind

Dua e Astaghfar also strains out all the bad deeds from the soul and eventually nourishes it with noble virtues.

Relief For Distress

Asking forgiveness to Allah provides comfort in your discomforts. It works as a relaxment pill for your mind by the blessing of Allah.

Enhances Dopamine Production In the Human Body

The recitation of ‘’Dua Astagfirullah’’ makes you happy and sustains this happiness also by increasing the amount of ‘’Dopamine’’ in the human body. This is the name of a hormone that is necessary for happiness.

Develops Self-Accountability

Astaghfirullah rabbi wa atubu ilaih inculcates self-accountability in you. Acknowledgment of your sins in front of Almighty Allah enables you to enable self-analysis. In this way, you will start making noble deeds instead of false actions.

Builds A Strong Devine Connection

Dua e Astaghfar develops firm connectivity with Allah (SWT). This supplication enhances salvation of wrong acts, which in turn helps you become closer to Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى).

Promotes Sunnah’s Practice

Reading Istaghfirullah is also a Sunnah of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). Once He (ﷺ) said,

“I swear by Allah that I seek Allah’s Pardon and turn to Him in repentance more than seventy times a day.”
[Riyad As Salihin at serial number 1873 – Sunan Abu Dawud]

These benefits are enough to understand the importance of this short dua in Islam.

Read Astaghfirullah In Arabic Online - أَسْتَغْفِرُ ٱللَّٰهَ

To read Astaghfirullah in Arabic via online portals, join our Islamic Supplication course. We provide different supplications of forgiveness in our course. Our dedicated Quran teachers will assist you in learning, understanding and memorizing these supplications.

Last Words

In this blog, we covered every aspect of Istighfar. To seek forgiveness, you must know the value of Ashtak Firullah in Islam. If you are longing for Allah’s mercy, its recitation is the source of that. The recitation of this supplication will not only lessen your sins but also will nourish your intellect and rewind your religious inner-self!

For more such Islamic Duas, stay tuned with eQuranekareem!