Istighfar, is the act of seeking forgiveness from Allah, usually by saying ʾastaġfiru -llāh. A longer variant is ʾastaġfiru -llāha rabbī wa-ʾatūbu ʾilayh. It is considered one of the essential parts of worship in Islam.
Etymology
Istighfar is derived from the Arabic root, which related the covering of a thing with that which will keep it clean.
Meaning
"Istighfar" means to pray to Allah that He may protect the supplicant from the evil consequences and poisonous influences of their transgressions and misdeeds, both in this world and the hereafter. Astaghfirullah literally translates to "I seek forgiveness in Allah". In a religious way, people can recite it during meditation or say it to others to show humility. That is to say that Allah is the greater or that goodness comes from Allah. In popular culture, people can say this if they see something wrong or shameful.
Necessity of Istighfar
Islam posits that human beings were created by Allah, with the ability to choose their own actions; either to do good deeds and obey Allah or choose to do evil deeds and disobey. However, Allah in His immense mercy and wisdom, knowing the fact that human beings were prone to errors, and in order to prevent man from carrying the burden of his sin forever, opened the door of seeking Istighfar for His servants who might have committed sin or submitted to his desires and ignored the dictates of his conscience. Thus, Istighfar is the weapon of believers against shaytan who tries to lead them into hell by inviting them to sin.
In the Qur'an, there are numerous verses on the issue of Istighfar, in which Allah commands the believers to always seek His forgiveness and turn to Him. Some examples of these verses are:
"And those who when they commit an indecency or do injustice to their souls remember Allah and ask forgiveness for their faults; and who forgives the faults but Allah. And do not knowingly persist in what they have done. these their reward is forgiveness from their Lord, and gardens beneath which rivers flow, to abide in them, and excellent is the reward of the labourers".
O you who believe! Turn to Allah sincere turning; maybe your Lord will remove from you your evil and cause you to enter gardens beneath which rivers flow".
"And whoever does evil or acts unjustly to his soul, then asks forgiveness of Allah, he shall find Allah Forgiving, Merciful".
"Will they not then turn to Allah and ask His forgiveness? And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful". "Will they not then turn to Allah and ask His forgiveness? And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful".
"And you that ask forgiveness of your Lord, then turn to Him; He will provide you with a goodly provision to an appointed term and bestow His grace on every one endowed with grace, and if you turn back, then surely I fear for you the chastisement of a great day".
"And return to your Lord time after time and submit to Him before there comes to you the punishment, then you shall not be helped".
In Sunnah
In hadith, it was reported that: "The Prophet sought the forgiveness from Allah, frequently and on daily basis".
"The Prophet is spoken of in a hadith as saying Istighfar a hundred times a day, despite his infallibility".
The prophet used to seek forgiveness in the morning and night.
The prophet said: "The more one prays for pardoning of his sins the more good deeds will be credited to his account and on the Day of Judgement his deeds will appear shining."
Among the sunnah of the Prophet was that: "He never got up even from the smallest meeting without reciting Istighfar 25 times".
Another Hadith also mentions that: "The Holy Prophet recited ‘Astaghfirullah Wā tūbo ilaih’ seventy times every day."
Significance of Istighfar
Istighfar safeguards the Supplicant against the evil consequences of his/her sins.
Istighfar is one of the ways of finding inner peace and tranquillity.
Istighfar purifies ones from the physiological results of sins.
Istighfar turns evil deeds to good deeds.
Istighfar paves way for the acceptance of prayer.
Allah forgives those who sincerely seek forgiveness unconditionally.
The Prophet said: "Whoever makes Istighfar frequently, Allah will provide a way for him out of every distress and provide for him from sources he could never expect".
Conditions for Istighfar
Seeking forgiveness has 3 conditions with an additional 4th one if the sin involves the violation another person's right:
To discontinue the sin
To regret having committed it
To resolve to never return to the sin
To restore the rights of the person that has been wronged
Stop the sin, regret the sin, intend to never do it again.
Istighfar of prophets
The Istighfar of an ordinary man was not a special case since they are not infallible. But in the case of the prophets and angels, such an act may be interpreted otherwise, because naturally, it contradicts the attributes of infallibility in them. Though, there is some relevant evidence showing the fact that prophets and the angels were also engaged in asking for divine forgiveness.,
