Istighfar means to seek the forgiveness of Allah Ta’ala from negligence and disobedience, by the means of both the tongue and the heart.
1️⃣. Compliance to and Fulfillment of Allah’s Command
“ And seek Allah’s forgiveness. Surely Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful. ”
(Qurʾan: 73:20)
2️⃣. Protection from Punishments
“ Allah will not punish them while they seek [God’s] forgiveness.” –
(Qurʾan: 8:33)
3️⃣. Allah Ta’ala’s Bounties and Mercy
“ Ask forgiveness from your Lord; Verily, He is Ever-Forgiving. He will send rain to you in abundance, increase you in wealth, children, orchards and rivers. ”
(Qurʾan: 71:10-12)
“ Why do you not seek forgiveness with God, so that you may receive [His] mercy?”
(Qurʾan: 27:46)
4️⃣. Relief from Worry and Stress
“If anyone continually asks pardon, God will appoint for them a way out of every distress, a relief from every anxiety, and will provide for them from where they cannot imagine.”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Ibn Mājah)
5️⃣. Expansion in Provisions
“ Seek the forgiveness of your Lord, and turn to Him in repentance, that He may grant you good enjoyment [of provisions].”
(Qurʾān: 11:3)
6️⃣. Likeness to Prophets and the Pious
“ Adam and Eve supplicated, “Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves. If You do not forgive us or bestow Your Mercy upon us, we shall certainly be of the losers.”
(Qurʾān: 7:23)
Muḥammad (peace and blessings upon him) said, “ There is [at times] some sort of shade upon my heart, and I seek forgiveness with God [at least] a hundred times a day.”
(Sahih Muslim)
7️⃣. Forgiveness and Pardon
“ He who does either evil or wrongs himself, and then asks for the forgiveness of Allah, will find Allah All-Forgiving, All-Compassionate. ”
(Qurʾān: 4:110)
8️⃣. Entitlement to Glad-Tidings
“ Glad tidings to those who have excessive ‘seeking forgiveness’ in the record of their deeds .”
(Ibn Majah)
9️⃣. Entry into Paradise
“ Those who have committed indecent actions or wronged themselves with evil, [thereafter] remember God and ask forgiveness for their sins; – and none can forgive sins but God – and do not knowingly persist in what [wrong] they have done. For such persons, the reward is forgiveness from their Lord, and gardens with rivers flowing underneath [in Paradise], wherein they shall reside forever. How excellent is this reward for the doers [of righteous deeds].”
(Qurʾan 3:135 – 136)