Asking for forgiveness in Islam is expressed in many ways. The Muslim man and woman may freely resort to one of the numerous formulas of seeking forgiveness, of which the supplication astaghfirullah is one. What are the other ways of expressing one's repentance to Allah for our sins? What relationship does the servant form with his Lord when he assiduously practices the istighfar, and what benefits does he draw from it? That is what we are going to see, with the permission of Allah.
What is the meaning of Astaghfirullah ?
Asking God for forgiveness can be done simply by resorting to the phrase "astaghfirullah", which literally means: " I ask Allah for forgiveness".
Translation of astaghfirullah
In the Arabic/French dictionary Abd An-Nour, istighfar means " to ask God for forgiveness of one's faults ". In the complete Quranic lexicon of Maurice Gloton, for its part, one finds a more precise definition, since we learn that it means " to ask for covering, to seek the covering (of faults), forgiveness.
Istighfar is the common noun of the verbal form cited above. It therefore means the " seeking of forgiveness ". Indeed, in astaghfirullah there is the name Allah, since this formula means expressing one's repentance to Allah. This is why it is more appropriate to write it properly by distinguishing the subject (I) from the verb (ask forgiveness) and the complement (from whom I make this request = Allah).
Pronunciation of astaghfirullah
It is important to get used to pronouncing better the request for forgiveness to God, and, in addition to the oral, to encourage oneself to write one's request correctly without changing a letter, at the risk of a distortion of meaning. The letters "gh" are the phonetic expression of the letter "gha" in Arabic. (It is pronounced with a rasping of the uvula at the back of the throat).
Astaghfirullah in phonetics
To avoid erroneous uses such as the expression staghfoullah or, worse still, "starfoullah", which have no meaning, it is more appropriate to express one's request for forgiveness with the following words:
astaghfiru Lah
When to say astaghfirullah ?
The moments when it is advisable to make the request for forgiveness astaghfirullah are varied.
The request for forgiveness with the tongue must be accompanied by a sincere intention in one's heart, recalling the mistakes committed in the past or those that one has difficulty freeing oneself from in the present. The believer in constant search of the satisfaction of his Lord does not hesitate to:
- Ask for forgiveness for the occasions he has missed (of performing a good deed, or of speaking good, but also of forbidding (and forbidding himself) a bad action, for example)
- - Ask for forgiveness for the faults he might be led to commit in the future
- - Ask for forgiveness for his excesses but also for his weakness in the face of the passions
There are innumerable reasons to say astaghfirullah, and some are cited in the Word of Allah, which reminds us of the importance of asking Him for forgiveness on various occasions such as:
- As soon as one sins
- After the communal prayer on Friday
- After having performed the pilgrimage
- Just before dawn
- Just before sunset
- Evening and morning
The sunnah of our beloved messenger, may the most beautiful prayers and salutations be upon him, teaches us to multiply the requests for forgiveness in times of drought to ask Allah for abundant rains, in times of trial and to implore the clemency of the Almighty on every occasion.
Astaghfirullah in the Quran
"Whoever does evil or wrongs himself, then immediately implores Allah for forgiveness, will find Allah Forgiving and Merciful.
وَمَن يَعْمَلْ سُوٓءًا أَوْ يَظْلِمْ نَفْسَهُۥ ثُمَّ يَسْتَغْفِرِ ٱللَّهَ يَجِدِ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورًۭا رَّحِيمًۭا " (verse 110 in Surah 4 THE WOMEN / AN-NISA')
Astaghfirullah, different requests for forgiveness from Allah in the Quran
"O our Lord, we have wronged ourselves. And if You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we will most certainly be among the losers."
رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَآ أَنفُسَنَا وَإِن لَّمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلْخَٰسِرِينَ " (verse 23 in Surah 7 THE HEIGHTS / AL-ARAF)
"O our Lord! forgive me, as well as my father and mother and the believers, on the Day when the reckoning takes place."
رَبَّنَا ٱغْفِرْ لِى وَلِوَٰلِدَىَّ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَوْمَ يَقُومُ ٱلْحِسَابُ " (verse 41 in Surah 14 ABRAHAM / IBRAHIM)
"Lord, I have wronged myself; forgive me." رَبِّ إِنِّى ظَلَمْتُ نَفْسِى " (verse 16 in Surah 28 THE STORY / AL-QASAS)
Benefits and rewards of istighfar
But also in Surah Nuh :
10 I therefore said: "Implore the forgiveness of your Lord, for He is the great Forgiver,
11 so that He may send upon you from the sky abundant rains,
12 and grant you much wealth and children, and give you gardens and give you rivers
فَقُلْتُ ٱسْتَغْفِرُوا۟ رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ غَفَّارًۭا
يُرْسِلِ ٱلسَّمَآءَ عَلَيْكُم مِّدْرَارًۭا
وَيُمْدِدْكُم بِأَمْوَٰلٍۢ وَبَنِينَ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ جَنَّٰتٍۢ وَيَجْعَل لَّكُمْ أَنْهَٰرًۭا
Our relationship with Allah
Allah has the most Beautiful Names and Attributes in which the Muslim believes and by which he calls upon Him in his times of supplication. Allah is:
Al Ghafour The Great Concealer (of defects and faults)
Al Ghaffar The One who conceals ceaselessly (defects and faults)
Al Ghafir The All-Forgiving
The believer is comforted by all the ways that Allah has of putting him at ease in His Sacred Word. The All-Forgiving never ceases to urge humans and believers to strive toward His Forgiveness.
A hadith reported by Muslim says that the Prophet Muhammad said, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him: Allah stretches out His Hand at night to accept the repentance of the one who sins by day, and stretches out His Hand by day to accept the repentance of the one who sins by night.
Our relationship with others
Allah exhorts us to show indulgence and clemency toward one another in the Quran. The one who does not know how to forgive cannot hope to be forgiven by the One who created him when he was nothing. The Muslim is enjoined to close his eyes to the faults of his fellow man, just as he would like his own shortcomings to be forgiven, but also as he hopes not to see his faults laid bare on the Day of Resurrection.
The one who seeks to be forgiven must necessarily learn to adopt this divine quality that is forgiveness. It is the best of behaviors, to which the Lord of the Worlds enjoins us in the Quran:
"And whoever endures and forgives, that, in truth, is part of the good dispositions and of resolve in matters.
وَلَمَن صَبَرَ وَغَفَرَ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ لَمِنْ عَزْمِ ٱلْأُمُورِ " (verse 43 in Surah 42 THE CONSULTATION / ASH SHURA)