What Is The Dua For Istighfar?

What is the dua for istighfar?

Istighfar (forgiveness) means begging for forgiveness and mercy from Allah for the sins and mistakes. Those who repent and ask for forgiveness as they regret their bad deeds are praised in the Holy Qur’an (Al-i ‘Imran, 3/135). In religious books, there are a lot of duas which bear the meaning of “istighfar (forgiveness)”. The dua described by Prophet Muhammad (saw) as “Sayyid al-istighfar” (the most beautiful istighfar) is as follows:

“O, Allah! You are my Lord. There is no deity but You. You created me and I am Your servant, and I am faithful to my covenant and my promise as much as I can. I seek refuge with You from all the evil I have done. I acknowledge before You all the blessings You have bestowed upon me, and I confess You all my sins. So, I entreat You to forgive my sins, for nobody can forgive sins except You.” (Bukhari, Da’awat, 2)

In fact, all kind of duas for forgiveness by which a person turns to Allah and utter them freely are already duas of istighfar.

Source: Presidency Of Religious Affairs The Turkey, High Board of Religious Affairs FATWA