On the authority of Shaddād ibn Aws (رضي الله عنه), the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: “The master of all invocations in seeking forgiveness is:

اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي لَا إِلهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ

“O Allāh! You are my Lord, there is nothing worshipped in truth except for You.

خَلَقْتَنِي وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ

You have created me and I am your servant.

وَأَنَا عَلَى عَهْدِكَ وَوَعْدِكَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ،

I abide by your covenant [of command and prohibition] and your promise [of reward or punishment] as much as I am able.

أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا صَنَعْتُ،

I seek refuge in you from the evil I have engaged in.

أَبُوءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَيَّ وَأَبُوءُ بِذَنْبِي،

I fully acknowledge your blessings upon me. I also fully acknowledge my perpetration of sin

فَاغْفِرْ لِي، فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ¹

So forgive me. For none forgives sins except for You.”

Shaykh al-Islām Ibn al-Qayyim comments:

He (صلى الله عليه وسلم) has combined in his saying: “I fully acknowledge your blessings upon me. I also fully acknowledge my perpetration of sin” between acknowledgment of the bestowal of blessings with the acquaintance of one’s faults and misdeeds. The acknowledgement of blessings stipulates love for Allāh, and showing praise and gratitude to the Bestower of blessings and goodness. Just as one’s acknowledgement of his own faults and misdeeds stipulate showing humility and being broken-hearted before Him. Displaying his own destitution and seeking repentance from Him perpetually. All the while seeing himself as nothing more than a bankrupt person [for his engagement in sin].

The most expeditious door upon which the servant of Allāh enters upon Allāh is this door of feeling completely bankrupt. To the extent that he does not view himself as occupying an important position, or one of authority before Him, or possessing a way he may use, or a privileged means towards Him. Rather, he enters upon Allāh from the door of unadulterated poverty, purely bankrupt of goodness to the extent that his very heart breaks from the associated poverty and destitution. His brokenness reaches the tiniest recesses of his heart, cleaving it. Brokenheartedness encompassing him from every direction causing him to fully witness his fervent need for his Lord—the Exalted in Might—and his state of neediness and poorness before Him that extends to every ounce of his being—both apparent and unapparent. He has a complete and fervent need for His Lord—the Most High, the Blessed. For he would suffer complete destruction if He was to leave him to his own devices for even a moment, suffering a complete and fatal loss except if Allāh—the Most High—returns to showing him His mercy.

There is no path closer to Allāh than engaging in complete servitude to Him. Complete servitude revolves around two principles: Complete love, and perfect submission and humility. These two fundamentals are borne from the two aforementioned foundations of acknowledgement of blessings which will stipulate complete love, and acknowledging one’s own faults and misdeeds which stipulates perfect submission and humility. Any servant that bases his journey to Allāh upon these two fundamentals, his enemy shall never be victorious over him except by trickery, deceit, and mindlessness. Even then, how quickly does Allāh revive and support him, saving him with His mercy?!²

Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah comments:

This ḥadīth comprises matters of grandeur for which this invocation deserves to be termed the ‘master of invocations in seeking forgiveness’. It begins with the servant confessing his own servitude to Allāh. Then, secondly, it mentions His Oneness of worship which is inherent in his saying: “there is nothing worshipped in truth except for you”. Then, he admits to the fact that Allāh is the One who has created him, brought him into existence out of nothingness. It is, therefore, most befitting that He shows goodness to him again by forgiving his misdeeds, just as He started with showing him goodness by creating him.

Then, he says: “and I am your servant”, confessing and acknowledging as to his state of servitude to Him. For Allāh created the children of Ādam for Himself and for His worship, as found in some narrations: “Allāh—the Most High—says: “O Children of Ādam! I created you for Myself and I created everything for you.³ So by my right over you, do not busy yourself with that which I have created for you this [i.e., the adornment and beauty of this dunyá]⁴ in preference to the purpose for which I created you [the worship of Allāh and the hereafter].” In another narration: “Children of Ādam! I created you for My worship so do not play. I have taken on the responsibility of providing you with sustenance, so do not tire yourselves. Children of Ādam! Seek Me and you shall find Me. If you find Me, then you would have found everything. If you have missed Me, you would have missed everything while I am more beloved to you than anything.”⁵

Thus, any servant that chooses to extricate himself from the purposes for which he was created which are engaging in acts of obedience, knowing Him, loving Him, turning to Him in repentance and putting one’s trust in Him—has indeed disobeyed his Master. If he then chooses to repent and return to Him, then he would have returned to that which is most beloved to Allāh. Allāh is most pleased with this return, as the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said concerning Allāh: “Allāh is happier with the repentance of His slave than a person who finds his lost mount upon which his food and drink were stored. He had lost all hope of finding it while in a harsh land.” He—the Glorified—is the one who has guided him towards this repentance and allowed him to return to it [from sin]. This is among the greatest manifestations of His blessings and goodness. Then, there should be no one more beloved to the servant than the One whose affair is thus.

Then he says: “I abide by your covenant [of command and prohibition] and your promise [of reward or punishment] as much as I am able”, that is Allāh—the Glorified, the High—has made a covenant with His servants which is inclusive of His commands and prohibitions. Then He has promised —provided they fulfil this covenant—to grant them the greatest of all rewards. The servant goes forth by fulfilling his covenant with Allāh and testifying as to the truthfulness of His Promise. [As if he says:] I remain steadfast upon your covenant, always believing in the truthfulness of Your promise. This sentiment was expressed by the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) in other places as well. For example, his saying: “Whoever fasts the month of Ramaḍān with īmān and expectation will have his perpetrated sins forgiven.”⁶ Engaging in an act “with īmān” is the same as the covenant with the servants. “Expectation” refers to having hope in the reward of Allāh for the action that was carried out. Such an expectation is unbefitting except while also believing in His promise [of reward or punishment]. “Īmān and expectation” grammatically identify the reasoning and wisdom behind the act. That is, he fasts only because of his īmān in the fact that Allāh has legislated it, obligated it upon him, is pleased with it, and commands it. Thus, he expects its reward from Allāh to the extent that he does it sincerely seeking His reward.

His saying: “as much as I am able” that is, I engage in the aforementioned to the very best of my abilities but I have fallen short of what is most befitting of You, and what You are deserving of. In it, there is confirmation of the ability and power that is possessed by the servant; that is, he is not forced or compelled. Rather, he possesses an ability regarding which he is commanded, prohibited, and deserving of reward or punishment. Therefore, in this invocation there is a clear refutation against the Qadariyyah al-Mujbirah who allege that the servant possesses no power or ability, nor action that is attributable to him. Rather, according to them, Allāh punishes His servants for His own actions, not their actions. It also refutes the various subsects of the Majūs and others.

Then he says, “I seek refuge in you from the evil I have engaged in”: Seeking refuge here refers to asylum and protection being sought, fleeing towards the giver of refuge. Just as the one fleeing from his enemy takes refuge in a siege tower by which he is saved. In this statement, there is also a confirmation of the servant’s actions and earnings [that are attributable to him]. That the evil he engages in is attributable to his own actions, not his Lord. He says: “I seek refuge in You from the evil I have engaged in.” Therefore, evil is from the servant only. As for his Lord, to Him belong the most beautiful of names and all His attributes are complete perfection. All His actions are associated with wisdom and uprightness. This is further supported by his (صلى الله عليه وسلم) saying: “And evil is unbefitting of You”, as narrated by Muslim⁷ as part of one of the opening invocations of ṣalāh.

For this reason, some scholars used to say: A servant must divide all the breaths he takes into two. One with which he praises Allāh and the other that he uses to seek His forgiveness. This is illustrated in the occurrence of al-Ḥasan [al-Baṣrī] with the young man who used to sit in the masjid by himself, never attending his class. So, al-Ḥasan once passed by him and asked: “Why do you never sit with us?” He replied: “I reach the morning between a state of blessings from Allāh for which I possess no recourse but to praise Him regarding, and a state of sin which I have perpetrated concerning which I must repent. Thus, I find myself busy with praising Him and seeking His forgiveness such that I am unable to attend your sitting.” So al-Ḥasan replied: “I surmise that your understanding is superior to that of al-Ḥasan”.

For if a servant is able to fully bear witness to these two matters, he shall find steadfastness in his servanthood, elevating his station of recognition, knowledge and īmān. To the extent that he views himself insignificant, and humbles himself before his Lord. This represents true, complete, servanthood. It is a means by which one is ridded of self-amazement, arrogance, pride, and infatuation with the beauty of one’s own actions.

And Allāh is the One who Guides, the Granter of true guidance. All praise be to Allāh alone. May the grace and blessings of Allāh be upon Muḥammad, upon his family, and companions. May Allāh be pleased with all of the companions of the Messenger of Allāh (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Allah alone is Sufficient for us, and He is the Best Disposer of affairs for us.⁸

Translated by: Riyāḍ al-Kanadī