from al-Zubayr (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) said: “Whoever wishes his record to gladden him should fill it with abundant seeking of forgiveness.”1

Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī, and others narrated from Bilāl ibn Yasār ibn Zayd, from his father, from his grandfather, that he heard the Prophet (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) say: “Whoever says, ‘I seek forgiveness from Allah, besides whom there is no deity, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of all, and I repent to Him,’ will be forgiven, even if he fled from battle.”2

This hadith indicates that seeking forgiveness erases sins, whether major or minor, for fleeing from battle is a major sin.

It should be understood, however, that the seeking of forgiveness intended here is that which is accompanied by abandoning persistence in sin. It then constitutes sincere repentance that effaces all that came before it. If, however, a person says with his tongue, “I seek Allah’s forgiveness,” while not desisting from a sin, he is merely asking Allah for forgiveness, just as when he says, “O Allah, forgive me.” This is a request and supplication for Allah’s forgiveness; it therefore has the same status as all other supplications to Allah, and one may hope that it will be answered.

The scholars have stated that a person who says, “I seek Allah’s forgiveness and repent to Him,” may be in one of two situations:

The first is that he says this while his heart remains intent on persisting in the sin. He is then lying when he says, “and I repent to Him,” because he has not repented. Repentance cannot coexist with a servant’s persistence in sin.