– It also contains a plea for protection from the condition of the people of Hell, for they are sinners who neglect the obligations and transgress the prohibitions; their end is the Fire—what a wretched abode!
Lessons drawn from these ḥadiths:
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“O Allah, forgive me.” Seeking forgiveness (istighfār) means asking Allah to shield one from the evil consequences of sins while veiling them. Pardon (ʿafw), on the other hand, is the total erasure of their trace, though it may come after the sinner has first been punished, whereas forgiveness is never paired with punishment. Ibn Rajab said: “The best way of seeking forgiveness is for a servant to begin with praising his Lord, then to follow that with admitting his sin, and only then to ask Allah for forgiveness,” as occurs in the report of Shaddād ibn Aws on “the chief supplication for forgiveness.”
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Ibn Rajab also said that there are three causes of forgiveness:
The first is supplication accompanied by hope. Supplication is both commanded and promised a response. The Exalted said, “Call upon Me; I will respond to you” (Qur’an 40:60). The Prophet ﷺ said, “Allah would never open for a servant the gate of supplication and then close for him the gate of response.” Yet supplication is a cause whose effect—an answer—depends on the fulfilment of its conditions and the absence of its impediments. A response may be withheld if any of its conditions are lacking or any obstacle is present. Foremost among its conditions are presence of heart and confident hope in Allah’s answer. In the Musnad (6617) it is reported from Ibn ʿUmar that the Prophet ﷺ said: “These hearts are vessels, some more capacious than others. When you ask, ask Allah while you are certain of a response, for Allah does not answer the supplication of a servant who calls upon Him with a heedless heart.”
Among the greatest causes of forgiveness is that once a servant sins, he hopes for forgiveness from none but his Lord, knowing that no one forgives sins—or holds servants accountable for them—besides Him.