Allah’s Forgiveness in the Quran and Sunnah

indexAllah (swt) repeatedly reminds us that He is the Most Forgiving. Below are Quranic verses and hadiths about Allah’s Forgiving Nature.

I hope that these verses/hadiths will:

1. Encourage you to turn to Allah and ask for His Forgiveness
2. Be more forgiving and merciful to yourself

Forgiving yourself is an important part of being a Happy Muslim. We have all made mistakes in life. If Allah is willing to forgive us, then we should be willing to forgive ourselves too.

…And seek God’s forgiveness! Truly God is much forgiving and Merciful.

The Holy Quran 2:199

O Believers! Turn to God with a sincere repentance.

The Holy Quran 66:8

Whoever repents, believes and does good deeds, he shall be among the successful.

The Holy Quran 28:67

He is the Acceptor of Repentance, Compassionate.

The Holy Quran 9:104

Whoso does evil or oppresses his own self and thereafter seeks God’s forgiveness shall find God most Forgiving, Merciful.

The Holy Quran 4:110

But those who do evil deeds, then repent and believe, they will find your Lord Forgiving and Merciful.

The Holy Quran 7:153

Anyone of you who does a misdeed through ignorance then repents thereafter and makes amends, then verily He is Forgiving, Merciful.

The Holy Quran 6:54

The Quran repeatedly tells us to turn to God for forgiveness.


Our Lord! Forgive me, my parents, and the believers on the Day of Reckoning.

The Holy Quran 14:41

We are encouraged to ask God’s forgiveness for ourselves as well as others.

When comes the Help of God, and Victory, and you do see the people enter God’s religion in crowds: Celebrate the praises of your Lord, and pray for His Forgiveness: For He is Oft-Returning (in Grace and Mercy).

The Holy Quran 110: 1-3

Along with celebrating God’s praise we are supposed to ask His forgiveness.


The Prophet Muhammad reported that the devil said to
God: “I shall continue to lead Thy servants astray as long as their spirits
are in their bodies.” And God replied: “(Then) I shall continue to pardon
them as long as they ask My forgiveness.”

Recorded in Tirmidthi, Hadith 742

(God says) O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it.

Narrated by the Prophet Muhammad in Tirmidhi, Ahmad

(God says) O My servants, you sin by night and by day, and I forgive all sins, so seek forgiveness of Me and I shall forgive you.

Narrated by Prophet Muhammad in Muslim, Tirmidthi

Never lose hope in the mercy and forgiveness of Allah.

15 Comments

  1. YUSUF TAJUDEEN

    Honestly i am motivated and more faithful now i am a sinner and thought i can not be forgiven but with this great verses and hadith ALAHMDULILLAHI. ASTEGFIRULLAH.

    Reply
    1. Sheima (Post author)

      I am very happy to hear that Alhamdulillah

      Reply
  2. Mehedi ifat

    Alhamdulillah … May Allah forgive all of us.

    Reply
    1. Sheima (Post author)

      Ameen ?

      Reply
  3. Syed

    What does Islam says about forgiving others?
    It is different from seeking forgiveness from your creator for yourself. How do we avoid revenge, grudgefulness, severed relations and resentment? Will you shed some light on this?

    Reply
    1. Sheima (Post author)

      Great Question. Islam teaches us that to forgive others is a very high deed. Here are some Quranic verses and hadiths about forgiving others:

      Keep to forgiveness, and enjoin what is right, and turn away from
      the ignorant.

      The Holy Quran 7:199

      …Forgive and pardon…

      Holy Quran 2:109 (middle of verse)

      …Overlook with a gracious forgiveness.

      The Holy Quran 15:85 (end of verse)

      The recompense for an injury is an injury equal thereto; but if a person forgives and makes peace, his reward rests with God; He loves not those who do wrong.

      Holy Quran 42:40

      [Remember that] whatever you are given [now] is nothing but a provision for
      the transitory life of this world. Better and more enduring is the reward
      that God has for those who believe, put their trust in their Lord, avoid
      major sins and shameful deeds, forgive even when they are angry…are constant
      in prayer, conduct their affairs with mutual consultation, spend out of the
      sustenance that We have given them, and when they are oppressed, help and
      defend themselves.

      The Holy Quran, 42:36-39

      Whosoever was patient and forgave: that truly is the firmness of affairs

      The Holy Quran 42:43

      Do not do evil to those who do evil to you, but you deal with them with forgiveness and kindness.

      The Prophet Muhammad as recorded in Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 3, Hadith 335

      A true believer treats others in a better way than they treat us.

      There was a merchant who would lend to the people, and whenever his debtor was in difficult circumstances, he would say to his employees, “Forgive him so that God may forgive us.” So, God forgave him.

      The Prophet Muhammad as recorded in Bukhari, Volume 3, Hadith 292

      The gates of Paradise will be opened on Mondays and on Thursdays, and every servant [of Allah] who associates nothing with Allah will be forgiven, except for the man who has a grudge against his brother. [About them] it will be said: “Delay these two until they are reconciled; delay these two until they are reconciled.”

      The Prophet Muhammad as recorded in Muslim, Abu Dawud, and Malik

      Reply
    2. Aadam

      Pray 5 times a day then ask the question again

      Reply
  4. Ismail Amina

    O Lord, verily we have wronged ourselves, so forgive us. Amiin

    Reply
    1. Sheima (Post author)

      Ameen, thank you for your comment

      Reply
  5. Selina Khatun

    Assalamu Alaikum,
    Thank you for your all explanation. All are really helpful to me. I have a question, I suffer much psychologically due to some familial problem. Will Allah give me return or forgive my other sin or remove those problems?
    Thank you again.

    Reply
    1. Sheima (Post author)

      Walaikum as Salam, yes dear sister For every suffering you go through, Allah forgives your sins. Please remember to pray to Allah to help you through this hardship. Here’s an excellent article about hardship in Islam.
      http://www.islamtomorrow.com/everything/tests.htm

      Reply
  6. Amin

    Amin…
    I am asking the mighty God for His forgiveness, if only our deeds can take us to Jannah, I don’t think if anyone would be safe. God help us

    Reply
    1. Sheima (Post author)

      Ameen 🙂

      Reply
  7. Pargat Singh

    HI, could you please explain more on “The gates of Paradise will be opened on Mondays and on Thursdays, and every servant [of Allah] who associates nothing with Allah will be forgiven, except for the man who has a grudge against his brother. [About them] it will be said: “Delay these two until they are reconciled; delay these two until they are reconciled.””. Many thanks. I have bookmarked your website for future use.

    Reply
    1. Sheima (Post author)

      Thank you for your comment and question. The hadith is saying that some people who have not made peace with each other will be delayed in earning forgiveness from Allah. So it’s very important to Allah that we make peace with each other and not hold grudges/ hatred towards each other .

      Reply

Leave a Reply to Sheima Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *