To seek forgiveness from Allah is called "Istighfar."
In many places in the Quraan, Allah tells us to seek forgiveness and there are many ahadith pertaining to this. Here are some beneficial resources to learn more about seeking forgiveness from Allah.
Seeking Forgiveness - gives 7 instances in the Quraan where Allah mentions seeking forgiveness. Also includes ahadith from Riyaadh us Saliheen.
Authentic Duaas for Seeking Forgiveness from MuslimFortress; PDF chart of 12 duaas for istighfaar
The Best Prayer for Forgiveness (for younger readers) PDF - has a nice chart at the end to help memorize this duaa.
The Leading Supplication for Seeking Forgiveness – Shaykh ul-Islaam Ibn Taymeeyah - A Summary of the Explanation of the Hadeeth of ‘The Leading Supplication for Seeking Forgiveness’. by Shaykh ul-Islaam Ibn Taymeeyah - AbdurRahman.org.
‘Indeed the major supplication for forgiveness is
اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي
لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ
خَلَقْتَنِي وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ
وَأَنَا عَلَى عَهْدِكَ وَوَعْدِكَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ
أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا صَنَعْتُ
أَبُوءُ لَكَ بِذَنْبِي وَأَبُوءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَيَّ
فَاغْفِرْ لِي
فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ
O Allaah You are my Lord,
there is none worthy of worship in truth except You,
You created me and I am Your slave
and I abide by Your covenant and promise as best as I can,
I seek refuge in You from the evil that I have committed,
I profess to you my sins and I acknowledge Your favour upon me,
so forgive me
verily no one forgives sins except You.
Audio of this duaa (MP3)
Related
Seeking Forgiveness - Abdul Hakeem Bilaal Davis:
Seeking forgiveness from Allah is a part of Tawbah (repentance). This page has resources that discuss the importance of making tawbah (and hastening to make it) as well as manners of making tawbah.
Shaykhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullah) said:
“Indeed whenever I waiver and become indecisive in my mind about an issue, or about something or a situation [which is problematic for me] then I ask forgiveness of Allaah the Most High, a thousand times or more, or less until He opens my chest for me and solves the problem which I was confused about. Even if at that time I was in a market place, or in a masjid or in a mountain pass or a school, that does not prevent me from the remembrance [of Allaah] and asking for forgiveness until I achieve my objective.” (Source)
