We are constantly asking for forgiveness from Allah swt. As humans, we err. Allah understands that and is always open to forgiving our sins. But did you know that there are different types of forgiveness we can seek from Allah?
In the last ten nights of Ramadhan, our beloved Prophet (saw) highly encouraged us to recite this dua:
اللهم انك عفو تحب العفو فاعفو عنا
(Allahuma Innaka Affuwun , Tuhibbul afua , Fa’afu Anna)
“O Allah, You are The One Who pardons greatly, and You love to pardon, so pardon me.”
In this dua, we are asking Allah to grant us “‘Afu”, which is a concept separate from “Maghfirah”.
Maghfirah: is for Allah to forgive you for the sin but the sin will still be registered on your book of deeds. Maghfirah is Allah’s forgiveness for your sin but on the Judgment Day it will be written on your record, Allah will ask you about it but HE won’t punish you because of it.
‘Afuw: is for Allah to forgive you for the sin and delete it from your book of deeds as if it did not happen. ‘Afuw is Allah’s pardon for your sin, it will be completely erased from your record and Allah won’t ask you about it on Judgement day.
Be sure to include this dua in your daily prayers and dzikr, especially in the last few days of Ramadhan.
May Allah forgive us all this Ramadhan, inshaAllah.
