There’s a beautiful du’a that Allah mentions near the end of Surah Baqarah:
وَاعْفُ عَنَّا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَا
Translation: So do ‘affuw on us. And forgive us. And have mercy on us. [Surah Baqarah, verse 286]
Allah mentions three things, in order:
- ‘Affuw ‘annaa: Affuw linguistically means to erase something; to obliterate something; to completely destroy something and leave no traces of it whatsoever. This du’a is saying: make affuw of our sins. Remove them completely.
- Waghfir lanaa: Ghafira linguistically means to protect–that’s why a helmet is called a mighfaar. Read up about Allah’s two names: Al-Ghafuwr and Al-Ghaffaar. Here, the du’a is saying: and if you do not ‘affuw our sins, forgive us, and protect us from the consequences of them.
- Warham naa: Rahmah is mercy; Allah has two names related to this quality–Ar-Rahman and Ar-Raheem. Here, the du’a is saying: and if you do not even forgive our sins, then have mercy on us! Subhanallah!
What an amazing du’a! Do affuw of our sins; and if not, forgive us and protect us from their effects; and if not, have mercy on us!
THAT’S your Lord!
Action Items:
- Memorize this verse. It’s a bit long, but it’s worth it. [link]
- Read up about the names of Allah. Read about Al-Affuw, Al-Ghafuwr, Al-Ghaffaar, Ar-Rahman, and Ar-Raheem.
- Use this du’a. Whenever you commit a sin, follow it up with istighfaar, and some good deeds, and use this du’a; recite it in your sujood, during tawarruk (sitting) after you’ve done all your other du’as, you can say ANY du’a you want (in Arabic only!). So memorize this du’a and use it!