Istighfar: Difference between revisions

* According to some Qur'anic verses, it is permissible, and even recommended, to resort to people who are close to God in asking for God's forgiveness (e.g. [[Qur'an 5]]:35{{enote|O you who have faith! Be wary of Allah, and seek the means of recourse to Him, and wage jihad in His way, so that you may be felicitous.}}).

* In some Qur'anic verses, resort to others, such as the Prophet (s), in asking for divine forgiveness is mentioned (e.g. [[Qur'an 4]]:64{{enote|We did not send any apostle but to be obeyed by Allah’s leave. Had they, when they wronged themselves, come to you and pleaded to Allah for forgiveness, and the Apostle had pleaded for them [to Allah]for forgiveness, they would have surely found Allah all-clement, all-merciful}}).

* In other verses of the Qur'an, God orders the Prophet (s) to ask God to forgive him and his people (e.g. [[Qur'an 47]]:19{{enote|Know that there is no god except Allah, and plead [to Allah] for forgiveness of your sin and for the faithful, men and women. Allah knows your itinerary and your [final] abode}}).

* Some Qur'anic verses recommend believers to ask God to forgive their parents and other relatives as well as other believers (e.g. [[Qur'an 14]]:41{{enote|Our Lord! Forgive me and my parents, and all the faithful, on the day when the reckoning is held.’}}, [[Qur'an 71]]:28,{{enote|My Lord! Forgive me and my parents, and whoever enters my house in faith, and the faithful men and women, and do not increase the wrongdoers in anything but ruin.’}} [[Qur'an 7]]:151,{{enote|He said, ‘My Lord, forgive me and my brother, and admit us into Your mercy, for You are the most merciful of the merciful.}} [[Qur'an 59]]:10,{{enote|And [also for] those who came in after them, who say, ‘Our Lord, forgive us and our brethren who were our forerunners in the faith, and do not put any rancour in our hearts toward the faithful. Our Lord, You are indeed most kind and merciful.’}}).

* Some verses forbid the Prophet (s) and [[believer]]s to ask God to forgive polytheists; this implies that it is permissible to ask Him to forgive believers (e.g. Qur'an 9:113 {{enote|The Prophet and the faithful may not plead for the forgiveness of the polytheists, even if they should be [their] relatives, after it has become clear to them that they will be the inmates of hell.}}).

* Some verses ([[Qur'an 12]]:97-98 {{enote|They said, ‘Father! Plead [with Allah] for forgiveness of our sins! We have indeed been erring (97),He said, ‘I shall plead with my Lord to forgive you; indeed He is the All-forgiving, the All-merciful.’}}) imply that it is permissible to resort to others (such as prophets or Imams) to ask for divine forgiveness, because when the Prophet [[Jacob (a)]]'s children asked him to ask God to forgive them, he promised them to ask Him so in the future.