اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي
Allahumma innaka 'afuwwun tuhibbul-'afwa fa'fu 'anni.
O Allah, You are Pardoning and You love to pardon, so pardon me.
Where this dua comes from
‘Aishah asked the Prophet ﷺ: “If I knew which night was Laylat al-Qadr, what should I say in it?” He told her to say this dua (Sunan Ibn Majah 3850; also Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 3513).
What it means
‘Afuw is one of the names of Allah: the One who pardons, and erases the sin itself rather than only covering it. The dua asks for that complete pardon, in the nights when it is most hoped for.
When to say it
- Through all of the last ten nights, especially the odd nights.
- In sujood, in the last part of the night, and after the prayers.
- As often as you like. Many people repeat it between their other duas.
In the printed editions of Jami’ at-Tirmidhi the dua includes one more word, karim (“Generous”): Allahumma innaka ‘afuwwun karimun tuhibbul-‘afwa fa’fu ‘anni. The same hadith in Sunan Ibn Majah has the shorter wording above, and some scholars note the extra word is missing from older manuscripts of Tirmidhi. Either wording is fine to say.