Daily Hadith: Seeking Forgiveness More Than 70 Times a Day
Hadith:
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“By Allah, I seek forgiveness from Allah and repent to Him more than seventy times a day.”
— [Sahih al-Bukhari 6307]
Why 70 Times, From the One Free of Sin
This hadith holds an obvious tension worth sitting with directly: the Prophet ﷺ was described as free from sin, protected and guided in a way no one else was, and yet he’s the one describing a habit of seeking forgiveness more than seventy times daily.
If istighfar were only about erasing wrongdoing, this wouldn’t make sense. What it points to instead is that seeking forgiveness isn’t only a reaction to sin — it’s a posture of constant humility and nearness to Allah, maintained regardless of how much or little a person has actually gotten wrong that day. If the most protected person in Islamic history practiced it this frequently, it isn’t a punishment reserved for the guilty; it’s a standing act of worship in its own right.
What Istighfar Actually Does
Despite being the most beloved to Allah and free from sin, the Prophet ﷺ constantly turned to Allah in repentance. This shows the humility and mindfulness we should all strive for. Seeking forgiveness (استغفر الله) softens the heart, removes sins, and brings mercy, blessings, and ease — themes we’ve written about more broadly in Allah’s Mercy Is Greater Than His Anger, where repentance is described as genuinely wiping the matter clean, not just easing guilt.
Daily Sunnah Practice: Say “Astaghfirullah” Frequently
Make it a habit to say “Astaghfirullah” throughout the day — after conversations, when idle, during chores, or walking. Seventy times sounds like a lot in the abstract, but spread across a normal day of small idle moments, it’s less a discipline of setting aside dedicated time and more a discipline of filling the gaps that would otherwise go unused. It’s a Sunnah, a purifier, and a spiritual lifeline in our busy lives.
