"Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest."
Join the DarusSalam community in building a habit of reciting Qur'an, sending Salawat upon Rasulullah (S), and performing istighfar!
The benefits and virtues of reciting the Holy Qur'an, sending salawat upon Rasulullah (S), and performing istighfar are numerous. Along with bringing great barakah into our lives, these acts of 'ibadah are a means by which Allah (SWT) elevates our rank in Jannah.
Though it may be challenging to make a habit of tilawah, salawat, and istighfar individually, there is strength in numbers! Join the DarusSalam community in our goal of collectively completing hundreds of Qur'an khatams and millions of salawat and istighfar each month. On the final Thursday of the month, a collective du'a is made after 'isha.
Upcoming monthly du'a dates:
November 24, 2022
December 29, 2022
January 26, 2023
February 23, 2023
Submit your dhikr toward our community goal
Tracking and submitting your dhikr is a great way to keep yourself accountable. Furthermore, we are hopeful that setting and achieving this lofty goal as a community will attract the special mercy of Allah (SWT) unto our community and homes, inshaAllah.
Track your progress
Download and print our Salawat and Istighfar tracking cards! You may also pick them up from the masjid lobby.
Download Salawat tracking card
Download Istighfar tracking card
How can I make a habit of dhikr?
Dhikr should be an integral part of every believer's life. Allah (SWT) says in the Holy Qur'an: "O believers! remember Allah abundantly, and glorify Him morning and evening." (33:41-42). Though we may often find it challenging to find time in our day for it, we should make an effort to prioritize and build a daily routine of dhikr. Below are a few tips to help us accomplish this, inshaAllah.
- Keep a tasbih/tasbih counter with you at all times. Whenever you find some free time between classes/meetings/chores, do some dhikr.
- It is common habit to reach for our phones when we are unoccupied with anything else or trying to 'kill time'. Instead of your phone, reach for your tasbih.
- Allocate 5 to ten minutes after salah for dhikr.
- Keep a set time in the day for dhikr. An effective method is to tie your dhikr to another habit that you perform regularly, i.e. after salah, during a workout, on your commute, before bed, etc.
- Engage in friendly competition with family and friends to see who performs the most dhikr.
- Start with a small goal and gradually increase it weekly. Starting with a huge goal right away may lead to burnout.
Istighfar (Seeking Forgiveness)
Its virtues
The benefits of istighfar are numerous. Click each item below for more detail.
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[accordion-item title="▽ Fullfillment of Allah's command"]
“Seek forgiveness with God! Certainly, God is Ever Forgiving [and] Merciful.” (Qurʾān: 73:20)
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[accordion-item title="▽ Protection from punishment"]
“God will not punish them while they seek [God’s] forgiveness.” (Qurʾān: 8:33)
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[accordion-item title="▽ Barakah and mercy"]
“Ask forgiveness from your Lord; Verily, He is Ever-Forgiving. He will send rain to you in abundance, increase you in wealth, children, orchards and rivers.” (Qurʾān: 71:10-12)
“Why do you not seek forgiveness with God, so that you may receive [His] mercy?” (Qurʾān: 27:46)
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[accordion-item title="▽ Relief from worry and stress"]
“If anyone continually asks pardon, God will appoint for them a way out of every distress, a relief from every anxiety, and will provide for them from where they cannot imagine.” (Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Ibn Mājah)
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[accordion-item title="▽ Likeness to Prophet (S)"]
Muḥammad (peace and blessings upon him) said, “There is [at times] some sort of shade upon my heart, and I seek forgiveness with God [at least] a hundred times a day.” (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)
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[accordion-item title="▽ Forgiveness for our sins"]
“Whoever does evil or wrongs themselves but afterwards [sincerely] seeks God’s Forgiveness, they will find God Very Forgiving [and] Most Merciful.” (Qurʾān: 4:110)
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[accordion-item title="▽ Admittance to Jannah"]
“Those who have committed indecent actions or wronged themselves with evil, [thereafter] remember God and ask forgiveness for their sins; – and none can forgive sins but God – and do not knowingly persist in what [wrong] they have done. For such persons, the reward is forgiveness from their Lord, and gardens with rivers flowing underneath [in Paradise], wherein they shall reside forever. How excellent is this reward for the doers [of righteous deeds].” (Qurʾān 3:135 – 136)
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Methods
Many du'as for istighfar have been related to us. Below are a few common du'as. Click the link at the bottom for more.
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[accordion-item title="▽ أَسْتَغْفِرُ ٱللَّٰهَ "]
Astaghfirullah
(I seek forgiveness from Allah.)
This dua is one of the duas of forgiveness that the Holy Prophet used to recite often, especially after every Salah. In a hadith narrated by Thauban, the Prophet (saw) would say “astaghfirullah” three times immediately after concluding any Salah. When he (saw) was then asked by his Companions on how we Muslims should seek forgiveness, He (saw) said: “I say: Astaghfirullah, Astaghfirullah (I seek forgiveness from Allah. I seek forgiveness from Allah).” (Muslim)
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Allahumma anta Rabbi la ilaha illa anta, khalaqtani wa ana 'abduka, wa ana 'ala ahdika wa wa'dika mastata'tu, A'udhu bika min sharri ma sana'tu, abu u Laka bi ni'matika 'alayya, wa abu u Laka bi dhanbi faghfirli, fa innahu la yaghfiru-dh dhunuba illa anta
(O Allah! You are my Lord! None has the right to be worshipped but You. You created me and I am Your slave, and I am faithful to my covenant and my promise as much as I can. I seek refuge with You from all the evil I have done. I acknowledge before You all the blessings You have bestowed upon me, and I confess to You all my sins. So I entreat You to forgive my sins, for nobody can forgive sins except You.)
Shaddad ibn Aws (R) relates that the Prophet (S) said that the (Sayyid al-Istighfar) most superior way of asking for forgiveness from Allah is to say (the above du'a). That "If somebody recites it during the day with firm faith in it, and dies on the same day before the evening, he will be from the people of Paradise; and if somebody recites it at night with firm faith in it, and dies before the morning, he will be from the people of Paradise." (Bukhari)
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[accordion-item title="▽ لَّا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ"]
La illaha illa anta Subhanak, inni kuntu min adh-dhalimeen
(There is no God but You; Glory be to You, Truly I have been one of the wrongdoers) (21: 87)
Sa'd ibn Waqas (R) reported that the Prophet (S) said, "The supplication made by the Companion of the Fish (Prophet Yunus (AS)) in the belly of the fish was (the above). If any Muslim supplicates in these words, his supplication will be accepted/responded to."
The Prophet (S) said: "I know words that will cause Allah to remove one's distress. These are the words (of supplication) of my brother Yunus, peace be upon him" (Tirmidhi)
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