Said a hundred times in a single sitting
Ibn ʿUmar counted this from the Prophet ﷺ a hundred times before he left the gathering.
رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَتُبْ عَلَىَّ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ
Rabbi-ghfir lī wa tub ʿalayya, innaka anta-t-Tawwābu-r-Raḥīm.
“My Lord, forgive me and turn to me in mercy. Indeed You are the Ever-Returning, the Merciful.”
He asks not only to be forgiven but for Allah to turn towards him. Tawbah moves in both directions.
The full narration
Narrated Abdullah ibn Umar: We counted that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would say a hundred times during a meeting: "My Lord, forgive me and pardon me; Thou art the Pardoning and forgiving One
Source
Sunan Abī Dāwūd · 1516
Ṣaḥīḥ
- Al-Albani: Sahih
- Muhammad Muhyi Al-Din Abdul Hamid: Sahih
- Shuaib Al Arnaut: Hasan Sahih
- Zubair Ali Zai: Sahih