When Can I Say: “O Allah, You Are Pardoning and You Love Pardon, so Pardon Me.”?

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Question: Assalam alaykum,

Is the supplication below only a Ramadan supplication or can it be said at any time?

“Allahumma innaka ‘afuwwun tuhibbul ‘afwa fa a‘fu anni” (O Allah, You are Pardoning and you love pardon, so pardon me.)

Answer: Wa alaykum assalam wa rahmatuLlah,

No, this supplication is not specific to Ramadan and it can be made at any time, as is the basis for all supplication, whether transmitted otherwise. Imam Tahtawi, for instance, states that this is of the best of supplications a person can make on the night of the 15th Sha‘ban.

However, the reason for its particular recital in the month of Ramadan is due to the tradition (hadith) related from the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) in which he specifically encouraged it for the Night of Power (laylat al-qadr).

Lady ‘A’isha (Allah Most High be well-pleased with her) said, “I said, ‘Messenger of Allah, if I know what night the Night of Power is, what do you think I should say during it?’ He (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, ‘Say: “O Allah, You are Pardoning and you love pardon, so pardon me. (Allahumma innaka ‘afuwwun tuhibbul ‘afwa fa a‘fu ‘anni)”’” [Tirmidhi; Ibn Majah; Nasa’i]

Please also see: The Last Ten Nights of Ramadan and: Worship & Prayer on Laylat al-Qadr

And Allah Most High alone knows best.

اللهم إنّكَ  عَفُوٌ، تُحِبُّ العَفْوَ، فاعْفُ عنّي

Wassalam,
[Ustadh] Tabraze Azam

Checked and approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Tabraze Azam was born and raised in Ipswich, England, a quiet town close to the east coast of England. His journey for seeking sacred knowledge began when he privately memorized the entire Qur’an in his hometown at the age of 16. He also had his first experience in leading the tarawih (nightly-Ramadan) prayers at his local mosque. Year after year he would continue this unique return to reciting the entire Quran in one blessed month both in his homeland, the UK, and also in the blessed lands of Shaam, where he now lives, studies and teaches.