From the pro-active actions the believers can take to remove their sins, there are:
🔹Istighfār (seeking forgiveness)
🔹Tawbah (sincere repentance)
🔹Performing good deeds
We have gathered a collection of narrations from the Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) teaching us simple acts of worship which erase our sins or result in the angels seeking forgiveness for us. They include things we may do in our daily lives without a second thought, or things we ought to aspire to add to our routines.
The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) famously said, “ Verily, actions are but by intentions, and every person shall have (be rewarded for) what they intended .”[1]
Therefore, when we consider the following ahadīth, we should try to ensure that we not only carry out these actions regularly, but also intend that our bad deeds are wiped out as a result.
1️⃣. Daily Prayers
The Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said: “ The five daily prayers, Jumu’ah (Friday prayers), and Ramadān remove bad deeds between one and the next, if major sins are avoided. ”[Muslim]
2️⃣. Fasting in Ramadān
“ Whoever fasts Ramadān out of faith and the hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven. ”[Al-Bukhārī & Muslim]
3️⃣. Worship on Laylat al-Qadr
“ Whoever spends the night of Laylat al-Qadr in prayer out of faith and the hope of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven .”[Al-Bukhārī]
4️⃣. Fasting on the Day of ‘Arafah, and ‘Āshūrā
“ It (fasting on the Day of ‘Arafah) expiates the sins of the past year as well as the coming year. ”[Muslim]
“ Fast the Day of ‘Āshūrā, for indeed I anticipate that Allāh will forgive (the sins of) the year before it .”[Ibn Mājah]
5️⃣. Performing Hajj/‘Umrah
“ Whoever performs pilgrimage to this House and does not behave in an obscene or immoral manner will return free of sin like the day his mother gave birth to him. ”[Al-Bukhārī]
6️⃣. Wudū’
“ When a Muslim or believer washes his face in ablution, every sin committed with his eyes will be washed away with the last drop of water. When he washes his hands, every sin committed with his hands will be washed away with the last drop of water. When he washes his feet, every sin committed with his feet will be washed away with the last drop of water, until he emerges purified from sin .”[Muslim]
“ There is no man that performs Wudū’, does it well, and prays, except that when he prays, he will be forgiven, whatever [sins he commits] between that and the next prayer.” [An-Nasā’i]
7️⃣. Bowing and prostrating in prayer
“ When the servant stands to pray, all his sins are taken and placed on his head and shoulders. Every time he bows or prostrates, the sins fall away .”[At-Tabarānī]
8️⃣. The night prayer and supplication
“ When it is the last third of the night, our Lord; the Blessed; the Superior, descends every night to the heaven of the world and says, “Is there anyone who invokes Me (demands anything from Me), that I may respond to his invocation; is there anyone who asks Me for something that I may give (it to) him; is there anyone who asks My forgiveness that I may forgive him? ”[Al-Bukhārī]
9️⃣. Spreading salām
“ Two Muslims will not meet and shake hands except their sins are forgiven before they separate. ”[Abū Dāwūd]
🔟. Following up a bad deed with a good deed
“ Be conscious of Allāh wherever you are. Follow the bad deed with a good one in order to erase it, and engage others with beautiful character (Tirmidhi) .”
1️⃣1️⃣. Saqadah (voluntary charity)
“ Charity extinguishes sin just as water extinguishes fire. ”[At-Tirmidhī]
1️⃣2️⃣. Arriving early for the congregational prayer
“ One of you does not sit waiting for the prayer except that he is counted as being in the prayer, so long as he does not break his ablution. The angels supplicate for him saying, ‘O Allāh, forgive him. O Allāh, have mercy upon him. ’”[Muslim]
1️⃣3️⃣. Calling the athān and the one who attends that prayer
“ The Mu’ath-thin’s sins will be forgiven as far as his voice reaches, and every wet and dry thing will ask forgiveness for him. For the one who attends the prayer, twenty-five hasanāt (good deeds) will be recorded, and it is will be expiation (for sins committed) between them (the two prayers) .”[Ibn Mājah]
1️⃣4️⃣. Arriving early for jumu’ah and sitting silently
“ If a man takes bath on Friday, cleans himself as much as he can, oils his hair, applies perfume available in his house, sets forth for the mosque, does not separate two people (to make a seat for himself), performs as many Prayers as written [by Allāh] for him, remains silent when the Imam speaks, his sins between that Friday and the following Friday will be forgiven. ”[Al-Bukhārī]
1️⃣5️⃣. Saying “Āmīn” after the imām when he recites Al-Fātihah
“ If any one of you says, ‘Āmīn’ and the angels in the heavens say ‘Āmīn’ with the former coinciding with the latter, all his past sins will be forgiven .”[Al-Bukhārī]
1️⃣6️⃣. Standing from rukū’
“ When the imām says, ‘Sami`a Allāhu liman hamidah,’ you should say, ‘Allāhumma Rabbana lak al-hamd’. And if the saying of any one of you coincides with that of the angels, all his past sins will be forgiven .”[Al-Bukhārī]
1️⃣7️⃣. Remaining seated after prayer
“ If a person stays in his place after the prayer, the angels supplicate for him. Their supplication is, ‘O Allāh forgive him. O Allāh, have mercy upon him.’ ”[Musnad Ahmad]
1️⃣8️⃣. Waiting in the masjid in between prayers
“ Shall I not tell you of that by which Allāh expiates your sins and increases your good deeds? ” They said, “Of course, O Messenger of Allāh.” The Prophet said, “ Thorough ablution despite difficulty, taking many steps to the mosque, and waiting for one prayer after another .”[Muslim]
1️⃣9️⃣. Praying Fajr and ‘Asr in congregation
“ The angels of the day and the angels of the night meet at the Fajr and ʻAṣr prayers. They meet at the Fajr prayer and the angels of the night ascend, while the angels of the day remain. They then meet at the ʻAṣr prayer, and the angels of the day ascend while the angels of the night remain. Their Lord asks them, ‘How did you leave my slaves?’ They reply, ‘We came to them and they were praying and we left them and they were praying, so forgive them on the Day of Judgement .”[Musnad Ahmad]
2️⃣0️⃣. Performing theDuha prayer
“ Whoever continuously performs the two rak’āh of Ad-Duha will have his sins forgiven, even if they are like the foam of the sea. ”[At-Tirmidhī]
2️⃣1️⃣. Walking to the masjid
“ Whoever purifies himself for ablution in his house and walks to a House among the Houses of Allāh in order to fulfil an obligation among the obligations of Allāh, then one step of his will expiate his sins and another step will elevate his status .”[Muslim]
2️⃣2️⃣. Visiting the sick
“A Muslim does not visit his brother except that Allāh sends seventy thousand angels who supplicate for him, whichever hour of the day it is until the evening, or whichever hour of the evening it is until morning.” [Muslim]
2️⃣3️⃣. Attending circles of remembrance
“ Verily, Allāh Almighty has caravans of angels who have no other job but to follow gatherings of remembrance. When they find such gatherings of remembrance, they sit with them; some of them surround the others with their wings until the space between them and the heavens is covered.
When they disperse, they ascend to the heavens and Allāh Almighty asks them, even though he is best informed about them, ‘From where have you come?’ They say: ‘We came from Your servants on earth who were glorifying You, declaring Your Greatness and Oneness, praising You and asking from You.’ Allāh says: ‘What do they ask from Me?’ They say: ‘They ask for Your Paradise.’ Allāh says: ‘Have they seen My Paradise?’ They say, ‘No’. Allāh says: ‘What if they were to see My Paradise?’ They say: ‘They seek your Protection’. Allāh says: ‘From what do they seek my protection?’ They say: ‘From your Hellfire, our Lord.’ Allāh says: ‘Have they seen my Hellfire?’ They say, ‘No’. Allāh says: ‘What if they were to see My Hellfire?’ They say: ‘They ask for Your Forgiveness.’ Allāh says: ‘I will pardon them, give them what they request, and grant them protection.’ They say: ‘Our Lord, there is one among them, a simple servant who happened to pass by and sit there alongside them.’ Allāh says: ‘I will also grant him pardon, for whoever sits with these fellows will not suffer misery.’ ”[Al-Bukhārī]
2️⃣4️⃣. Supplicating after eating or putting on a new garment
“ If anyone eats food and then says: ‘Praise be to Allāh Who has fed me with this food and provided me with it through no might and power on my part, former and latter sins will be forgiven. If anyone puts on a garment and says: ‘Praise be to Allāh Who has clothed me with this and provided me with it through no might and power on my part,’ former and later sins will be forgiven. ”[Abū Dāwūd]
2️⃣5️⃣. Remembrance of Allāh (athkār)
“ And he who utters ‘subhānAllāhi wa bihamdihi (Glory be to Allāh and His is the Praise)’ one hundred times during the day, his sins are wiped away even if they are like the foam of the sea. ”[Al-Bukhārī & Muslim]
2️⃣6️⃣. Saying words of istighfār (seeking forgiveness)
“ He who says: ‘Astaghfir ullāh-allathī lā ilāha illā Huwal-Hayyul-Qayyūm, wa atūbu ilayhi (I seek the Forgiveness of Allāh, there is no true God except Allāh, the Ever-Living, the Self- Subsisting, and I turn to Him in repentance)’, his sins will be forgiven even if he ran away from the battlefield [while he was engaged in fighting for the cause of Allāh] .”[At-At-Tirmidhī]
2️⃣7️⃣. The supplication at the end of every meeting
“ Whoever sits in a gathering and indulges in idle talk, then says before leaving that gathering, ‘Glory be to you, O Allāh, and your praises. I bear witness there is no God but you, I seek your forgiveness and repent to you,’ he will be forgiven for whatever happened in that gathering of his. ”[At-Tirmidhī]
2️⃣8️⃣. Not be hasty in demanding back loans
“ Once a man died and was asked, ‘What did you use to say (or do) [in your life time]?’ He replied, ‘I was a businessman and used to give time to the rich to repay his debt and [used to] deduct part of the debt of the poor.’ So he was forgiven (his sins.) ”[Al-Bukhārī]
2️⃣9️⃣. Reciting Sūrah Al-Mulk
“ There is a Sūrah in the Qur’ān which contains thirty ayāt which kept interceding for a man until his sins are forgiven. This Sūrah is ‘Blessed is He in Whose Hand is the dominion’ [i.e., al-Mulk] .”[At-At-Tirmidhī
These are just some of the many actions we may perform on a regular basis which could result in our sins (from the known and the unknown) being erased by Allāh, the Most-Merciful. Let us strive to increase in these actions and become consistent in them so that we may be successful, inshā’Allāh!