رَبِّ اغْفِرْ وَارْحَمْ وَأَنْتَ خَيْرُ الرَّاحِمِينَ
Rabbighfir warham wa Anta khayrur-rahimin
My Lord, forgive and have mercy, and You are the best of those who show mercy.
The final verse of Surah Al-Mu'minun — Allah's direct instruction on how to ask Him. Two requests (forgiveness and mercy) followed by a declaration of His supreme qualification to grant them: "You are the best of those who show mercy." When you call Allah "khayrur-rahimin," you acknowledge that all human mercy — from parents, friends, doctors — is a fraction of His. Every act of compassion you have ever received was a sample; His is the source. This du'a is brief by design: sometimes the most powerful prayers are the shortest, because they trust Allah to fill in what words cannot express.
Related Du'as
اللَّهُمَّ اغْفِرْ لِي مَا قَدَّمْتُ وَمَا أَخَّرْتُ وَمَا أَسْرَرْتُ وَمَا أَعْلَنْتُ وَمَا أَسْرَفْتُ وَمَا أَنْتَ أَعْلَمُ بِهِ مِنِّي
O Allah, forgive me for what I have sent ahead and what I have left behind, what I have concealed and what I have made public, where I have transgressed, and what You know about me more than I do.
Sahihرَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي وَتُبْ عَلَيَّ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ
My Lord, forgive me and accept my repentance. Indeed, You are the Acceptor of Repentance, the Most Merciful.
Sahihرَبَّنَا آمَنَّا فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَا وَأَنتَ خَيْرُ الرَّاحِمِينَ
Our Lord, we have believed, so forgive us and have mercy on us, and You are the best of the merciful.
Sahihأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ الَّذِي لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ
I seek the forgiveness of Allah, there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer, and I repent to Him.
Sahih