The fifth Kalimah of Islam is Kalimah Astaghfar which means “the word of penitence” (touba karna). When Muslims want to ask for forgiveness from their Allah they recite Astaghfar. The Kalimah Astaghfar or fifth kalimah in Arabic is as follow;
اَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ رَبِّىْ مِنْ كُلِّ ذَنْۢبٍ اَذْنَبْتُهٗ عَمَدًا اَوْ خَطَا ًٔ سِرًّا اَوْ عَلَانِيَةً وَّاَتُوْبُ اِلَيْهِ مِنَ الذَّنْۢبِ الَّذِیْٓ اَعْلَمُ وَ مِنَ الذَّنْۢبِ الَّذِىْ لَآ اَعْلَمُ اِنَّكَ اَنْتَ عَلَّامُ الْغُيُوْبِ وَ سَتَّارُ الْعُيُوْبِ و َغَفَّارُ الذُّنُوْبِ وَ لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ اِلَّا بِاللهِ الْعَلِىِّ الْعَظِيْمِؕ
astaghfiru-llāha rabbī min kulli dhanbin adnabtuhu ʿamadan ʾaw khaṭāʾan sirran ʾaw ʿalāniyyataw wa atūbu ʾilayhi minal dhanbi-lladhī aʿlamu wa minal dhanbi-lladhī lā aʿlamu innaka ʾanta ʿallāmul-ghuyūbi wa sattārul-ʿuyūbi wa ghaffāru dhunūbi wa lā ḥawla wa lā quwwata illā billāhil-ʿalīyyil-ʿaẓīm.
“I seek forgiveness from Allah, my Lord, from every sin I committed knowingly or unknowingly, secretly or openly, and I turn towards Him from the sin that I know and from the sin that I do not know. Certainly You, You (are) the knower of the hidden things and the Concealer (of) the mistakes and the Forgiver (of) the sins. And the strength to prevent from the sins and power to do good deeds is from Allah, Who is the Highest, the Most Magnificent.”
In fifth Kalimah, forgiveness is asked from Allah. We commit sins knowingly and unintentionally; do sinful acts in secret, hidden from everyone and in open, in front of everyone. We also commit a sin and we know about it that we committed that sin but there are also some sinful acts which we are unaware of or don’t know about them. So, from all those sins and from every single sin, we seek forgiveness from Allah (SWT).
Surely, Allah Tala knows the hidden things and nothing is concealed from Him. He sees and hear every single thing happening everywhere and none can hide anything from Allah.
Moreover, Allah is the Concealer of the mistakes or faults; He (SWT) hides the sins of His creation. Furthermore, Allah is the most Merciful and Forgiver of the sins. So, His creation asks for forgiveness from Him because of the trust in His mercy.
It’s narrated by Abu Huraira (RA) that Prophet (SAWW) said, “When Allah created the creations, He wrote with Him on His Throne: ‘My Mercy has preceded My Anger.’” (Sahih Al-Bukhari – Book 93 Hadith 545). It means that we must trust in Allah’s Mercy and seek forgiveness from Him if we commit any sin as He is the Forgiver and the most Merciful.
Certainly, Allah gives us the strength to prevent ourselves from the sins and He grants us the power to do the good deeds. Surely, Allah is the Highest, the Most Magnificent.
The explanation and significance of fifth Kalimah of Islam shows and tells us that if we commit any sin we should repent and seek Allah’s Pardon sincerely instead of becoming hopeless.
