Assalam-o-alikum,
Sister, We are only humans so inevitably we will make mistakes and commit sins from time to time. Often, we tend to despair when we commit a sin. But Alhamdullilah, our forgiveness is only a prayer away. We don’t need any intercessors. We don’t have to pray to anyone else. We have a direct link to Allah (SWT). MashaAllah what a beautiful religion Islam is.
On the authority of Anas (RA), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah say:
Allah the Almighty has said: “O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness as great as that.”
To receive forgiveness from God there are three requirements:
1. Recognizing the offense itself and its admission before God.
2. Making a commitment not to repeat the offense.
3. Asking for forgiveness from God.
If the offense was committed against another human being, or against society, a fourth condition is added:
1. Recognizing the offense before those against whom offense was committed and before Allah.
2. Committing oneself not to repeat the offense.
3. Doing whatever needs to be done to rectify the offense (within reason) and asking pardon of the offended party.
4. Asking Allah for forgiveness.
There are no particular words to say for asking forgiveness. However, Muslims are taught many phrases and words to keep repeating daily asking God’s forgiveness. For example:
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Astaghfiru-Allah,
“I ask forgiveness from Allah”
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Subhanaka-Allah humma wa bi hamdika wa ash-hadu al la Ilaha illa Anta astaghfiruka wa atubu ilayk, “Glory be to You, Allah, and with You Praise (thanks) and I bear witness that there is no deity but You, I ask Your forgiveness and I return to You (in obedience)”.
As all human being commit sins, therefore Allah (SWT) encourages people to repent to Him, and He (SWT) says:
“And your Lord said: ‘Invoke Me, (i.e. believe in My Oneness, and ask Me for anything) I will respond to your (invocation). Verily! Those who scorn My worship (i.e. do not invoke Me,) they will surely enter Hell in humiliation.” (Ghaafir 40:60).
”If they then repent, it will be better for them, but if they turn away, Allah will punish them with a painful torment in this worldly life and in the Hereafter. And there is none for them on earth as a Wali (supporter, protector) or a helper.” (At-Tawbah 9:74)
Repentance from all sins is obligatory on every adult Muslim. This is emphasized by Allah is His saying:
“And all of you beg Allah to forgive you all, O believers, that you may be successful.” (An-Noor 24:31)
In a Hadith the Messenger of Allah (SAW) says:
“O people! Repent to Allah and seek for His forgiveness. I repent to Him in a day 100 times.” (Muslim).
The Prophet (SAW) has also informed us that repentance can be done any time during the day or night. Abu Musaa Al-Ash‘aree narrated that the Prophet (SAW) said:
“Allah holds out His Hand during the night to receive the repentance of the one who has committed wrong during the day and holds outs His Hand during the day to receive the repentance of the one who has committed wrong during the night.” (Muslim)
And to emphasize how much Allah’s loves when His servant repents to Him, the Prophet (SAW) said:
“Allah is happier when a servant of His repents to Him than a man who was on his camel in a waterless desert and the camel escaped from him with his food and water. When he has lost hope of finding it, he retired to a tree and lied down under its shade. As he was there, the camel suddenly appeared in front of him. He took hold of its halter and said in his state of excessive joy: ‘O my Lord You are my servant and I am Your Lord’. He uttered this erronious statement as a result of his being over-joyed.”(Muslim)
The Doors of repentance ares open for you and for all people all the time until their death. So sister, do not dispair and be happy that you are going to get the best reward possibly in this world and for sure in the hereafter if you repent and ask for your forgiveness from Allah (SWT) no matter what kind of and how big the sins are. One proof of Allah's Mercy on you is that He has guided you to this website where you can learn a lot about Islam and InshaAllah this will help you in becoming a very good Muslimah. Ameen.
See you around Sister.
Wassalam.