سورة نوح

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Malik ibn Anas said: One day Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said to Sufyan al-Thawri: "O Sufyan! Whenever Allah bestows a blessing on you and you wish for that blessing to endure, increase your praise and thanks to Allah. Allah says in the Noble Qur'an: 'If you give thanks, I shall certainly increase [My blessing] upon you.' (Ibrahim/7) And whenever you find sustenance slow in coming, increase your seeking of forgiveness, for Allah says: اسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّکُمْ إِنَّهُ کانَ غَفَّاراً، یُرْسِلِ السَّماءَ عَلَیْکُمْ مِدْراراً، وَ یُمْدِدْکُمْ بِأَمْوالٍ وَ بَنِینَ [Ask forgiveness of your Lord; indeed He is Most Forgiving. He will send the sky upon you in abundant showers, and will help you with wealth and sons]; meaning in this world. وَ یَجْعَلْ لَکُمْ جَنَّاتٍ [And He will make for you gardens]; meaning in the hereafter. O Sufyan! Whenever a matter grieves you, whether it concerns a ruler or someone else, say much: لَا حَوْلَ وَ لَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللهِ [There is no power and no strength except with Allah], for this dhikr is the key to relief and a treasure from the treasures of paradise."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Allah tests His servants at the time of their evil deeds with shortage of fruits, withholding of blessings, and closing the doors of goods, so that the repentant may repent, the sinner may break off from sin, the one who takes heed may take heed, and the one who restrains himself from sin may restrain himself. And Allah, the Glorified, has made repentance a cause for abundance of sustenance and mercy upon creation, and said: اسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّکُمْ إِنَّهُ کانَ غَفَّارا؛ یُرْسِلِ السَّماءَ عَلَیْکُمْ مِدْراراً، وَ یُمْدِدْکُمْ بِأَمْوالٍ وَ بَنِینَ وَ یَجْعَلْ لَکُمْ جَنَّاتٍ [Ask forgiveness of your Lord, indeed He is ever Forgiving; He will send the sky upon you in showers, and help you with wealth and sons, and make for you gardens] (Nuh/10-12). So the mercy of Allah be upon the one who turns to repentance, seeks pardon for his sins, and hastens to righteous deeds before the arrival of death.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): Whoever Allah has bestowed a blessing upon, let him praise Allah; whoever finds his sustenance slow in coming, let him seek forgiveness of Allah; and whoever is grieved by some matter, let him say: لَا حَوْلَ وَ لَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللهِ [There is no power and no strength except by Allah].

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Abundant seeking of forgiveness brings sustenance.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Seeking forgiveness increases sustenance.

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him) said to one of his companions: "For requesting a child from Allah, recite this supplication! [and with these words ask Allah for a child]: رَبِّ لا تَذَرْنِی فَرْداً وَ أَنْتَ خَیْرُ الْوارِثِینَ وَ اجْعَلْ لِی مِنْ لَدُنْکَ وَلِیًّا یَرِثُنِی فِی حَیَاتِی وَ یَسْتَغْفِرُ لِی بَعْدَ مَوْتِی وَ اجْعَلْهُ لِی خَلْقاً سَوِیّاً وَ لَا تَجْعَلْ لِلشَّیْطَانِ فِیهِ نَصِیباً اللهُمَّ إِنِّی أَسْتَغْفِرُکَ وَ أَتُوبُ إِلَیْکَ إِنَّکَ أَنْتَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِیمُ [My Lord, do not leave me alone and You are the best of inheritors; and grant me from Yourself an heir who will inherit from me in my lifetime and seek forgiveness for me after my death; and make him for me of sound creation and do not give Satan any share in him. O Allah, indeed I seek Your forgiveness and turn in repentance to You; indeed You are the Forgiving, the Merciful]. Repeat this supplication seventy times, for whoever recites it abundantly, whatever wealth, children, and good of this world and the Hereafter he seeks from Allah, Allah the Exalted will grant him his share, for He Himself says in the Quran: اسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّکُمْ إِنَّهُ کانَ غَفَّارا؛ یُرْسِلِ السَّماءَ عَلَیْکُمْ مِدْراراً، وَ یُمْدِدْکُمْ بِأَمْوالٍ وَ بَنِینَ وَ یَجْعَلْ لَکُمْ جَنَّاتٍ [Ask forgiveness of your Lord, indeed He is ever Forgiving; He will send the sky upon you in showers, and help you with wealth and sons, and make for you gardens] (Nuh/10-12)."

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Someone said in his presence, "Astaghfirullah (I seek forgiveness from Allah)." He said: "May your mother mourn you! Do you know what seeking forgiveness is? Seeking forgiveness is the station of the exalted people, and it is a name that has six meanings. First: regret over the sin committed. Second: the resolve to abandon the sin in the future. Third: paying back people's rights so that you meet Allah with no right of anyone upon you. Fourth: the resolve to fulfil every obligatory duty you have neglected and to discharge it. Fifth: striving to melt away the flesh that has grown on your body from unlawful things, through grief over the past, until the skin clings to the bone and new flesh grows between them. Sixth: making the body taste the pain of obedience just as you made it taste the sweetness of sin. Then you say: 'Astaghfirullah.'"