In the last ten nights of Ramadan, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ worked harder than at any other time of the year. He stayed up at night to pray, and he woke his family so they could pray too.
He was looking for a very special night: Laylat al-Qadr, the Night of Power. On this one night, Allah began to reveal the Quran, and worship done on it is better than a thousand months.
Nobody knows exactly which night it is. The Prophet ﷺ told us to look for it in the odd nights of the last ten nights of Ramadan.
His wife Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, had a question. She asked, “O Messenger of Allah, if I know which night is Laylat al-Qadr, what should I say on it?”
The Prophet ﷺ taught her a short, beautiful dua: “Allahumma innaka ‘afuwwun tuhibbul-‘afwa fa‘fu ‘anni.” It means, “O Allah, You are the One who pardons, and You love to pardon, so pardon me.”
To pardon is to forgive completely, as if the mistake were wiped away. On the most special night of the year, the Prophet ﷺ taught us to ask Allah for that.
We all make mistakes, and Allah loves to forgive. Aisha’s question teaches us that the best thing to ask for on the best night is Allah’s forgiveness, and that we can ask for it with a few short words.
From a hadith narrated by Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), recorded in Jami at-Tirmidhi and Sunan Ibn Majah. The Prophet’s ﷺ effort in the last ten nights, and seeking the night in the odd nights, are narrated by Aisha in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.