رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنفُسَنَا وَإِن لَّمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ
“Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers.” [Quran 7:23]
The garden was silent. The air, thick with regret. Adam (AS) and Hawa (AS) had everything—paradise itself—but for a single moment, they let their guard down. One mistake. One slip. And now, the weight of it crushed them.
They had disobeyed their Lord.
But unlike Iblis, who justified his arrogance, they didn’t make excuses. They didn’t argue. They didn’t blame. They turned to Allah (SWT), their voices trembling, their hearts shattered, and made this dua—a plea so pure that it became the template for repentance for every believer to come.
Because what is sin if not wronging ourselves?
When we fall, when we give in to weakness, when we look in the mirror and don’t recognize who we’ve become—it’s not Allah (SWT)we harm, it’s our own souls.
But this dua teaches us: mercy is always within reach.
“We have wronged ourselves”—admitting our faults instead of justifying them.
“If You do not forgive us”—acknowledging that no one else can erase what we’ve done.
“We will surely be among the losers”—because what greater loss is there than losing Allah (SWT)’s mercy?
No matter how far you’ve strayed, you are never too far to return.
So make this your dua. Whisper it in the quiet of the night. Let it soften your heart. Because the ones who seek His forgiveness? They are never turned away.
