12 Ways To Erase Sins

Following is a compilation of Ahadith that speaks of ways in which we can erase our sins, InshaAllah!

1. Repenting

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 nearly as great at it. [Hadith Qudsi]

Abu Bakr radhiAllahu anhu reported: “I heard the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam saying: ‘Allah forgives the man who commits a sin (then feels ashamed), purifies himself, offers a prayer and seeks His forgiveness.’ Then he recited the ‘ayyah: ‘And those who, when they do an evil thing or wrong themselves, remember Allah and implore forgiveness for their sins – and who can forgive sins except Allah? – and will not knowingly repeat (the wrong) they did. The reward of such will be forgiveness from their Lord, and gardens underneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever- a bountiful reward for workers.”‘ [al-‘lmran: 135-136]. [Abu Dawud, an-Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, al-Baihaqi, and at-Tirmidhi who calls it hasan.]

2. Performing Wudhu

Narrated Abû Hurayrah radhiAllahu anhu: Allah’s Apostle sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam said: When a bondsman – a Muslim or a believer – washes his face (in course of ablution), every sin he contemplated with his eyes will be washed away from his face along with water, or with the last drop of water; when he washes his hands, every sin they wrought will be effaced from his hands with the water, or with the last drop of water; and when he washes his feet, every sin towards which his feet have walked will be washed away with the water, or with the last drop of water, with the result that he comes out pure from all sins. [Sahih Muslim]

Narrated Uthman ibn AffanradhiAllahu anhu: The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: He who performed ablution well, his sins would come out from his body, even coming out from under his nails. [Sahîh Muslim]

3. Performing Prayer

Narrated Uthman ibn Affan radhiAllahu anhu: “I heard Allah’s Apostle sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam say: When the time for a prescribed prayer comes if any Muslim performs ablution well and offers his prayer) with humility and bowing, it will be an expiation for his past sins, so long as he has not committed a major sin; and this applies to all times. [Sahîh Muslim]

Narrated Abu Hurayrah radhiAllahu anhu: “The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: He who purified himself in his house, and then he walked to one of the houses of Allah for the sake of performing fard (obligatory act) out of the Fara’id (obligatory acts) of Allah, both his steps (would be significant) as one of them would obliterate his sin and the second one would raise his status. [Sahih Muslim]

4. Attending the Jumu’ah Salah

Narrated Abû Hurayrah radhiAllahu anhu: The Messenger of Allah sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam said: Five prayers and from one Friday prayer to (the next) Friday prayer is an expiation (of the sins committed in between their intervals) if major sins are not committed. [Sahih Muslim]

Narrated by Salman Al Farsi radhiAllahu anhu: The Prophet Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, “Whoever takes a bath on Friday, purifies himself as much as he can, then uses his (hair) oil or perfumes himself with the scent of his house, then proceeds (for the Jumua prayer) and does not separate two persons sitting together (in the mosque), then prays as much as (Allah has) written for him and then remains silent while the Imam is delivering the Khutba, his sins in-between the present and the last Friday would be forgiven.” [Sahih Al-Bukhari]

5. Doing good deeds

Narrated Ibn Masud radhiAllahu anhu: A man kissed a woman and then came to Allah’s Apostle and told him of that, so this Divine Inspiration was revealed to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam: “And offer Prayers perfectly at the two ends of the day, and in some hours of the night; (i.e. (five) compulsory prayers). Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds (small sins). That is a reminder for the mindful.” (Qur’an: 11.114) The man said, Is this instruction for me only?” The Prophet said, “It is for all those of my followers who encounter a similar situation.” [Sahih Al-Bukhari]

6. Performing Umrah and Hajj

Narrated by Abû Huraira: The Prophet Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, “Whoever performs Hajj for Allah’s pleasure and does not have sexual relations with his wife, and does not do evil or sins then he will return (after Hajj free from all sins) as if he were born anew.” [Sahih Al-Bukhari]

Abdullah ibn Mas’ud radhiAllahu anhu narrated that the Prophet Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: “Alternate between Hajj and ‘Umrah (regularly), for these two remove poverty and sins just as the blacksmith’s bellows removes all impurities from metals like iron, gold, and silver. The reward for Hajj Mabrur is nothing short of Paradise.” [Nasa’i and Tirmidhi, who regard it a sound hadith ]

Narrated Abû Huraira radhiAllahu anhu: Allah’s Apostle Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, “(The performance of) ‘Umra is an expiation for the sins committed (between it and the previous one). And the reward of Hajj Mabrur (the one accepted by Allah) is nothing except Paradise.” [Sahih Al-Bukhari]

7. Saying ‘Aamin’

Narrated by Abu Huraira radhiAllahu anhu: The Prophet Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, “When the Imam says ‘Aamin’, then you should all say ‘Aamin’, for the angels say ‘آmin’ at that time, and he whose ‘Aamin’ coincides with the ‘Aamin’ of the angels, all his past sins will be forgiven.” [Sahih Al-Bukhari]

8. Fasting and performing prayers on the night of Qadr in Ramadan

Narrated by Abû Huraira radhiAllahu anhu: The Prophet Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, “Whoever fasted the month of Ramadan out of sincere Faith (i.e. belief) and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his past sins will be forgiven, and whoever stood for the prayers in the night of Qadr out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven .” [Sahih Al-Bukhari]

9. Sending salutations

Abû Talha Al Ansari radhi Allahu anhu said, “The Prophet, Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, woke up one day cheerful and beaming. His companions exclaimed, ‘O Prophet of Allah, you woke up today cheerful and beaming.’ He replied,

‘Yes! A messenger of Allah, the Mighty, and the Glorified, came to me and said, “If anyone from your ummah sends you a salutation, Allah will record for him ten good deeds, wipe off ten of his sins, and raise him thereby ten degrees in rank, and He will return his salutation with a similar salutation”.’ [Ahmad] Ibn Kathir considers this a sound hadith]

10. Being kind to animals

Narrated Abu Huraira radhiAllahu anhu: Allah’s Apostle Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, “While a man was walking he felt thirsty and went down a well and drank water from it. On coming out of it, he saw a dog panting and eating mud because of excessive thirst. The man said, ‘This (dog) is suffering from the same problem as that of mine. So he (went down the well), filled his shoe with water, caught hold of it with his teeth, and climbed up and watered the dog. Allah thanked him for his (good) deed and forgave him.” The people asked, “O Allah’s Apostle! Is there a reward for us in serving (the) animals?” He replied, “Yes, there is a reward for serving any animate.” [Sahih Al-Bukhari]

Narrated Abu Huraira radhiAllahu anhu: Allah’s Apostle Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, “A prostitute was forgiven by Allah, because, passing by a panting dog near a well and seeing that the dog was about to die of thirst, she took off her shoe, and tying it with her head-cover she drew out some water for it. So, Allah forgave her because of that.” [Sahih Al-Bukhari]

11. Leaving grey hair

Amr ibn Shu’aib related on the authority of his father from his grandfather that the Prophet Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, “Do not pluck the grey hairs as they are a Muslim’s light. Never a Muslim grows grey in Islam except that Allah writes for him, due to that, a good deed. And he raises him a degree. And he erases for him, due to that, one of his sins.” [Related by Ahmad, Abû Dawûd, at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasa’i, and Ibn Majah] And Anas said, “We used to hate that a man should pluck out his white hairs from his head or beard.” [Sahîh Muslim]

12. Supplications

Narrated Abu Huraira radhiAllahu anhu: Allah’s Apostle said, “Whoever says, ‘Subhan Allah wa bihamdihi,’ one hundred times a day, will be forgiven all his sins even if they were as much as the foam of the sea.” [Sahih Al-Bukhari]

Narrated Abu Huraira radhiAllahu anhu: Allah’s Apostle Sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, “Whoever says: ‘La ilaha illal-lah wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahu-l-mulk wa lahu-l-hamd wa huwa ‘ala kulli shai’in qadir,’ one hundred times will get the same reward as given for manumitting ten slaves; and one hundred good deeds will be written in his accounts, and one hundred sins will be deducted from his accounts, and it (his saying) will be a shield for him from Satan on that day till night, and nobody will be able to do a better deed except the one who does more than he.” [Sahih Al-Bukhari]

Narrated Abu Hurayrah radhiAllahu anhu: Allah’s Apostle sallAllahu alayhi wa sallam said: If anyone extols Allah after every prayer thirty-three times [SubhanAllah], and praises Allah thirty-three times [Alhamdulillah], and declares His Greatness thirty-three times [Allah hu Akbar], ninety-nine times in all, and say to complete a hundred: “There is no god but Allah, having no partner with Him, to Him belongs sovereignty and to Him to praise due, and He is Potent over everything,” his sins will be forgiven even if these are as Abûndant as the foam of the sea. [Sahih Muslim]