Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3397
حَدَّثَنَا صَالِحُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو مُعَاوِيَةَ، عَنِ الْوَصَّافِيِّ، عَنْ عَطِيَّةَ، عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ، رضى الله عنه عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " مَنْ قَالَ حِينَ يَأْوِي إِلَى فِرَاشِهِ أَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ الْعَظِيمَ الَّذِي لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْحَىَّ الْقَيُّومَ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْهِ . ثَلاَثَ مَرَّاتٍ غَفَرَ اللَّهُ ذُنُوبَهُ وَإِنْ كَانَتْ مِثْلَ زَبَدِ الْبَحْرِ وَإِنْ كَانَتْ عَدَدَ وَرَقِ الشَّجَرِ وَإِنْ كَانَتْ عَدَدَ رَمْلِ عَالِجٍ وَإِنْ كَانَتْ عَدَدَ أَيَّامِ الدُّنْيَا " . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ غَرِيبٌ لاَ نَعْرِفُهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ هَذَا الْوَجْهِ مِنْ حَدِيثِ الْوَصَّافِيِّ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الْوَلِيدِ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Salih ibn ‘Abdullah narrated to us: Abu Mu‘awiyah narrated to us, from al-Wassafi, from ‘Atiyyah, from Abu Sa‘id (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet, who said: ‘Whoever, when going to bed, says three times, “I seek the forgiveness of Allah the Magnificent—there is no god but He, the Living, the Self-Subsisting—and I repent to Him,” Allah will forgive his sins, even if they are like the foam of the sea, the number of leaves on the trees, the grains of sand at ‘Alij, or the days of this world.’ Abu ‘Isa said: This hadith is hasan gharib. We know it only through this route, from al-Wassafi—‘Ubaydullah ibn al-Walid.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The Arabic uses four comparisons to express the abundance of sins forgiven: sea foam, leaves on trees, sand at ‘Alij, and the days of the world. The compiler identifies al-Wassafi and says this is the only known route.