The First Repentance
رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنْفُسَنَا، وَإِنْ لَمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا، وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ.
رَبَّنَا ظَلَمْنَا أَنْفُسَنَا وَإِنْ لَمْ تَغْفِرْ لَنَا وَتَرْحَمْنَا لَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ
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“Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves, and if You do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we will surely be among the losers.”
Form: A description of the state of need and the confession of sin, iqrar bi-dh-dhanb. The first prayer in the history of mankind that Allah taught Adam for the performance of repentance (tawba).
Tafsir of Sheikh Abd al-Rahman al-Saadi
Sheikh as-Saadi writes: “In this supplication is concealed the essence of sincere repentance: the acknowledgement of one’s own guilt, the absence of any excuses, and the entreaty for the forgiveness and mercy of the Creator. It was precisely in this that Adam differed from Iblis, who was arrogant.”
Tafsir of Imam Ibn Kathir
Ibn Kathir points out: “These are the very words (kalimat) that Adam received from his Lord, as is stated in Surah al-Baqarah (2:37), and Allah accepted his repentance.”
Tafsir al-Baghawi
“The two of them said: ‘Our Lord! We have wronged ourselves (by eating the fruit of the forbidden tree)…’”—they harmed themselves through this disobedience.
“‘…and if You do not forgive us and have mercy upon us, we will surely be among the losers…’”—those who perished.
In al-Mustadrak of al-Hakim (2/375) there are reports about how Adam wept and uttered these words after he had left Paradise.