The Prophet ﷺ said, "Blessed is the one who finds abundant seeking of forgiveness recorded in his book of deeds."
قال النبي ﷺ: طوبى لمن وجد في صحيفته استغفارا كثيرا.
Nasai narrated it in Amal al-Yawm wal-Layla (455), and Ibn Majah (3818), both from Amr bin Uthman bin Saeed bin Kathir bin Dinar Himsi, who said, "Our father narrated to us, Muhammad bin Abdul-Rahman bin Irq narrated to us, saying, I heard Abdullah bin Busr say," and he then related it. Its chain is hasan because of Muhammad bin Abdul-Rahman bin Irq and Amr bin Uthman, for both of them are truthful narrators.Similar in meaning is what was narrated from Zubayr, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Whoever wishes his record to please him, let him increase his seeking of forgiveness in it." Tabarani narrated it in al-Awsat (Majma al-Bahrayn, 4750), and Bayhaqi in al-Shuab (639), both by way of Atiq bin Yaqub bin Siddiq bin Musa Zubayri, who said, "The two sons of Mundhir, Ubaydullah and Muhammad, narrated to me, from Hisham bin Urwa, from his father, from Zubayr," and he related it. Tabarani said, "It is not narrated from Zubayr except through this chain, Atiq narrated it alone."I say, in its chain is Muhammad bin Mundhir, who is Ibn Ubaydullah, and he is ruined, indeed he was accused of narrating fabrications from reliable narrators, especially from Hisham bin Urwa. As for Ubaydullah bin Mundhir, I have not found anyone who deemed him reliable, except that Ibn Hibban mentioned him among his trustworthy narrators.As for what was narrated from Ibn Abbas, who said the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Whoever persists in seeking forgiveness, Allah will grant him a way out of every hardship, relief from every distress, and will provide for him from where he does not expect," its chain is daif. Abu Dawud narrated it (1518), and Ahmad (2234), and Nasai in Amal al-Yawm wal-Layla (456), and Hakim graded it sahih (4/262), all of them through various routes from Walid bin Muslim, who said, "Hakam bin Musab narrated to us, Muhammad bin Ali bin Abdullah bin Abbas narrated to us, from his father, from Ibn Abbas," and he related it. Hakim said, "This hadith has a sahih chain." Dhahabi criticized this, saying, "There is unknown status regarding Hakam."I say, this Hakam, Abu Hatim said of him, "He is a shaykh of Walid bin Muslim. I do not know of anyone else who narrated from him." That is his statement. No one deemed him reliable except that Ibn Hibban mentioned him among his trustworthy narrators, while saying he makes mistakes, even though he also mentioned him among the discredited narrators, saying, "He narrates things alone whose soundness cannot be denied by one concerned with this field is not correct, it is not permissible to cite him as evidence nor to narrate from him except for the sake of comparison," and he cited two hadiths from him, one of them being the hadith mentioned.As for what was narrated from Huzaifa, who said, "My tongue was sharp toward my family, though it did not extend beyond them to others. I mentioned this to the Prophet ﷺ, and he said, 'Where do you stand with regard to seeking forgiveness? Seek Allah's forgiveness seventy times a day,'" its chain is daif. Ibn Majah narrated it (3817), and Nasai in Amal al-Yawm wal-Layla (450), and Ahmad (23340), all of them through various routes from Abu Ishaq, from Abu Mughira, from Huzaifa, and he related it.Abu Mughira is Bajali or Kharifi, there is disagreement about his name, and Abu Ishaq Sabi alone narrated from him. No one deemed him reliable, so he is unknown. The hadith was also narrated through the route of Abu Ishaq, from Muslim bin Nudhayr, from Huzaifa, but this is an error. The correct version is the narration of those who narrated it from Abu Ishaq, from Abu Mughira, from Huzaifa. And Allah knows best.As for what was narrated from Ayesha, that the Prophet ﷺ used to say, "O Allah, make me among those who, when they do good, rejoice, and when they do wrong, seek forgiveness," its chain is daif. Ibn Majah narrated it (3820), and Ahmad (25980), and Abu Yaala (4472), all of them by way of Hammad bin Salama, who said, "Ali bin Zayd narrated to us, from Abu Uthman Nahdi, from Ayesha," and he related it. Its chain is daif due to the weakness of Ali bin Zayd, who is Ibn Jadan.