The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Satan declared, 'By Your might, my Lord, I will never cease to lead Your servants astray as long as their souls remain in their bodies.' The Lord replied, 'By My might and majesty, I will never cease to forgive them as long as they seek My forgiveness.'"
قال رسول الله ﷺ: إن الشيطان قال: وعزتك يا رب لا أبرح أغوي عبادك ما دامت أرواحهم في أجسادهم، قال الرب: وعزتي وجلالي لا أزال أغفر لهم ما استغفروني.
Ahmad narrated it (11237, 11729) through two routes from Ibn Lahia, who said, Darraj narrated to us, from Abu Haytham, from Abu Saeed Khudri, and he mentioned it. There is well-known criticism of Ibn Lahia. As for Darraj, he is Ibn Saman Abu Samh, and his narration from Abu Haytham is daif.However, Ahmad also narrated it (11244) through another route, from Abu Salama, who said, Layth (that is, Ibn Saad) informed us, from Yazid bin Had, from Amr, from Abu Saeed Khudri, and he mentioned it. But there is a break in this chain, for Amr, who is Ibn Abu Amr Qurashi, did not meet Abu Saeed Khudri.Taking the two chains together, the hadith becomes hasan. The hadiths indicating the merit of seeking forgiveness, and urging one to do so, are numerous, and they are mentioned in their proper place.