Very Beautiful Hadith and Forgiveness in Islam

On the authority of Anas, who said: I heard the messenger of Allah say:
Allah the Almighty has said: “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 as its.”


To receive forgiveness from God there are three requirements:
Recognizing the offense itself and its admission before God.
Making a commitment not to repeat the offense.
Asking for forgiveness from God.
If the offense was committed against another human being, or against society, a fourth condition is added:
Recognizing the offense before those against whom offense was committed and before God.
Committing oneself not to repeat the offense.
Doing whatever needs to be done to rectify the offense (within reason) and asking pardon of the offended party.
Asking God for forgiveness.
There are no particular words to say for asking forgiveness. However, Muslims are taught many phrases and words to keep repeating daily asking God’s forgiveness. For example:
Astaghfiru-Allah, “I ask forgiveness from Allah”
Subhanaka-Allah humma wa bi hamdika wa ash-hadu al la Ilaha illa Anta astaghfiruka wa atubu ilayk, “Glory be to You, Allah, and with You Praise (thanks) and I bear witness that there is no deity but You, I ask Your forgiveness and I return to You (in obedience)”.