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I heard a Hadith which says that a man came to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and said: How much I have sinned! And the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) told him: “Say: O Allah, surely Your forgiveness is greater than my sins and I have great hope in Your mercy, so, O Lord, forgive me” – and he told him to repeat it three times. What are the supplications for forgiveness from sins? What are the supplications that will strengthen faith and ward off intrusive thoughts (Waswasah)?
Praise be to Allah.
In the answers to questions no. 3177 and 39775 , we have listed a number of supplications having to do with repentance and seeking forgiveness.
Faith increases by doing acts of worship and righteous deeds, and it decreases by committing sins. So whoever wants to increase his faith , let him focus on obeying Allah and let him avoid disobeying Him. What will help him to do that is spending time with righteous people and keeping away from innovators and sinners.
Among the most important means that will help the Muslim to strengthen his faith that are the following:
Allah, may He be Exalted, tells us that the people of knowledge and faith say: (interpretation of the meaning):
{[Who say], “Our Lord, let not our hearts deviate after You have guided us and grant us from Yourself mercy. Indeed, You are the Bestower”} [Al `Imran 3:8]
Ahmad narrated in Al-Musnad (23463) that `Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) often used to say in his supplication: “Ya muqallib Al-qulub thabbit qalbi `ala dinik (O Controller of the hearts, make my heart adhere firmly to Your religion).” I said: O Messenger of Allah, how often you offer this supplication. He said: “Man’s heart is between two of the Fingers of Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted; if He wills, He causes it to deviate, and if He wills, He causes it to be guided.” At-Tirmidhi narrated it from Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) and classed it as sound. It was also classed as authentic by Al-Albani in Sahih At-Tirmidhi.
At-Tirmidhi (3599) narrated – and classed it as sound – that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Allahumm anfa`ni bima `allamtani wa `allimni ma yanfa`uni wa zidni `ilma (O Allah, benefit me by means of that which You have taught me, and teach me that which will benefit me, and increase me in knowledge).” (Classed as authentic by Al-Albani in Sahih At-Tirmidhi) Whomever Allah increases in knowledge, his faith will grow stronger.
Ahmad (3797) narrated from Ibn Mas`ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that he was in the mosque, offering supplication, and that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) came in whilst he was offering supplication. He said: “Ask, you will be given,” when he [Ibn Mas`ud] was saying: O Allah, I ask You for faith that does not waver, blessing that does not end and to accompany the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in the highest station in Paradise, the Paradise of eternity. Whomever Allah gives faith that does not waver is strong in faith, and it will not be weakened by desires or doubts.
Muslim (2725) narrated that `Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said to me: “Say: Allahumma ihdini wa saddidni (O Allah, guide me and make me steadfast).
Muslim (2721) also narrated from Ibn Mas`ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to say: “Allahumma inni as’aluk Al-huda wa’t-tuqa wa’l-`afafa wa’l-ghina (O Allah, I ask You for guidance, piety, abstinence and independence of means).”
The remedy for intrusive thoughts (Waswas) is to ignore them and turn away from them; to recite a great deal of Quran; to do great deal of righteous deeds; and to call upon Allah, may He be Glorified, and beseech Him to ward off the schemes of the Shaytan from you and to make you steadfast in adhering to the truth.
Supplications that are beneficial in warding off the intrusive whispers of the Shaytan (Waswas) include the following:
{And if an evil suggestion comes to you from Satan, then seek refuge in Allah. Indeed, He is Hearing and Knowing.} [Al-A`raf 7:200]
{And say, “My Lord, I seek refuge in You from the incitements of the devils. And I seek refuge in You, my Lord, lest they be present with me.”}[Al-Mu’minun 23:97-98]
The Hadith mentioned in the question is an inauthentic Hadith. It was narrated by Al-Hakim in Al-Mustadrak (1944) via `Ubaydullah ibn Muhammad ibn Hunayn: `Ubaydullah ibn Muhammad ibn Jabir ibn `Abdullah told me, from his father, from his grandfather, who said: A man came to the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and said: How much I have sinned, how much I have sinned! – he said these words two or three times. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said to him: “Say: O Allah, surely Your forgiveness is greater than my sins and my hope in Your mercy is greater than my hope in my deeds.” The man said it, then [the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)] said: “Say it again,” so he said it again. Then he said: “Say it again,” so he said it again. Then he said: “Get up, for Allah has forgiven you.” (Al-Albani classed this Hadith as inauthentic in Silsilat Al-AHadith Ad-Da`ifah, 9/58)
And Allah knows best.