Assalaamu alaykum. Is it incorrect to seek forgiveness even when one has not committed a sin? For example: if a man turns his head to the right and sees a non-Mahram (permanently unmarriageable) woman dressed inappropriately and then turns his head away automatically, is he still allowed to say "Astaghfirullah" (I seek forgiveness from Allah)? Sometimes, I feel that if I seek forgiveness when I see something incorrect, like in the example above, then that in itself is a sin since there is no blame on me and I am repenting when I have not committed any sin. This also occurs when I am not sure if what I have committed is a sin or not, and out of force of habit, I nearly seek forgiveness regardless. Is it wrong to seek forgiveness "just in case" one has actually committed a sin. Would it be a major sin to do this? Sometimes I feel that if I do this, I am contradicting Islamic principles related to forgivness for ocurrences that one has no control over essentially. Can someone repent even if they are not sure if they have committed a sin? Can someone repent after learning that what they did is a sin, given that they did not know it before? (Are all sins committed while being ignorant excused?) Please shed light on these questions. May Allah reward you.

All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

There is no harm in seeking forgiveness of Allah in such situations, and it is neither considered a major sin nor a minor sin. The Islamic Shariah urges the Muslim to seek the forgiveness of Allah frequently, and the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, used to seek the forgiveness of Allah frequently while he was the most pious of all people.

Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah say, 'By Allah, I seek the forgiveness of Allah and repent to Him more than seventy times a day.'" [Al-Bukhaari] Al-Agharr ibn Yasaar Al-Muzani, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "The Messenger of Allah said, 'O people, repent to Allah and ask for His forgiveness, for, indeed, I repent (to Him) a hundred times a day.'" [Muslim]

Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "We used to count that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said one hundred times in one sitting, 'Rabbighfirli wa tub ‘alayya innaka anta at-Tawwaab ar-Raheem.' (O Allah, forgive me and accept my repentance, for You are the Accepter of repentance, the Most Merciful.)" [Abu Daawood - Al-Albaani graded it saheeh (sound)]

The following hadeeth proves that it is prescribed to seek the forgiveness of Allah even if the person did not commit a sin: Abu Ayyoob Al-Ansaari, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, "Neither face nor turn your back to the Qiblah (prayer direction) while defecating or urinating, but turn towards the east or the west." Abu Ayyoob said, "When we came to Syria, we found toilets that were built facing the Qiblah, so we swerved from them and we asked forgiveness of Allah."

Ibn Daqeeq Al-‘Eed wrote:

"It was said that his words 'and we asked forgiveness of Allah' mean that they asked forgiveness of Allah for the person who built those toilets in that forbidden manner (facing the Qiblah). Their reason (the scholars) for this interpretation is that if he swerved from them he would not be doing something forbidden, so he does not need to ask forgiveness. However, the closer meaning is that he was seeking forgiveness for himself, perhaps because he might have faced the Qiblah or turned his back from it in conformity with the construction of the building out of forgetfulness or mistake, and then he remembered and changed his position and sought the forgiveness of Allah. If someone argues that the person who made a mistake or forgot did not commit a sin, so he does not need to ask forgiveness, I say: the pious, who are endowed with refined spiritual state of piety, do such a thing, attributing the mistake to themselves by failing to take the precautions to avoid misdeeds to begin with, and Allah knows best." [Ihkaam Al-Ahkaam]

Allah knows best.