The shaikh, Dr. ʿAbdullāh Al-Bukhārī, may Allāh protect him, said:

The Importance of Asking [Allāh] for Forgiveness

Narrated authentically from Imām Mālik ibn Mighwal, may Allāh have mercy on him, is his saying:

I heard Abū Yaḥyá saying: “I complained to Mujāhid about sins; he said, ‘How far you are still from the thing that wipes them out.'” Meaning: seeking forgiveness.

Al-Zuhd by Imām Aḥmad, p.307.

Source: @dr_albukhary. 5 Apr 21.