The standard word to use for apologizing is آسف (asif) and آسفة (asifa). This word is appropriate in formal or business situations.

In casual situations, there are some other colloquial (local dialect) words to use for apologizing. In Morocco, the word سمحلي (smahali) is used to apologize. This word literally means “forgive me”. The word is appropriate to use if you are late, need to get one’s attention, etc. This is also a good word for women to know, since unfortunately harassment does happen.

There have been other incidents where men would follow me in their cars down the street - pulling up and stopping, trying to talk to me as I stomped past them, then pulling ahead again and stopping. They didn’t care if I said I had a husband, but once I said that my husband was Moroccan, their expressions morphed from leering to fearful. With lots of “smahali”s, they would zip away immediately. - (Harassment in North Africa)

If someone says “smahli” or “asif”, you can respond and say “not a problem” by saying ليست مشكلة (layset muskila) in formal situations. To respond to “smahli” in Moroccan dialect (casual situations), you can say “makaen mushkil”.