In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy
All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and upon all his family and companions. To proceed:
Dear brothers and sisters! This week’s sermon is quite great, because we’ll be discussing four of Allah’s names – Al-Ghafir, Al-Ghafur, Al-Ghaffar and Al-Afuw. All four of these are related to one topic: forgiveness. And on how much we need His forgiveness!
When we did a deep dive into Al-Rahman Al-Rahim, it was incredible to learn that Allah the Most High used two names back-to-back to describe His mercy. And now, when it comes time to describe His forgiveness, there are multiple names (Some that I’m not even mentioning – there are at least seven!) to describe His forgiving nature.
Respected servants of Allah! What do each of these names mean?
Al-Ghafur, Al-Ghafir, and Al-Ghaffar all come from the same Arabic root word, “ghafara,” which literally means to cover up or conceal. The connotation became one of forgiveness because to forgive someone means to overlook or ignore harm they ever did to you.
Al-Ghafir is the one who forgives.
Al-Ghaffar indicates frequency; He is the one who continuously forgives. Al-Ghafur is the one who has the power to forgive, regardless of the sin. This is one of Allah’s most often mentioned names in the Qur’an, about 91 times. One of the most common ways this name shows up are: “Al-Ghafur Al-Rahim” (The forgiving and merciful) and “Al-Ghafur Al-Wadud” (the one full of generous love, who loves to forgive), and “Al-Aziz Al-Ghafur” (the one who forgives out of power, not out of weakness).
In Surah Al-Hijr, verse 49, Allah the Almighty says:
“Tell My worshipers that I am the Forgiving, the Most Merciful.” [Qur’an, 15:49]
This is your Lord – who is all forgiving, who forgives when He doesn’t have to, when we don’t deserve it, who forgives out of His love for us. He’s constantly telling us about His loving and forgiving nature, so who are we to not seek his forgiveness, or worse, to despair from it and think that we have sinned too much? In this context, to despair is actually to deny Allah’s power – in a way, you are telling Allah that your sins are bigger than his power.
In Surah Al-Zumar, verse 53, Allah the Most High says to the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him):
“Say, ˹O Prophet, that Allah says,˺ “O My servants who have exceeded the limits against their souls! Do not lose hope in Allah’s mercy, for Allah certainly forgives all sins. He is indeed the All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [Qur’an, 39:53]
We are human beings; we fall short. That’s how Allah created us. He didn’t create us as angels who are perfect. No matter how much we fall, we must strive to not despair in Allah’s love and mercy – even when we do not understand why things happen the way they do. For sure it is hard to trust in Allah’s plan, especially when we may be in crisis or managing a lifelong challenge, and sometimes we feel despair creeping in. But Allah is telling us who He is, and sometimes, we just need to close our eyes, hold on, and pray for His mercy.
Remember that Allah’s expectation is not that we will be perfect and not sin. He created us as human, who will sin by nature, so that we may constantly turn to Allah, who is Al-Rahman Al-Rahim, Al-Wadud, Al-Hakim, Al-Ghaffar, Al-Ghafir, Al-Ghafur, Al-Afuw and more.
Abu Hurairah reported: The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said:
“By the One in whose hand is my soul, if you did not sin, Allah would replace you with people who would sin, and they would seek forgiveness from Allah and He would forgive them.”
What does this tell us? The point of our existence is not to not sin, it’s to constantly seek Him and return to Him, even when we do sin. He is the constant, His nature is constant. Our awareness of His nature can shift, depending on the state of our hearts and faith, but He does not change.
And He loves to forgive. You just have to ask for it and take the step towards Him.
Ok, so let’s get into the fourth name: Al-Afuw.
This name also signifies Allah’s forgiving nature, but it does not come from the same root word as the others. It comes from the Arabic root word, afa, which means to erase to the point that no trace is left. So while the words stemming from ghafara mean to overlook and forgive, Al-Afuw means that Allah doesn’t even take into account that the sin occurred. Al-Afuw wipes your slate clean.
Allah mentions this name several times in the Qur’an, typically for major sins, and the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) commanded us to evoke this name of Allah during the last ten nights of Ramadan.
It was narrated from Aisha that she said:
“O Messenger of Allah, what do you think I should say in my supplication (in my Du’a), if I come upon Lailatul-Qadr?” He said: “Say: ‘Allahummah innaka afuwwun tuhibbul-afwa, fa’fu anni (O Allah, You are Forgiving and love forgiveness, so forgive me).” [Sahih]
Here’s why saying this Du’a, and asking Allah for Afw is so important: We will not enter Jannah (Paradise) because of our good deeds; we will enter Jannah (Paradise) because of Allah’s mercy and forgiveness. You may be wondering, how can our deeds not help us? They do help, but deeds alone are not the way forward to Paradise.
Aisha reported: The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said:
“Follow the right course, be devoted, and give glad tidings. Verily, none of you will enter Paradise by his deeds alone.” They said, “Not even you, O Messenger of Allah?” The Prophet said, “Not even me, unless Allah grants me His mercy. Know that the most beloved deed to Allah is that which is done regularly, even if it is small.”
Think about it. How much do you actually worship Allah in your daily life? I don’t ask this to shame (and I ask it of myself first and foremost), but to show how we do not glorify and worship Allah in a way He deserves. And yet, he magnifies all our good deeds – one good deed counts as ten, and in Ramadan, counts as 70 or more (In fact, if you’re able to worship on Lailatul Qadr, your deeds can be counted as if you performed them for up to 1000 months). One bad deed? That counts as one, and He asks us to ask him for forgiveness so He can eliminate those sins, those bad deeds.
Respected brothers and sisters! Allah the Almighty is Al-Ghafur (in Arabic: ٱلْغَفُورُ), He is The One who completely forgives our sins, shortcomings, failings and faults. His forgiveness is unlimited, and He is all compassionate. He is Most High; His forgiveness extends to all who turn to him in humility and seek repentance.
As mentioned earlier, the Arabic word Al-Ghafur is from the root ghain-fa-ra (غ ف ر), which has the following classical Arabic connotations: to cover, veil, conceal, hide to pardon, to forgive, to set aright, to cover a thing, to protect it from dirt.
As in the name Al-Ghaffar. There are three accompanying names, Al-Ghafir, Al-Ghaffar, and Al-Ghafur. Al-Ghafir connotes His nature of being the forgiver, whereas Al-Ghaffar and Al-Ghaffur are more grandiose, meaning the great forgiver, the all-forgiving. Linguistically these two names are not synonymous even though both relate to the ideas of His forgiveness and share the same root. Islamic scholars note that Al-Ghaffar describes His ability to forgive as being great. It is all-encompassing, doesn’t matter the circumstance, the individuals, or the degree of sin. If Allah the Almighty wills, He can forgive. Al-Ghafur refers to the vastness, perpetual nature of forgiving time after time. Together these three names are mentioned in the Qur’an ninety-eight times. Of these 98 mentions, Al-Ghafur appears 91 times.
Allah the Most High says:
“[O Muhammad], inform My servants that it is I who am the Forgiving, the Merciful.” [Qur’an, 15:49]
And He the Almighty says:
“As accommodation from a [Lord who is] Forgiving and Merciful.” [Qur’an, 41:32]
And He says:
“He has only forbidden to you dead animals, blood, the flesh of swine, and that which has been dedicated to other than Allah. But whoever is forced [by necessity], neither desiring [it] nor transgressing [its limit], there is no sin upon him. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.” [Qur’an, 2:173]
From this name, we learn the importance of maghfirah, which means to seek the forgiveness of Allah the Almighty. The believer benefits in knowing that Allah the Most High is Al-Ghafur because it reminds us that we worship an oft-forgiving Lord. Despite making the same mistake repeatedly, we’re not doomed by our past.
Narrated Abu Hurairah: I heard the Prophet (Peace be upon him) saying:
“If somebody commits a sin and then says, ‘O my Lord! I have sinned, please forgive me!’ And his Lord says, ‘My servant has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for it, I therefore have forgiven my servant (his sins).’ Then he remains without committing any sin for a while and then again commits another sin and says, ‘O my Lord, I have committed another sin, please forgive me,’ and Allah says, ‘My servant has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for it, I therefore have forgiven my servant (his sin). Then he remains without committing any another sin for a while and then commits another sin (for the third time) and says, ‘O my Lord, I have committed another sin, please forgive me,’ and Allah says, ‘My servant knows that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for it. I have forgiven My servant – three times.'” [Bukhari]
Dear brothers and sisters! There’s a great Du’a from Abubakar al-Sadiq (RA), he said:
“O Allah, You know me better than I know myself, and I know myself better than these people who praise me. Make me better than what they think of me, and forgive those sins of mine of which they have no knowledge, and do not hold me responsible for what they say.” [Silsilah Al-Huda wan-Nur, no. 640]
This covers an essential aspect of the names that share the root gh-f-r. It’s not just a name of forgiveness but the idea of concealment. But not in a conniving way, to conceal something ugly and to beautify it. Allah conceals our faults from being exposed, so we’re not under public scrutiny. It should inspire us to become better knowing we’ve been given a second, third, or fourth chance and to help uplift others. So, His mercy extends to forgive perpetually and to hide our faults from being exposed.
Abu Hurairah reported Allah’s Messenger (Peace be upon him) as saying:
“The servant (whose fault) Allah conceals in this world, Allah would also conceal (his faults) on the Day of Resurrection.” [Muslim]
And in a different narration, Abu Hurairah reported Allah’s Messenger (Peace be upon him) as saying:
“The servant (who conceals) the faults of others in this world, Allah would conceal his faults on the Day of Resurrection.” [Muslim]
The analogy (Qiyas) often used is that every time we sin, a crack appears, which uncovers or exposes us. When we ask for istighfar (seeking Allah’s forgiveness) – we’re asking for Him to show us His mercy, to protect us by repairing or covering what’s been exposed. Indeed Allah the Almighty is both Al-Ghaffar (The Great Forgiver), the one who forgives big and small sins, and Al-Ghafur (The Oft-Forgiver), the one who forgives time and time again.
Respected servants of Allah! We all know that Allah the Almighty forgives all sins if we sincerely regret and seek forgiveness even if shirk. With regard to sins that have to do with the rights of other people, they can only be expiated by repenting from them. One of the conditions of repenting from them is restoring the rights of those who have been wronged.
Imam Muslim narrated from Abdullah Ibn Amr Ibn al-As (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) said:
“The martyr will be forgiven for all his sins except debt.”
Imam Al-Nawawi said:
“The words of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) “except debt” draw attention to all rights owed to other people. Jihad (fighting for Allah’s cause), martyrdom, and other righteous deeds do not expiate for transgressions against the rights of other people. Rather, they only expiate for transgressions against the rights of Allah the Almighty.
If you cannot find the person to seek forgiveness from, then you should do good deeds for the one who was wronged, such as praying for him, praying for forgiveness for him and doing good deeds to be given to him, to take the place of that backbiting and slander as an example. If their money is with you before they died, give that money to his children or relatives who qualify to inherit him or her and if none exists, then give it to charity on their behalf. Imam Al-Hasan al-Basri said:
“The expiation for gossip is to pray for forgiveness for the person about whom you gossiped.”
Finally, I pray that we get to know our Lord more, fall in love with Him, and seek Him in all our affairs. May He make us of those who get afw, or pardoning, and may He always keep our hearts connected to Him, ameen.
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. Prayers, peace and mercy are upon our beloved master, Muhammad, the son of Abdullah (Peace be upon him), his family and Companions.
Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene’s Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: gusauimam@gmail.com or +2348038289761.
This Jumu’ah Khutbah (Friday sermon) was prepared for delivery today, Friday, Muharram 23, 1447 AH (July 18, 2025).
