accepts His servants' repentance and is pleased thereby, and the One Who forgives the sins
and turns them into good deeds by His great favour. He is the One Who forgives the sins
though they may be great, and He veils them though they may be numerous.
The words derived from forgiveness have mostly been associated with Allah. One of them is
al-Ghafir as in this verse: "The One Who forgives the sins" (Qura'n, 40:3). The second is al-
Ghafur; He has said, "... then [if he] asks forgiveness of Allah, he shall find Allah Forgiving,
Merciful" (Qura'n, 4:110). A third is al-Ghaffar as in: "And surely I am most Forgiving to one
who repents and believes and does good deeds" (Qura'n, 20:82), "... seek forgiveness of your
Lord; surely He is the most Forgiving" (Qura'n, 71:10), and "... surely He is the Mighty, the
great Forgiver" (Qura'n, 39:5). It is proven, by making a reference to the Holy Qura'n, that all
these Attributes, which are derived from forgiveness, are applied only to Allah, the Most
Exalted One. Having killed a Copt, Moses implored his Lord thus: "Lord! Surely I have
harmed my own self; so, forgive me" (Qura'n, 28:16). He first admitted his sin then sought
His forgiveness. Allah also revealed the fault of David then said, "So We forgave him this
(lapse)" (Qura'n, 38:25). He addressed Muhammed saying, "So that Allah may forgive your
past and future faults" (Qura'n, 48:2). Has He not in these examples exposed a sin then
forgiven it? In one of his supplications, Prophet Muhammed says, "Lord! I implore You to
forgive me an apparent forgiveness and a concealed one, and to forgive open and secret sins."
The meanings of maghfira, the root word of al-Ghaffar, al-Ghaafir, and al-Ghafur are clear
in the verse saying: "The One Who forgives the sins and accepts the repentance, the One Who
is severe in punishment, the Lord of bounty; there is no god but He; to Him is the eventual
return" (Qura'n, 40:3).
Al-Ghaffar is the One Who very often veils [the sins and faults of His servants], so much so
that He does not propagate one's sins in the life of this world nor in the life hereafter. One of
the companions of the Messenger of Allah was asked once, "What did you hear the
Messenger of Allah say with regard to one's silent supplication?" He answered by saying that
he had heard the Messenger of Allah say, "Allah, the most Honoured, the Most Great, will
touch His servant who believes in Him with His mercy by veiling his sin from the public in
the life of this world, and in the life hereafter He will ask him about each and every sin and
fault he had committed. Once he admits all of them and realizes that he is going to perish on
their account, the Almighty will say, `I have veiled your sins in the past short life, and in this
one I am going to forgive them.' Then he will be handed the book of his good deeds." All this
happens to those who believe in Him; as regarding those who do not, and the hypocrites, He
will deal with them quite differently.
- "Al-Qahhar"
Allah has said, "Say: Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the One, the
Supreme" (Qura'n, 13:16).