Al Ghaffaar
The Ever-Forgiving
The Forgiver, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most-Forgiving.
Al-Ghaffaar sees our sins and disobedience, yet still forgives and accepts the repentance of the sincere. He shows never-ending compassion and forgiveness, no matter how big or how small the sin, and He loves to forgive.
Mentions of Al Ghaffaar
From the Quran & Hadith
From the root ghayn-fa-ra (غ ف ر), which carries the classical Arabic connotations of covering, veiling, concealing, hiding; pardoning, forgiving, and setting aright; and covering a thing to protect it from dirt. Forgiveness in this root is not mere overlooking: it is a covering that shields the sinner from the consequences and the shame of the sin.
Three Names from one root
Al-Ghaffaar, Al-Ghafoor, and Al-Ghaafir all refer to Allah's attribute of forgiving, and together the root appears in His Names about 97 times in the Quran: Al-Ghafoor 91 times, Al-Ghaffaar 5 times, and Al-Ghaafir once (Quran 40:3). Al-Ghaffaar is the intensive form: not only One who forgives, but One whose forgiving repeats endlessly, sin after sin, era after era.
He loves to forgive
Allah wants to forgive those who seek istighfaar. In the ḥadīth qudsī narrated by Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), the Messenger of Allah ﷺ relayed: 'O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and hope in Me, I have forgiven you for what you have done, and I do not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to meet Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it.' (Jami at-Tirmidhi 3540) From this we learn it is never too late for someone who seeks the forgiveness of their Lord, even if their sins reach the height of the heavens. Feeling that you ask too much, or too often, misreads Al-Ghaffaar entirely: He is the One who forgives perpetually.
A person who has sinned should never despair of Allah's mercy. The Quran addresses exactly that person: 'Say, O My servants who have transgressed against themselves by sinning, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful' (Quran 39:53). The scholars note that even shirk, when repented from in this life, is forgiven; many of the Companions had worshipped idols before Islam, then changed, sought forgiveness, and Allah forgave them. What the Quran warns against is dying upon it unrepentant (Quran 4:48).
Qul yā ʿibādiya-lladhīna asrafū ʿalā anfusihim lā taqnaṭū min raḥmati-llāh. Inna-llāha yaghfiru-dh-dhunūba jamīʿā. Innahu huwa-l-Ghafūru-r-Raḥīm.
“Say, O My servants who have transgressed against themselves by sinning, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.”
Fa-qultu-staghfirū rabbakum innahu kāna Ghaffārā.
“And said, Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He is ever a Perpetual Forgiver.”
Wa innī la-Ghaffārun liman tāba wa āmana wa ʿamila ṣāliḥan thumma-htadā.
“But indeed, I am the Perpetual Forgiver of whoever repents and believes and does righteousness and then continues in guidance.”
Rabbu-s-samāwāti wa-l-arḍi wa mā baynahuma-l-ʿAzīzu-l-Ghaffār.
“Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them, the Exalted in Might, the Perpetual Forgiver.”
Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported the Messenger of Allah ﷺ relaying from his Lord: 'O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and hope in Me, I have forgiven you for what you have done, and I do not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you.'
Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported the Prophet ﷺ said: whoever conceals the faults of a Muslim, Allah will conceal his faults in this world and the Hereafter.
The One who covers is also the model for how we treat each other. The servant who conceals the faults of others in this world will find his own faults concealed on the Day of Resurrection. Some people actively hunt for the failings of others and are pleased when their suspicion lands. The believer moves the opposite way: looking for the good, covering the ugliness, and giving people room to rise above their mistakes, because that is exactly what he hopes Al-Ghaffaar will do with his own record. Be off-forgiving rather than growing bitter towards humanity at large. Every night carries the same offer: ask, and the covering descends.
Astaghfiru-llāha-lladhī lā ilāha illā huwa-l-Ḥayyu-l-Qayyūmu wa atūbu ilayh
I seek the forgiveness of Allah, besides whom there is no deity, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer, and I turn to Him in repentance.
- Jami at-Tirmidhi 3540
- Sahih Muslim 2590
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