Al-Ghafir
The Forgiver
Exalted and Glorious
You are our Protector; so forgive us and have mercy on us. You are the Best of those who forgive. (7:155)
The Forgiver of sin, the Accepter of repentance, the Severe in punishment, the Bestower of favors. La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshiped, but He). To Him if the final return. (40:3)
This name of Allah is another attribute of Allah which means that He is the Forgiver. Al-Ghaffar is the Forgiver of all things everywhere; Al-Ghafir is the Forgiver for anyone, the Forgiver of the recipient. Allah is the Supreme and He is All-Reaching. He forgives our sins and accepts our repentance when it is sincere. On the other hand, Allah is strict in punishment.
Allah Allah Allah
From: The Meanings of the Names of Our Lord by Shaykh Muhammad Sa’id al-Jamal ar-Rifa’i Head of the Higher Sufi Council in Jerusalem and the Holy Land Teacher at the Dome of the Rock (al-Aqsa)
AL-GHAFIR
He is the Most Forgiving One. An aspect of forgiveness is to hide our faults and treat them as if they had never existed. Allah displays that generosity through all dimensions of this Name. There are three meanings to the forgiveness of Allah, three separate and related divine attributes: al-Ghaffar, al-Ghafir, and al-Ghafur.
Al-Ghafir is His quality of hiding His servants’ shameful acts in order that they be able to live with each other, have faith in each other, and be able to depend on, love, and respect each other. Otherwise, if Allah al-Ghafir in His mercy did not hide out faults, our adverse opinions, ugly thoughts and hateful feelings, everyone would run away from everyone else. There could be neither a society nor a single family.
Next Allah al-Ghafur hides our faults in the realms of the spirits and the angels just as He does in the human realm. The angels see things we cannot see in this world. Allah hides our faults from them so that we will not be ashamed in the Hereafter. Through this Name we may find the same respect and closeness from the spirits and the angels from whom our sins are hidden by Allah al-Ghafur that His forgiveness has permitted us among other people.
Allah’s name al-Ghaffar is the most encompassing in forgiveness. A man whose faults are hidden from others is saved from being ashamed in front of them, but he may still be ashamed of himself within himself. Everyone has a degree of conscience which suffers from his actions. Allah al-Ghaffar in his mercy hides a person’s faults even from himself and makes him forget in order to alleviate his suffering.
Remember al-Ghafir, the veiler of our faults form the eyes of other people; al-Ghafur, who keeps the knowledge of our faults even from the angels; and al-Ghaffar, who relieves us from the suffering of continual remembrance of our faults. To such a compassionate one should we not be thankful? Should we not confess our sins, repenting with tears in our eyes, asking His forgiveness?
‘Abd al-Ghafur is the forgiver of wrongs and the hider of faults.
If someone feels guilty and is therefore heavy of heart, reciting ya Ghafur 100 times after Friday communal prayers may relieve the pain. And if Allah so wills, He will forgive that sin.
From: The Name & the Named by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti