Al-Ghafur

Allah Ta'ala is Al-Ghafur which means that Allah Ta'ala is All-Forgiving. He forgives all those who ask Him for forgiveness. Sometimes He forgives without the person even asking for forgiveness. He forgives all types of sins. There is no sin which is unforgivable except that of a person who passed away on Shirk or Kufr. Thus, this type of person will not be forgiven. Besides that, Allah Ta'ala forgives all sins and He forgives everyone.

If a person has spent his whole life committing all kinds of major sins, he also will be forgiven if he sincerely asks for forgiveness. To ask for forgiveness sincerely means first to refrain from that sin, to regret the sin and to make a firm decision not to repeat it.

In a Hadith Qudsi, Allah Ta'ala says:

"O son of Adam, as long as you invoke Me and you trust Me, I will forgive you despite whatever you may have done. And this is nothing for Me. If your sins reach the level of the clouds in the sky and then you ask me for forgiveness, I will forgive you and that is nothing for Me ..."

Allah Ta'ala is Al-Ghafur because He forgives a person every time he asks Him for forgiveness even though he may have done it 70 times a day also. For example, a person has committed a sin. He regrets and asks for forgiveness. After some time, he repeats the sin and asks for forgiveness again. After some more time elapsed/the elapsing of some more time, he repeats the sin and asks for forgiveness again. Man would say that this person is making a mockery with Allah Ta'ala. But Allah Ta'ala will forgive him each time he asks for forgiveness with the firm intention not to repeat it, even if it is repeated 70 times in a single day. When a person asks for forgiveness, Allah Ta'ala knows if that person will relapse or not. But Allah Ta'ala does not act in accordance to what He knows. Allah Ta'ala forgives him merely upon his intention. At least that person does not intend to repeat the sin which he is regretting when he asks for forgiveness.

This is how Allah Ta'ala is Al-Ghafur, that is, He forgives a person although He knows that he will repeat this sin and this is merely because of his intention not to repeat it. Therefore, the recidivists also receive forgiveness from Allah, Al-Ghafur.

A person has asked for forgiveness for a certain sin several times but each time he has relapsed. This gives him the impression that he will not be able to refrain from this sin and therefore he condemns himself to commit it until his death. The result is that he stops asking for forgiveness and continues to be immersed in this sin. However it is not such because every time he asked for forgiveness with a state of mind that he will not repeat it, his sin was erased. Although he relapsed several times, his sin was forgiven each time that he asked for forgiveness.

Therefore, a person should not be discouraged and stop asking for forgiveness if he finds that several times he could not fulfil the commitment he took with Allah Ta'ala to refrain from the sin. Nobody can give any guarantee regarding his behaviour in the future. Despite the possibility of falling into the sin again which the person resolves not to, he must continually ask for forgiveness and his sin will be pardoned despite the existence of such a possibility. Otherwise, Shaitan will mislead us by discouraging us from the grace of Allah Ta'ala. Consequently, the person will always be submerged and involved in all kinds of sins without the least remorse.

Nevertheless, one must never be encouraged and bold enough to commit a sin with the impression that Allah Ta'ala is the Al-Ghafur and All-Forgiving. This is called abusing the kindness. It is a lowliness that can prevent a person from having the will to repent.

 [English version of "AL-GHAFOOR" – Al Jamiat – Vol.7 No.6]