Ramadan Lectures 1446 AH – The Most Beautiful Names of Allah–Lesson 19: Al 'Afuw (The Ever Oft Pardoning)
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- Ramadan Lectures 1446 AH – The Most Beautiful Names of Allah
In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Dear noble brothers, today we are tackling another of Allah's Most Beautiful Names, and the Name for today is Al-Afuw.
Al-Afuw is one of Allah's Names. It is derived from the concept of pardoning.
Al-Afuw is one of the verbal adjectives derived from verbs added to nouns, and it means pardoning someone for his sin and forgo punishment.
Al-Afuw also carries the meaning of abundance, and the proof can be found in the following Ayah:
﴾ And they ask you what they ought to spend. Say: "That which is beyond your needs." ﴿
The word in Arabic for "That which is beyond your needs" is Afuw, which means whatever that is left aside from your spending, and when it is used to refer to people, it means their number increases. Also, when it is used in reference to plants, it signifies growth and height.
There are other meanings of Al-Afuw, but the primary meaning is that Allah Almighty is the One Who forgives, eliminates sins, and accepts repentance, regardless of how great the sins are. Allah prefers to conceal people's shortcomings and does not like to expose them.
Allah forgives the sinner out of His Generosity and Benevolence, and He bestows His Mercy as an act of favor and grace, so that despair may leave the hearts and bring them closer to the All-Knowing of the unseen.
Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, is Al-Afuw in the sense that He pardons you in this worldly life, which means He does not punish you for the sin you have committed. In the Hereafter, He will forgive you, as forgiveness is free from punishment. Forgiveness implies concealment, but the mark of sin still exists on the servant's record. Al-Afuw suggests much more than just forgiving but eliminating it entirely.
