Al-Ghafoor — The All-Forgiving
الْغَفُور
Name 34 of the ninety-nine. The One who forgives a lot
Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ is Al-Ghafoor (in Arabic: ٱلْغَفُورُ), He is The One who completely forgives our sins and faults.
The root
From the root ghayn-fa-ra (غ ف ر), which has the following classical Arabic connotations: to cover, veil, conceal, hide to pardon, to forgive, to set aright, to cover a thing, to protect it from dirt.
Reflection
From this name, we learn the importance of maghfirah, which means to seek the forgiveness of Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ. The believer benefits in knowing that Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ is Al-Ghaffur because it reminds us that we worship an oft-forgiving Lord. Despite making the same mistake repeatedly, we're not doomed by our past.
Narrated Abu Huraira: I heard the Prophet ﷺ saying, "If somebody commits a sin and then says, 'O my Lord! ' Then he remains without committing any sin for a while and then again commits another sin and says, 'O my Lord, I have committed another sin, please forgive me,' and Allah says, 'My servant has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for it, I therefore have forgiven my slave (his sin).
Then he remains without Committing any another sin for a while and then commits another sin (for the third time) and says, 'O my Lord, I have committed another sin, please forgive me,' and Allah says, 'My servant knows that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for it. '" [1] A du'a from Abu Bakr al-Sadiq (ra), "O Allah, You know me better than I know myself, and I know myself better than these people who praise me.
" [2] This covers an essential aspect of the names that share the root gh-f-r. It's not just a name of forgiveness but the idea of concealment. But not in a conniving way, to conceal something ugly and to beautify it. Allah conceals our faults from being exposed, so we're not under public scrutiny. It should inspire us to become better knowing we've been given a second, third, or fourth chance and to help uplift others.
So, His mercy extends to forgive perpetually and to hide our faults from being exposed. Abu Huraira reported Allah's Apostle ﷺ as saying: The servant (whose fault) Allah conceals in this world, Allah would also conceal (his faults) on the Day of Resurrection. [3] and in a different narration, Abu Huraira reported Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) as saying: The servant (who conceals) the faults of others in this world, Allah would conceal his faults on the Day of Resurrection.
Where it appears
[1] Sahih al-Bukhari 7507,[2] Silsilah al-Huda wa Noor no. 640,[3] Sahih Muslim 2590a,[4] Sahih Muslim 2590b