الْعَفُوُّ
Al-Afuww
The Pardoner
What Al-Afuww Means
Al-Afuww comes from the root ‘ayn-fa-waw, which means to erase and remove something until no trace of it remains, as the wind wipes footprints from sand. Allah’s pardoning is of this kind: He does not merely overlook a sin, He wipes it away entirely. The Quran joins this name to His power — ‘Allah is indeed a Pardoner, fully able to punish’ (4:149) — showing that His pardon is not weakness but free grace from the One who could exact full retribution. In Surah Al-Hajj (22:60) the name appears after mention of a wronged person who retaliates only in measure, teaching that Allah’s own way is erasure and forgiveness. For the believer, Al-Afuww is a door of hope that never closes: no sin is too old or too repeated to be wiped away by sincere repentance, and the one who hopes for Allah’s pardon is taught by the same verse (4:149) to pardon the people who wrong him.
Al-Afuww and Al-Ghafur — what is the difference?
Scholars explain the two names as two levels of forgiveness. Al-Ghafur forgives the sin and covers it: it is not held against the sinner, though its record remains with Allah. Al-Afuww goes further: He erases the sin completely, removing its trace as though it had never happened, so it is neither punished nor even recalled against the servant. This is why the Prophet (peace be upon him) taught Aishah to ask Allah specifically by the name Al-Afuww on Laylat al-Qadr, the night when pardon is most hoped for.
Al-Afuww in the Quran
إِن تُبْدُوا۟ خَيْرًا أَوْ تُخْفُوهُ أَوْ تَعْفُوا۟ عَن سُوٓءٍ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَفُوًّا قَدِيرًا
“If you do a good act openly or do it in secret, or forgive an evil deed, then, Allah is All-Forgiving, All-Powerful.”
۞ ذَٰلِكَ وَمَنْ عَاقَبَ بِمِثْلِ مَا عُوقِبَ بِهِۦ ثُمَّ بُغِىَ عَلَيْهِ لَيَنصُرَنَّهُ ٱللَّهُ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَعَفُوٌّ غَفُورٌ
“Having said this, whoever afflicts (someone) with a punishment equal to what he was afflicted with (by the latter), and still he (the former) is (again) subjected to aggression (by the latter), Allah will certainly help him. Indeed, Allah is Most-Pardoning, Most-Forgiving.”
What the Prophet ﷺ Taught Us
THE FOUNDATION OF THE 99 NAMES
“Allah has ninety-nine names, i.e. one-hundred minus one, and whoever knows them will go to Paradise.”
“Aishah narrated: “I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, what is your view if I know when the Night of Al-Qadr is, then what should I say in it?” He said: ‘Say: “O Allah, indeed You are Pardoning, [Generous,] You love pardon, so pardon me (Allāhumma innaka `Afuwwun [Karīmun], tuḥibbul-`afwa fa`fu `annī).’””
Calling Upon Allah by This Name
Allah Himself commands us to call upon Him by His beautiful names:
وَلِلَّهِ ٱلْأَسْمَآءُ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ فَٱدْعُوهُ بِهَا ۖ وَذَرُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ يُلْحِدُونَ فِىٓ أَسْمَـٰٓئِهِۦ ۚ سَيُجْزَوْنَ مَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ
“For Allah there are the most beautiful names. So, call Him by them, and leave those who deviate in (the matter of) His names. They shall be recompensed for what they have been doing.”
Allah commands us to call on Him by His names (7:180), and for this name we have the Prophet’s own wording. When Aishah asked what to say on Laylat al-Qadr, he taught her: ‘Allahumma innaka Afuwwun tuhibbul-afwa fa’fu anni — O Allah, You are Pardoning and You love to pardon, so pardon me’ (Jami’ at-Tirmidhi 3513). Use these very words whenever you seek a clean slate, and let the name shape your own conduct: erase the offences people commit against you, just as you hope Al-Afuww will erase yours.
Quran translations: Mufti Taqi Usmani. Hadith texts and gradings: the DeenHub hadith library. Every reference on this page is from the Quran or from hadith graded Sahih or Hasan.