Name 82
الْعَفُوّ
Al-Afuww
The Pardoner, who erases sins and leaves no trace of them.
About
Al-Afuww comes from the root ʿ-f-w, which means to erase, to wipe out a trace, and to let go of what is owed. Arabs used it for the wind smoothing away footprints in the sand. Allah's pardon is therefore understood not merely as covering a servant's mistake, but as wiping it away entirely.
This sets al-Afuww subtly apart from al-Ghafur, the Forgiving: forgiveness covers a sin, while pardon removes even its trace. The name al-Afuww appears five times in the Qur'an, most often paired with al-Ghafur or al-Qadir, the All-Powerful.
In Surah An-Nisa, showing or concealing a good deed and pardoning a wrong are linked directly to Allah being Pardoning and Competent. Pardon is presented not as weakness but as strength at its most mature: the One who is able to do anything chooses to forgive.
From the Qur'an
If [instead] you show [some] good or conceal it or pardon an offense - indeed, Allah is ever Pardoning and Competent.
Reflection
Sometimes you say you have forgiven someone, yet you keep the whole episode filed away in your mind. Al-Afuww invites you to see pardon as a path that leads toward erasing the trace as well. When you remember how much you yourself need Allah's pardon, it becomes easier to be generous with other people's faults. Forgiving doesn't mean approving of what happened; it means refusing to let it run your life today.
Today's practice
Choose one small grievance you've been holding against someone and decide never to bring it up again, to them or to anyone else.
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