Understanding Allah’s Names: Keys to Seeking Forgiveness

THE MESSENGER ﷺ SAID: ‘May he be humbled, who enters the month of Ramadan and it passes before he is forgiven.’ (Tirmidhi)

Ramadhan gives us ample opportunity.

The Prophet said ﷺ said: ‘Whoever fasts the month of Ramadhan with iman and seeking reward, his previous sins will be forgiven.’ (Bukhari)

He ﷺ also said about the night prayers: ‘Whoever stands (in prayer) during Ramadan due to iman and seeking reward, his previous sins will be forgiven.’ (Bukhari)

And when Aisha (ra) asked him ﷺ what dua to make on the greatest night of Laylatul Qadr, he ﷺ said:

اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عُفُوٌّ كَرِيمٌ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي

‘O Allah you are afuw and love to implement afw so please have afw upon me.’ (Tirmidhi)

It is worth building a deeper understanding of all the interlacing attributes of Allah. This understanding would motivate us more to seek forgiveness.

Allah is al-Haleem, al-Ghafur, al-Ghaffar, at-Tawwab, and al-Afuw.

We all sin and make errors. Some of those sins we are aware of and some we are not. But Allah is al-Haleem, explained as forbearing or clement. He is not in a rush to exact His punishment. Rather He is full of patience and gives time for us to return to Him and ask for forgiveness. He may even overlook sins such is this attribute.

Sins may be small, or they may be large. They may even be enormous. It does not matter to Allah. He can forgive any sin because He is al-Ghafur. He is the All-Forgiving One.

A person may not just sin once, but he may return to the same sin repeatedly. But Allah is al-Ghaffar, the Oft-Forgiving One. It echoes that Allah continuously and repetitively forgives a person for his sins.

Does all this not encourage us to return to Him and repent? Yes, for He is at-Tawwab. The One who enables and eases us to return to Him and the one who accepts our repentance. The One who restores to grace the one who has sought his forgiveness.

It does not stop there.

He is al-Afuw. He can erase the sin altogether as though there was no sin to start off with. No record of anything ever being done. Like footprints in the sand washed away by the waves. Can we imagine that? To meet Allah on the Day of Account. So fearful of our sins. Yet to find that the record has been wiped clean.

Why is it important to know the names of Allah in this way?

Firstly, it gets us closer to Allah. How else can we appreciate or know our Lord except through His names and what has been revealed to us about Himself?

Secondly, it changes the way we make dua completely.

For instance. There is a huge difference between simply saying: ‘O Allah forgive me for my many sins.’ In that moment, we might not even be aware of what sins we are asking forgiveness for. Contrast that with saying: ‘Ya al-Ghafur! I have committed this great sin…(be specific). I was wrong. I was weak. I have wronged myself. I am ashamed. I do not want to meet you on the Day of Hisaab with this. Are you not al-Ghafur- the One who forgives all sins no matter how big? Then my Lord, al Ghafur, forgive me of this enormity…’.

Or: ‘Ya al-Ghaffar! I am weak. I kept sinning. I realized my error. I corrected myself. But I then returned to my old ways. Are you not al-Ghaffar- the One who forgives again and again for a sin that is done again and again? And are you not at-Tawwab, the One who accepts this poor slave’s repentance. Will You then not hear me and forgive me? Will You not restore me to your Grace? I will be lost if you turn me away?’

Or: ‘Ya al-Afuw. I fear to meet you and be presented with my record. I am ashamed to look at what I have done. But I hope to meet You on that Day, and You have erased my sins from the record. I want to feel that surprise and joy. Because You are Afuw, the One who erases all sins and leaves no record…’

Of course our repentance can not be mere words. Allah says:

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ تُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ تَوْبَةًۭ نَّصُوحًا عَسَىٰ رَبُّكُمْ أَن يُكَفِّرَ عَنكُمْ سَيِّـَٔاتِكُمْ وَيُدْخِلَكُمْ جَنَّـٰتٍۢ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ

O believers! Turn to Allah in sincere repentance, so your Lord may absolve you of your sins and admit you into Gardens, under which rivers flow… (at-Tahrim 8)

Sincere repentance (tawba) requires the 4 R’s: remorse, repent, resolve and repair.

It starts with remorse, a feeling of regret and guilt that should immediately follow a misdeed. This is followed by repenting sincerely by verbalizing astaghfirullah, which means, “I seek forgiveness from Allah.” Then resolving to never commit the sin again. Where the misdeed involves wronging others, we need to repair the damage. We do this by asking for their forgiveness and compensating if possible.

Tawba is to return to Allah by admitting your mistakes, feeling true remorse, and seeking forgiveness. It encourages us to hope in Allah without taking forgiveness for granted and to pray for ourselves and others without giving up.

We can not let Ramadhan pass us by without getting our sins forgiven. Be ambitious in these last ten nights whilst seeking Laylatul Qadr. We don’t simply ask for forgiveness, but for removing even the traces of our sin. We ask for a clean slate.

To be continued: Whilst the above is about the sins of the individual, we have to remember. Islam is about the ‘We’ and not just the “I”. There are collective sins that we are accountable for.