The power of forgiveness
There are many verses in the Quran and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) on God’s love, mercy and forgiveness. In one of the prayers that the Prophet taught, he said: “O God, You are most Forgiving One, You love to forgive, so forgive me.” ( At-Trimidhi & Ibn Majah). We need God's mercy and forgiveness all the time. It is wrong to assume at any time that one will find eternal salvation without the forgiveness of God.
God’s Forgiveness
There are many names of God given in the Quran. They are called “Most Beautiful Names” and they indicate many different and diverse attributes and qualities of God. Some of these names are related to His mercy and forgiveness. Let us look at some of these names:
1. Al-Ghafoor: The Most Forgiving. This name occurs in the Quran more than seventy times. There are other names from the same root, such as Ghafir and Ghaffar. The meaning of the Arabic word “ghafara” is to cover, to hide and from it comes the meaning “to excuse,” “to pardon,” “to remit” and “to forgive.” God does all these things. In the Quran, it is mentioned that God does not forgive the Shirk (without repentance) but He may forgive every other sin for whomsoever He wills. (Al-Nisa' 4:116) We must turn to God to seek His forgiveness.
2. Al-'Afuw: This has another part of forgiveness. This name occurs in the Quran five times. Literally the word 'Afw means “to release,” “to heal.”“to restore, to remit.” Thus in relation to God it means “to release us from the burden of punishment due to our sins and mistakes,” "to restore our honor after we have dishonored ourselves by committing sins and making mistakes." Sometimes in the Quran both names: 'Afuw and Ghafoor come together.
3. Al-Tawwab: The Acceptor of Repentance. This name of God is mentioned in the Quran about 11 times. God accepts the repentance of those who sincerely repent and turn to him. The word “tawwab” gives the sense of “oft-returning” which means that God again and again accepts the repentance. We make sins and mistakes then we repent, He accepts our repentance. Then again we commit sins and make mistakes and when we repent, He again very kindly accepts us and gives us another chance.4. Al-Haleem: The Clement. This name is mentioned fifteen times in the Quran. This means that God is not quick to judgment. He gives time. He forebears and is patient to see His servant return to Him.
5. Al-Rahman and Al-Rahim: The Most Merciful and Compassionate. These names are the most frequent in the Quran. Al-Rahman is mentioned 57 times and al-Raheem is mentioned 115 times. Al-Rahman indicates that God's mercy is abundant and plenty and Al-Raheem indicates that this is always the case with God. God is full of love and mercy and is ever Merciful.