82 (not in the Hazrat Inayat Khan list)

 

‘afuww

 

The Pardonner

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The list of the Ninety-Nine Beautiful Names of Allah in the Mureed’s Manual1 of the Sufi Ruhaniat International does not include ‘afuww. This list is very close to the most known list going back to Abū Hurayra par al-Walīd b. Muslim ad-Dimašqī . This is the one cited by Tirmidi in Sunan (da’awāt 82) and that has been used by Zağğāğ, and Qušayri, Ğuwayni, Ġazāli, Rāzī, Āmidī, Īğī, and, the list that can be seen everywhere on mosques’ wall. However, in the Ruhaniat list ‘afuww (82) is omitted between muntaqim and ra’ūf. It must be noted that the Ruhaniat has listed ghafur twice (number 35= O Pardonner and number 80= O Forgiver). The Ruhaniat list follows otherwise the Walīd list, even omitting ahad (seen as number 67 in the list by Bawa Muhaiyaddeen2). Bawa follows the Walīd’s list exactly except for ahad that he has added, so Bawa has ‘afuww in place between muntaqim and ra’ūf.

 

In the Ninety Nine Names of Allah by Shems Friedlander and Al-Hajj Shaikh Muzaffereddin, ahad is before samad (like Bawa) and ‘afuww is between muntaqim and ra’ūf like the Walīd’s list. Daniel Gimaret3 said that the Walīd’s list has been widely used in the šī’ite Islam (for instance by Muhsim Fayd Kāšānī in ‘Ilm al-yaqin). The Sufi Ruhaniat International list goes back to Hazrat Inayat Khan and further research is necessary to determine if the changes were made by Hazrat Inayat Khan or later on?

 

The root of this divine Name ‘a.f.w means4 : to efface or disappear (mahw). For instance, we say in Arabic: the abode were destroyed (‘afat al-diyâr) when there is no trace left of it. It results from this analysis that al-‘afw, the effacement, expresses that Allah makes all trace of sin disappear (izâla) from the tablets by the angels scribes and that He does not ask anything any longer on that subject on the day of Reckoning. He will leave their heart forgetful of the sin, so that they will not have to be embarrassed with shame to remember it at the time when they would be brought to Him. All bad measures disappear to leave only the good one. Allah said : ”Allah erases (yambu) and confirms what He wants. In Him is to be found the Mother of the Book (umm al-kitâb) (Koran 13:39)” and “Allah changed their bad ways in good ones (Koran 25:70)”

 

“Allah est effaceur du superflu et très pardonneur (‘afuwan ghafûran) (Koran 4 :99) ” : So these, it may be, Allah will pardon them, and Allah is Pardoning, Forgiving.

 

”Il efface la surimposition ou l’excès (ya’fû) des dispositions vicieuses (sayyi’ât) (Koran 42 :25)” : And He it is Who accepts repentance from His servants and pardons the evil deeds and He knows what you do.

 

”Il passe sur bien des choses (Koran 5 :15)” :  O followers of the Book! indeed Our Apostle has come to you making clear to you much of what you concealed of the Book and passing over much; indeed, there has come to you light and a clear Book from Allah;

 

”Qu’Allah retire le superflu de toi (‘afâ Allâh ‘anka) (Koran 9 :43) : Allah pardon you!

 

Know4 that ‘afw, to erase, is more perfect than marghfira, the forgiveness because this implies to cover up (sitr) and the first one to disapparear (mahw). Because erasing is better than covering up.

The name ‘afw means also the increase, the surplus, the superfluous (fadl). Allah said: ”They will ask you what they must distribute to the poor. Tell them the superfluous. (‘afw) (Koran 2:219).

The servant must be indulgent towards those who oppress him without stopping to be good towards them when they offend him. Allah said:”that they erase with indulgence and forget the offense (wal ya’fû wal yaçfahû) (Koran 24:22).

 

Another translation of the same: “And let not those of you who possess grace and abundance swear against giving to the near of kin and the poor and those who have fled in Allah's way, and they should pardon and turn away. Do you not love that Allah should forgive you? And Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.” (Koran 24:22)5

 

The masters4 said that al-‘afuww is the One Whom by his compassion substracts the soul from the shadow due to sins, and the One Whom by His generosity suppresses the sterility of heart caused by heedlessness. Al-‘Afuw is the One who take off the superficial, the indulgent4.

 

(Koran 4:43):  “O ye who believe! Approach not prayers with a mind befogged, until ye can understand all that ye say,- nor in a state of ceremonial impurity (Except when traveling on the road), until after washing your whole body. If ye are ill, or on a journey, or one of you cometh from offices of nature, or ye have been in contact with women, and ye find no water, then take for yourselves clean sand or earth, and rub therewith your faces and hands. For Allah doth blot out sins and forgive again and again”.

 

Koran 4:99): “For these, there is hope that Allah will forgive: For Allah doth blot out (sins) and forgive again and again”.

 

(Koran 4:149):  “Whether ye publish a good deed or conceal it or cover evil with pardon, verily Allah doth blot out (sins) and hath power (in the judgment of values)”.

 

(Koran 22:60): “That (is so). And if one has retaliated to no greater extent than the injury he received, and is again set upon inordinately, Allah will help him: for Allah is One that blots out (sins) and forgives (again and again)”.

 

(Koran 58:2): “If any men among you divorce their wives by Zihar (calling them mothers), they cannot be their mothers: None can be their mothers except those who gave them birth. And in fact they use words (both) iniquitous and false: but truly Allah is one that blots out (sins), and forgives (again and again)”.

 

For Bawa6 ‘afuww is The Pardoner, The Forgiving, Forbearant, Tolerant, Indulgent and Merciful One. For Shaikh Muzaffer7 ‘afuww is The Pardoner. For Shaykh Hakim Moineddin Chishti ‘afuww is The Pardoner, The Indulgent, The Mild. For Sheikh Tosun Bayrak ‘afuww is The Eliminator of sins and The Forgiver.

 

‘Afuww shows up five times in the Koran3 (three times in surat 4 and four times in association with ġafûr), always applied to God.

 

The Sufyān3 list takes it from (Koran 4:43: inna llāha kāna ‘afuwwan ġafûran): For Allah doth blot out sins and forgive again and again.

 

From ‘afw from which comes ‘afuww, Qušayrī (Th 48a 26s.) used by Rāzī (Law 338,13 s.) gives two meanings: first to make disappear from which comes the sense of forgiving. God is ‘afuww in the way that He erases the sins. Qušayrī recalls v. 13:39 where it is said that “God erases what He wants”. Ġazālī said that ‘afuww has a stronger meaning than ġafûr. Ġafûr has an original meaning of covering up, to hide. Ġazālī said that to erase something is more than simply hiding it (Law 339,4-5).

 

In a second meaning (by Qušayrī3 above), ‘afuw can be understood as synomym of fadl, in its origin meaning surplus or superfluous, like in Koran 2:219 ”They will ask you what they must give as alms. Tell them the superfluous (‘afw)”. ‘Afā in this sense is like katura, meaning to be abundant. From that Qušayrī believes that al-‘afuww means that God give in abundance and more than necessary, that would be a synonym of wahhāb or ğawād.

 

From an hadith3 of the Prophet: ‘afaww lakum ‘an sadaqati l-hayli wa r-raqiq ( cf. Tirmidi, zakat 3) (I have forgiven you for the dime on horses and slaves), As’ari, seems to believe that ‘afuww means not only to forgive but that God avoids to overwhelm man with duties.

 

For Abū Ishāq al-Isfarā’ini3 (page 106)3, all the divines names could be classified in seven attributes: Life, Power, Science, Will, Speech, Hearing, Seeing. Among those meaning the Will, he included: rahmān, rahīm, ġaffār, wadūd, ‘afuww, ra’ūf, sabūr, halīm, karīm, barr. It is interesting that Ibn ‘Arabi used himself this distribution in the table that he created.

 

Halimi3 says that God is called halīm, šabūr, ‘afuww, ġafir, ġaffār, ġafūr, tawwāb because He is indulgent to the sinner and that He forgives his faults.

 

Regarding the attributes derived of the action of God, ‘Abd al-Gabbar3 distinguished four kinds, a second kind of sifat al-af’al brings together the qualities of God that He deserves because He does not carry on a certain action, first the one that exempts Him of all bad actions like subbuh, quddus, tahir, then the one that He deserves because he does not inflict a punishment when he renounces it all together like gafir, gafur, satir, sattar, ‘afuww or because He delays the application and in this case He is called halim.

 

"Al-`Afuw" is9 derived from the root word "`afuw" and permits several meanings: When used as a verb, it means to go somewhere to receive something, to give without being asked, to increase, to wipe out something. As a noun, it means the wiping out of sins in their entirety. One may supplicate and say, "Lord! I implore You to grant me `afuw and `fiya," that is, not to punish me for my sins, and to make me safe and secure with regard to Your torment. As an adjective, it means what is halal, lawful. 

Al-`Afuww has removed9, by His Mercy, from the souls the darkness of slipping away from the right path, and of the loneliness of forgetfulness from the hearts through His Greatness. It is also said that He removes the sins from the records and replaces loneliness with beautiful things from Him. 

Al-`Afuww wipes9 out the traces of sins, removing them by the winds of His forgiveness. He wipes out the sins from the records kept by His guardian angels. He even wipes them out from their (angels') memory and the memory of those who committed them. He abandons punishing the sinners, Who does not remind you of your shortcomings; He is Gracious when He forgives. 

We notice9 that in the text of the Holy Qura'n, the Attribute [indeed a Most Beautiful one] al-`Afuww occurs side by side with another Attribute which is al-Ghafoor (ġafûr) as many as four times, and once side by side with the Attribute "al-Qadeer" as the following verses demonstrate: 

... surely Allah is Pardoning, Forgiving. (4:43) It may be that Allah will pardon them, and Allah is Pardoning, Forgiving. (4:99) ... most surely Allah is Pardoning, Forgiving. (22:60, 58:2) If you do good openly or secretly or pardon an evil act, then surely Allah is Pardoning, Powerful. (4:149) 

The Messenger of Allah9 has always enjoined us to wipe out our evil deeds with good ones, saying, "Fear Allah wherever you may be, and follow your evil deed with a good one in order to wipe out the first, and treat people in the best conduct." He addressed one of his uncles once saying, "O `Abbas, uncle of the Messenger of Allah! Plead to Allah for `afuw and `fiya in the life of this world and in the life to come." The Commander of the Faithful Imam `Ali ibn Abu Talib called upon one of his slaves once but he did not respond. He repeated his call, and the slave again neglected to respond. Then he repeated it a third time, and no response was there either, so he stood up and looked for him and found him lying down. He asked him, "Did you hear me calling you?" He answered, "Yes, I did." The Imam asked him, "Then what stopped you from responding?" He answered, "My confidence in your clemency and my reliance on your forgiveness," whereupon the Imam said, "Then I set you free seeking the Pleasure of Allah." The Imam did so on account of the firm conviction on the part of that slave. 

One who wishes9 to receive a glimpse of the light inspired by this Attribute should first forgive those who have committed a wrong deed against him or dealt with him unjustly. One who remembers this Attribute ought to wipe out from his heart any ill feeling towards anyone who has wronged him, and to treat beautifully those who mistreated him. 

 

For removing of sins and achieving blessings of Almighty God this name is very effective.

Allah is the One Who forgives, pardons and cancels the wrongs of those who sincerely repent.

 

 

 

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1.     Ninety-Nine Beautiful Names of Allah Mureeds’ Manual of the Sufi Ruhaniat International.

2.     Asma’ul Husna, the 99 Beautiful Names of Allah, M.R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen.

3.     Les noms divins en Islam, Daniel Gimaret, exégèse lexicographique et théologique, 1988, Editions du cerf.

4.     Ar-Râzî, Traité sur les noms divins, Editions Al Bouraq, translated by Maurice Gloton.

5.     http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/k/koran/koran-idx?type=DIV0&byte=541486

6.     Asma’ul Husna, the 99 Beautiful Names of Allah, M.R. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen.

7.     Ninety Nine Names of Allah, Shems Friedlander with al-Hajj Shaikh Muzaffereddin, Harper San Francisco, 1993.

8.     Sheikh Tosun BAYRAK, The Most Beautiful Names, 1985.

9.     http://www.naieb.org/ashusna/alafuw.htm

 

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