Al-ʻAfūw

al-ʻAfūw (Arabic: العفو) is one of the names of God in Islam.^[1] It means The Pardoner, The Most Forgiving, The Effacing, The Eliminator of Sins. It is one of the 99 Names of God used by Muslims to refer to God, and is described in Qur'an and Sunnah.

Occurrence in Quran

As a name of God, Al-’Afuw can be found in the Qur'an five times. It is linked several times with Al-Ghafoor (4:43,^[2] 4:99,^[3] 22:60,^[4] 58:2^[5]) and once with Al-Qadeer (4:149^[6]).

Occurrence in Hadith

Al-'Afuw can also be found in one of the six major Sunni Hadith books, Sunan Al-Tirmidhi. In Book 9, Hadith 1195, it is mentioned:

Hazrat Aisha (R.A) asked Prophet Muhammad: "O Messenger of Allah! If I realize Lailat-ul-Qadr (Night of Decree), what should I supplicate in it?" He (ﷺ) replied, "You should supplicate:

Allahumma innaka 'afuwwun, tuhibbul-'afwa, fa'fu 'anni

الْلَّهُمَّ اِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنَّي

'O Allah, You are The Most Forgiving, You Love Forgiveness, so Forgive me'.

This Dua, or supplication, is often recited by Muslims in the last 10 nights of the holy month of Ramadan.