God is the Pardoner

 

 Obedience and punishment are two opposite sides of a coin. We need to follow a certain set of rules in our social life and if we fail to follow these rules then we may be punished. In this material world when you are caught, you have three options in front of you. 1) You pay the fine, or 2) You are put behind bars, or in some corrupt situations 3) You bribe the “authority” and escape. 

Similarly, in this short span of life we need to abide by the commandments of God. But the reality is there are gross violations of God’s commandments everywhere. This is to the detriment of the people’s souls (including our own when we sin). But, although we may violate the commandments of God, He gives us space and time to repent and reform. Just imagine the Almighty, Master of Universe is waiting for your repentance. He gives you so many opportunities to seek forgiveness, repent, reform and do better. God is the Pardoner. 

In common parlance, to pardon means to forgive a person of his offence. A grant of pardon wipes off the guilt of the accused

 

 

and brings him to the original position of innocence, as if he had never committed the offence for which he was charged. 

It is said: “To err is human and to forgive is divine.” Both parts of this statement are very true. As human beings we are responsible, but we do also make mistakes and we are constantly in need of forgiveness. There are two elements of forgiveness: a) God’s forgiveness; b) Human forgiveness. We need both, because we do wrong in our relations to God as well as in our relations to each other. 

There are many names of God given in the Qur’an. Some of these names are related to His mercy and forgiveness. 

1. Al-Ghafoor (The Forgiver): This name occurs in the Qur’an more than 70 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. We must turn to God to seek His forgiveness. 

[4:116] GOD does not forgive idol worship (if maintained until death),* and He forgives lesser offenses for whomever He wills. Anyone who idolizes any idol beside GOD has strayed far astray. 

*4:116 A simple definition of idolatry: Believing that anything beside God can help you. 

2. Al-`Afuw (The Pardoner): This is yet another quality of God which plays the part of forgiveness. This name occurs in the Qur’an around 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 honour after we have dishonoured ourselves by committing sins and making mistakes.

3. Al-Tawwab (The Acceptor of Repentance): This name of God is mentioned in the Qur’an about 11 times. God accepts repentance of those who sincerely repent and turn to him. The word “tawwab” gives the sense of “oft-returning,” which means that He again and again accepts the repentance. We make sins and mistakes, then we repent;  

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