Is there Forgiveness In Islam?

In Islam if a person commits a sin, does that sin ever have a chance at being forgiven?

Allah says in the Qur’an

Say: “O My slaves who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allâh, Verily Allâh forgives All sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

In my last post I said that Allah has more than just one name, these names describe his attributes. Well, two of his names areالغفور (pronounced Al- Ghafoor) and الغفار (prnounced Al-Ghafaar).

Al Ghafoor الغفور means “quality of forgiveness.” While Al Ghafaar الغفار means “quantity of forgiveness.” Similar yet slightly different meanings.

Both word come from the root word غفر (pronounced ghafara) which translates to “to cover” or sometimes can be used as “to protect”.

What this name means is that Allah will cover up a sinful person’s sins, and protect them from the punishment of the sins.

The name Al Ghafoor(which is in the verse I quoted at the top) is mentioned 91 one times in the Qur’an. 72 times it is accompanied by the name Ar Rahman(the most merciful), just like the example at the top. 6 times with al Haleem(the ever forbearing). 4 times with the name Aufu(the oft pardoning). 3 times with Ash Shakir(the all apreciative). 2 times with Al Azeez(the all mighty). And one time with Al Wadud(the Most loving).

When you think of Islam, remember to think of the one of always forgives, and forgives the most, Allah.

What does “Allah” mean?

Often on the internet, you will see anti Islamic propganda saying such things as “Allah” means moon god in Arabic, or other false meanings of “Allah”. Yes in pre Islamic Arabia, a lot of idol worshipping took place, and I do not doubt that a moon god was worshipped, but it was not Allah. For a better understanding of why “the moon god” and Allah have no connection, here is a great article written about the myth.

To begin the discussion of the meaning of “Allah”, one must know the names of god in Islam. The islamic belief is that Allah has unlimited number of names. There is a hadith that states that Allah has 99 names(Most scholars have understood this to mean that Allah has 99 of the best names, but his names are unlimited. Ibn Hazm was the only scholar in Islam to actually believe that Allahs names have been limited to 99).

Muslims do not say things like “Allah means” like I have been saying. To be respectful to the name “Allah” muslims refer to it as “The Divine Name”. So when I say the “divine name means” I am speaking of Allah.

Divine Name = الله (pronounced al-lah)

Now there are four opinions on about what the divine name means and what are the root words of the name.
Opinion 1.(Strongest Opinion)

The first opinion, is that the divine name is not derived from anything. Instead it is a Proper Noun. This is the opinion of most classical Islamic and Arabic scholars. However there is no linguistic evidence for this.

Opinion 2.

The divine name is derived from أله (pronounced aliha).

It means to be confound, bedazled.

Opinion 3.

The divine name is derived fromولاه (prounounced wa li ha).

This means the deity or the god.

Opinion 4.

The divine name is derived from أله (pronounced alaha) which would turn into —-> الالاه which would be the direct root word for the divine name.

This is also the opinion of Sihawayh(died. 150 after Hijra) he is known as the “Father of Arabic Grammar”.

The meaning for this is also the deity or the god.

The divine name, الله is used over 3,000 times in the Qu’ran. This the name of God that accomposes all of his other names. One of the beautiful parts about the divine name is that it can be found in previous scriptures before the Qur’an. As Jesus spoke in Aramaic he said אֱלָהָא(pronounced Ellah) in Hebrew it is אללה(pronounced Allah).

It is important to note, that everything I wrote in Arabic, is without the vowels. I do not know how to use vowels on the computer.