Name 82 of the 99 Names of Allah. See its root and meaning, the verse where it appears, and how to use it in your dua.
Name 82 of 99
الْعَفُوُّ
Al-ʿAfuww
The Pardoner
Meaning
Al-Afuww (الْعَفُوُّ) means The Pardoner. It is name 82 in the well-known list of the 99 Names of Allah. Al-ʿAfuww erases sins completely, as if they never happened. Scholars say this goes further than covering them.
Al-Afuww comes from the Arabic root ع ف و (ʿ-f-w), which carries the sense of wiping away.
Al-ʿAfuww comes five times in the Quran, usually with Al-Ghafūr.
فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ عَسَى ٱللَّهُ أَن يَعْفُوَ عَنْهُمْ ۚ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ عَفُوًّا غَفُورًۭا
Fa ulaaa'ika 'asal laahu ai ya'fuwa 'anhum; wa kaanal laahu 'Afuwwan Ghafooraa
For those it is expected that Allah will pardon them, and Allah is ever Pardoning and Forgiving.
Quran 4:99. Arabic: Uthmani text (Tanzil). English: Sahih International.
۞ ذَٰلِكَ وَمَنْ عَاقَبَ بِمِثْلِ مَا عُوقِبَ بِهِۦ ثُمَّ بُغِىَ عَلَيْهِ لَيَنصُرَنَّهُ ٱللَّهُ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَعَفُوٌّ غَفُورٌۭ
Zaalika wa man 'aaqaba bimisli maa 'ooqiba bihee summa bughiya 'alaihi la yansurannahul laah; innal laaha la 'Afuwwun Ghafoor
That [is so]. And whoever responds [to injustice] with the equivalent of that with which he was harmed and then is tyrannized - Allah will surely aid him. Indeed, Allah is Pardoning and Forgiving.
Quran 22:60. Arabic: Uthmani text (Tanzil). English: Sahih International.
Allah says: "And to Allah belong the best names, so invoke Him by them" (7:180). Begin your dua with يَا عَفُوُّ (Yā ʿAfuww) and ask for what fits its meaning. For example: "Yā ʿAfuww, wipe away my sins."
اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عَفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي
Allāhumma innaka ʿafuwwun tuḥibbul-ʿafwa faʿfu ʿannī
O Allah, You are Pardoning and love to pardon, so pardon me. (The dua for Laylat al-Qadr.)
Jami at-Tirmidhi 3513, graded sahih
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Questions
Al-Afuww (الْعَفُوُّ) means The Pardoner. Al-ʿAfuww erases sins completely, as if they never happened.
Al-ʿAfuww comes five times in the Quran, usually with Al-Ghafūr.
Say Yā ʿAfuww (يَا عَفُوُّ) at the start of your dua, then ask for what suits the Name, for example: "Yā ʿAfuww, wipe away my sins."
Yes, as Abdul-Afuww, "servant of Al-Afuww". Names that show servitude to one of Allah's Names are among the best names, as the Prophet ﷺ said of Abdullah and Abdur-Rahman (Sahih Muslim 2132).