Name 14 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 14 of 99
الْغَفَّارُ
Al-Ghaffār
The Ever-Forgiving
Meaning
Al-Ghaffar (الْغَفَّارُ) means The Ever-Forgiving. It is name 14 in the well-known list of the 99 Names of Allah. Al-Ghaffār forgives again and again, however often the servant returns. He covers sins in this world and protects from their harm in the next.
Al-Ghaffar comes from the Arabic root غ ف ر (gh-f-r), which carries the sense of covering and protecting (a mighfar is a helmet).
Nuh told his people: ask your Lord's forgiveness, for He is Ghaffār. The name comes five times in the Quran.
فَقُلْتُ ٱسْتَغْفِرُوا۟ رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ غَفَّارًۭا
Faqultus taghfiroo Rabakam innahoo kaana Ghaffaaraa
And said, 'Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He is ever a Perpetual Forgiver.
Quran 71:10. Arabic: Uthmani text (Tanzil). English: Sahih International.
وَإِنِّى لَغَفَّارٌۭ لِّمَن تَابَ وَءَامَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَٰلِحًۭا ثُمَّ ٱهْتَدَىٰ
Wa innee la Ghaffaarul liman taaba wa aamana wa 'amila saalihan summah tadaa
But indeed, I am the Perpetual Forgiver of whoever repents and believes and does righteousness and then continues in guidance.
Quran 20:82. 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 غَفَّارُ (Yā Ghaffār) and ask for what fits its meaning. For example: "Yā Ghaffār, forgive me again, as You have forgiven me before."
The Prophet ﷺ said: "By Allah, I ask Allah's forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance more than seventy times a day."
Sahih al-Bukhari 6307
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Questions
Al-Ghaffar (الْغَفَّارُ) means The Ever-Forgiving. Al-Ghaffār forgives again and again, however often the servant returns.
Nuh told his people: ask your Lord's forgiveness, for He is Ghaffār. The name comes five times in the Quran.
Say Yā Ghaffār (يَا غَفَّارُ) at the start of your dua, then ask for what suits the Name, for example: "Yā Ghaffār, forgive me again, as You have forgiven me before."
Yes, as Abdul-Ghaffar, "servant of Al-Ghaffar". 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).