Al-Ghaffar
Al-Ghaffar is the One who forgives again and again — whose covering of sin outlasts the servant's returning to it.
Name 14 of 99
الْغَفَّارُ
Al-Ghaffar
The All-Forgiving
- In Arabic
- الْغَفَّارُ
- Transliteration
- Al-Ghaffar
- Position in the list
- Name 14 of 99
Al-Ghaffar — The All-Forgiving
What the name means
The root gh-f-r means to cover and to shield; the mighfar was the helmet a warrior wore. Forgiveness here is not overlooking but covering — the sin is concealed, its consequence lifted, the servant left unexposed.
The form ghaffar is one of repetition. It is not one pardon but a habit of pardoning.
Living by this name
Nuh ﷺ built his call on it: ask forgiveness of your Lord, He is ever ghaffar — and then promised rain, wealth and children as its fruit. Istighfar is treated as an opening, not only an apology.
Its human echo is covering the faults of others rather than publishing them. See also Al-Ghafur and At-Tawwab.
Al-Ghaffar in the Quran
The 4 verses below contain this name. Every reference is checked against the Arabic text of the Quran before it is published, so Al-Ghaffar really is in each verse it is cited from.
وَإِنِّى لَغَفَّارٌۭ لِّمَن تَابَ وَءَامَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَٰلِحًۭا ثُمَّ ٱهْتَدَىٰ
But indeed, I am the Perpetual Forgiver of whoever repents and believes and does righteousness and then continues in guidance.
Surah Ta-Ha 20:82Read the full surah →رَبُّ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْغَفَّٰرُ
Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them, the Exalted in Might, the Perpetual Forgiver."
Surah Sad 38:66Read the full surah →خَلَقَ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ بِٱلْحَقِّ ۖ يُكَوِّرُ ٱلَّيْلَ عَلَى ٱلنَّهَارِ وَيُكَوِّرُ ٱلنَّهَارَ عَلَى ٱلَّيْلِ ۖ وَسَخَّرَ ٱلشَّمْسَ وَٱلْقَمَرَ ۖ كُلٌّۭ يَجْرِى لِأَجَلٍۢ مُّسَمًّى ۗ أَلَا هُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْغَفَّٰرُ
He created the heavens and earth in truth. He wraps the night over the day and wraps the day over the night and has subjected the sun and the moon, each running [its course] for a specified term. Unquestionably, He is the Exalted in Might, the Perpetual Forgiver.
Surah Az-Zumar 39:5Read the full surah →فَقُلْتُ ٱسْتَغْفِرُوا۟ رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ غَفَّارًۭا
And said, 'Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He is ever a Perpetual Forgiver.
Surah Nuh 71:10Read the full surah →
How reliable is the list of ninety-nine?
That Allah has ninety-nine names is established in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, and both are agreed upon. The specific enumeration — this list of ninety-nine — comes from a narration in Jami' at-Tirmidhi that at-Tirmidhi himself called gharib, and which many hadith scholars grade weak; several held that a narrator compiled the names by searching the Quran and Sunnah. Classical scholars including al-Khattabi, Ibn Hazm, al-Qurtubi and al-Ghazali compiled lists of their own that differ from it. None of this touches the names themselves, every one of which is established elsewhere; it means the count of exactly these ninety-nine is a scholarly arrangement rather than a revealed roster, and Allah's names are not limited to them.
Questions about Al-Ghaffar
Al-Ghaffar (الْغَفَّارُ) means "The All-Forgiving". Like every one of the ninety-nine names, it describes an attribute of Allah rather than serving as a label — the names are how the Quran teaches who Allah is.
Yes. This page cites 4 verses containing Al-Ghaffar, each checked against the Arabic text before publishing.
Address Allah with "Ya" before the name — "Ya Ghaffar" — and ask for what that attribute gives. The Quran instructs it directly: "To Allah belong the most beautiful names, so call upon Him by them" (7:180).
It is number 14 in the well-known list. The order comes from the narration of at-Tirmidhi and is a scholarly arrangement, so numbering can differ slightly between printed lists — the names themselves do not.