God has granted intellect to human beings. The intellect entails responsibility. The more intellect a person has, the more he/she is responsible.
When the intellect is missing, the responsibility is also not there. Little children are not held responsible, because their intellect has not yet developed. The insane are not responsible, because they have lost their intellectual capacity. However, part of our being human is also that we make mistakes. Sometimes we make mistakes without deliberation and intention. But sometimes we knowingly and deliberately sin and do wrong to others.
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. Islam speaks about 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 Quran. They are called the most beautiful names and they indicate many different and diverse attributes and qualities of God. Some of these names are related to His mercy and forgiveness. Let us look at some of these names:
*1. Al-Ghafoor (The Most Forgiving):* This name occurs in the Quran more than 70 times. There are other names from the same root, such as Ghafir and Ghaffar. The meaning of the Arabic word Ghaffar 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. In the Quran, it is mentioned that God does not forgive the Shirk (without repentance) but He may forgive every other sin for whomsoever He wills. (4:116) We must turn to God to seek His forgiveness.
*2. Al-Afuw:* This has another part of forgiveness. This name occurs in the Quran 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 honor after we have dishonored ourselves by committing sins and making mistakes. Sometimes in the Quran, both names, Afuw and Ghafoor, come together.