Names of Allah - Al-Affuw & Al-Wadud - Mufti Menk

Names of Allah - Al-Affuw & Al-Wadud - Mufti Menk

Opening

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.

They told me I have 45 minutes. And they told me there is no podium. So I don't have my timer. Usually I like a podium because I put my phone and I click the timer. So I know the exact time. So tonight we're speaking all night insha'Allah. When I decide that I've said whatever I wanted to insha'Allah, we will go home. Maybe we will read salatul tahajjud. It's a good idea at least. And we might end up masha'Allah making some dua that will be accepted by the will of Allah.

Human Nature and Forgiveness

Nonetheless, I want to tell you something. We are human beings. Do you agree? That wasn't loud enough. Maybe some of them are jinn. Who is jinn? Put up your hand. Three guys at the back. Oh, it's a bit dark. I couldn't see. We are human beings. Am I right? Masha'Allah. And I tell you as human beings, we make mistakes. We make mistakes.

When we make mistakes, wouldn't we like to be forgiven? You want to be forgiven, right? If you make a mistake, you say, look, I'm sorry. I'm very sorry. Sometimes, the person that you wronged is yourself. I made a mistake. The only one who was hurt was me. No one else. In that case, it's not so bad because you understand that I wronged myself. But in the case where you wronged someone else, some of them are so close to you and they love you so much. Without saying, I'm sorry, they forgive you.

Do you agree? So say for example, I had an argument with my mother. And what happens is, a little while later I realized I was wrong. That's my mother. I shouldn't have arguments with my mother because my mother is always right. You see, all the women are saying right. They are mothers. They said it loudly. My mother is always My mother is always right no matter what. In actual fact, that's not a true statement. She's not always right. But if you have disrespected her, then you are always wrong for the disrespect. So nothing justifies the issue of disrespect.

If your mother is wrong, if she comes up and does something really bad, it's your right to tell her. But it needs to be very respectful. If you don't respect your mother, you are not connected with Allah in the proper way. The reason is, Allah created you and chose your mother for you. You need to give her and offer her kindness and respect.

Hadith about Parents

We mentioned this hadith so many times where the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said, "who is from among all the people most deserving of my good companionship, my kindness."

Sahih al-Bukhari

Hadith 5971

And so he said, your mother, your mother, your mother. You know the hadith, right? Who knows the hadith? Put up your hands. Mashallah, mashallah. More of the sisters know the hadith than the brothers, but it's true. It's true. And then the fourth time he said, and your father.

Your mother will actually excuse you and forgive you without you saying, I'm sorry, forgive me. It happens a lot of the time. Some mothers, they wait for you. Some mothers, they will hold it in their heart for 20 years. And after 20, you know, one day, you know what you did to me when you were 6 years old? Okay, maybe not as bad as 6, because 6 is a little bit young, but sometimes a little bit older. You know what you did to me when you were young? But in the case of the majority of mothers, they would tell you, don't even say, I'm sorry, don't worry my son, I love you, it's okay. Forgiven, you are a part of me. So it's forgiven. Why do people forgive you without you saying, I'm sorry and forgive me? Because they love you.

The Power of Letting Go

What do they do? Forgive you, excuse, khalas. I have a habit, I said it before in this hall, and I've said it before elsewhere, and I'm saying it again. I have a habit of forgiving everyone who has done something wrong to me, who is doing right now something wrong to me, and who will do something wrong to me until the day I die. Do it, it's okay. It's okay. It might not be a good quality, but for me, it liberates me.

It connects me with Allah, I don't mind, do what you want. Everyday people send me links of things, people say about me online, I say, Alhamdulillah, it's okay. Allah keeps them busy studying my life, and I'm busy studying the life of Muhammad SAW. I'm doing a better job. You are going to make me busy studying their comments, I don't want to look. Just leave them, let them do their thing.

But they're speaking this and speaking that, let them say what they want, it's okay. Hey, they're talking a lot of rubbish, they don't even know you. It's fabricated sometimes, it's an intentional misunderstanding. It's fine. But if you look carefully, the issue of letting go, when you let go of something, Wallahi, you are liberated. It's you who's liberated.

When you love and care for people, you say, Oh Allah, it's okay, leave them, forgive them. And Allah says, I love your quality so much, because you're forgiving others will I forgive you.

Ayah about Forgiveness

Allah says to us, and He's encouraging us, to embrace, to forgive. "Wouldn't you like to be forgiven by Allah? The answer is yes. In that case, forgive them, it's okay. Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful."

Allah has the quality of the all-forgiving. So, today we are discussing two names of Allah. Two names, in my speech.

The Name Al-Affuw (The Pardoner)

I started off asking you the question of forgiveness. Because one of the names of Allah is Al-Affuw. Al- Affuw. Al-Affuw. They translate it in English, but English does not qualify to translate Arabic. Arabic is one of the richest languages in the world. And English is a poor man's language. Honestly, the whole world might be speaking English, but it has very few words in it, actually. And it's a poor man's language.

If you look at how rich your local languages are, it's amazing. You have one word to describe something you need a whole sentence for in English. I was looking at the term Al-Afiyah. In English. In Arabic, they will say, it translates to something close to As-Salamah. What is As-Salamah? What is Al-Afiyah? I need to explain it to you, it will take me five minutes.

Maybe I could tell you that which is complete, that which is perfect, that which is protected, and so on. Oh Allah, I ask you Al-Afiyah. I'm asking you As-Salamah. I'm asking you safety, peace, protection. I'm asking you to grant me holistic health, and protect my deen, and protect my wealth, and protect my family, and my children. And that is Al-Afiyah.

And it's only a part of it that I explain, but one word in Arabic, Al-Afiyah. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) used to say, ask Allah Al-Afiyah.

Du'a for Afu and Afiyah

"Oh Allah, I ask you Afu and Afiyah."

Sunan at-Tirmidhi Hadith 3512

What is Afu? I told you the name of Allah is Al-Afu. Al-Afu. So Al-Afu without the Wu at the end, Al-Afu, right? Because Al-Afu Wu, it has a shada, two wows at the end, name of Allah. But Al-Afu without the second wow, it means to pardon. Pardon. Pardon in the sense that, I've forgiven you. It's out. Gone.

Difference Between Al-Affuw and Al-Ghafoor

Whereas Ghafoor, Al-Ghafoor, also means the one who forgives. What's the difference? I need to know the difference, right? Why did Allah use two different names referring to something very similar to Himself? Al-Afu and Al-Ghafoor. And He uses both of those at times in the verse.

"Al-Afu wa huwa Al-Afu Al-Ghafoor. Al-Afu Al-Ghafoor. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala."

Because if they are mentioned together, then you need to know that Al-Afu is referring to forgiving you not having done certain things you were supposed to do. And Al-Ghafoor is connected to you being forgiven for having done things you were not supposed to do. Allahu Akbar.

Can I give you a quick example? Allah says, pray five times a day and do not drink alcohol. Agreed? Meaning, it's not one ayah or something. I'm just telling you two different things, right? One is the issue

of praying. I need you to pray five times a day, Allah says. And you need to stay away from alcohol. If you didn't do something you were supposed to do, Allah's Afu would cover you when you seek His forgiveness. And when you did something you're not supposed to do, you need to seek forgiveness. Allah's name of Al-Ghafoor and His Ghafran, His forgiveness will cover you. That is when they are mentioned together.

When they are mentioned separately, they can interchange. But Al-Ghafoor in Arabic actually refers to wiping out or wiping or rubbing off something. Rubbing off. So when Allah's name Al-Ghafoor is mentioned, it means He will cover it and wipe it out and delete it in a way that there is no trace of it at all. No trace of it. What happened? Allah forgave it. Allah pardoned. Allah wiped it out completely. There is no trace of it. You go and you see it's not even there. You look for it, there is no trace of it.

The Importance of Seeking Forgiveness

You know, when we commit sins as human beings, let me tell, even myself, when I was growing up, if we did wrong things, we knew this was wrong. We say, Oh Allah forgive me. As you grow older, so many sins we have committed, small ones and whatever other sins we have done, as time passes, do we not forget that we committed those sins? Wallahi we forget. If I ask you or you ask me, can you remember the sins you committed when you were 16, 17, 18, 19? I'll tell you, Wallahi, I can't really remember much.

Maybe some big things I might remember, but not every day and every year and whatever happened. I cannot remember. That's why we are taught to seek forgiveness every day because the longer you leave it, the more the chance is that you're going to forget about it and you will not ask Allah's forgiveness for it.

But Allah says, you know what? If it was a minor sin, I will wipe it out without you even asking for forgiveness. Minor sins, Allah wipes out without you asking for forgiveness. Did I ask for forgiveness? No. Why did Allah forgive me? Because He is Al-Affuw, that's why. He's forgiving, He's the pardoner.

Ayah about Good Deeds

"Allah says in the Quran, good deeds automatically delete the bad deeds."

Who has been for Umrah amongst you? Put up your hands. There is a reason. Put it a bit higher, a little bit higher, a little bit higher. Mashallah, put your hands down. That's quite a good number. May Allah take those who have not been for Umrah to Umrah. May Allah take you for Hajj as well. Say, Ameen. From among those seated here and among those who will watch this later perhaps.

Good Deeds Wiping Out Sins

Umrah, you made one. And Umrah, you made another one. The gap that is between the two of them, any minor sins that were committed between those two, wiped out by you merely doing the good deed. What was the deed? Umrah. So, the Hadith also says, when you make Hajj, the reward of it is nothing but

Jannatul Firdaus, Paradise. Who wants Jannah? I want it, you want it, we all want it. Right? We want Jannah. So Allah says, one time you went for Umrah, when you go again, the sins between the previous time you were there and this one here, they are wiped out. Wiped out.

Without seeking individual forgiveness for minor sins. If it's a major sin, you need to seek individual forgiveness. Oh Allah, I did this. I regret it. Forgive me, Ya Ilaha Al Alameen. May Allah forgive us.

But, the same applies to Salah, your prayer. You did Fajr, you did Zuhur, you did Asr. The fact that you are doing these good deeds, minor sins in the middle, Insha Allah, they are wiped out. That doesn't mean, Oh, today in Manila, we were told that minor sins are not really a big problem because they will be wiped out between the Salah. It's okay, let me just do these minor sins. La hawla wa la quwwata illa Billahi Al Aliyy Al Azim.

No, no. Minor sins are a big problem also because when you continue to do minor, minor, minor, what does it become? Major. It becomes major. So Allah says, no, no, no, no. It's not like you intentionally do something. You did it. You were a human being and you made a mistake, you made an error, and you continued, and you did lots of good. The good thing is Allah, on the Day of Judgment, weighs your deeds on the scale. You have more good deeds, you are fortunate. You have more bad deeds, you have lost. You have lost. May Allah grant us the ability to do more good deeds than bad.

And may He strengthen us not to do the bad. And wherever we have done them, may He forgive us. So Allah will forgive you. Like I said, without you saying, please forgive me, O Allah, for minor sins. Allah says, we will forgive you. Allah says on top of that, that on the Day of Judgment, if you come with your bad deeds and your good deeds, and the good deeds are more than the bad deeds, what will we do? We will ignore the bad deeds and put you into Jannah.

Why? Because you have more good deeds. That's why I do many more good deeds. This is the meaning of the verse, that your good deeds will automatically wipe out the bad deeds. That is Allah, Al-Affuw. He forgives. He's the Pardoner.

Justice and Forgiveness

Allah does not benefit from holding it against you. Allah doesn't benefit from punishing you. So why does He punish? He wants goodness for you, number one. And number two, He is just. Allah is just. He is fair. Imagine if I, in this world, look at what Israel is doing to the Palestinians. Every day, thousands of people are being affected, either killed or driven out of their homes. Now, millions are displaced and thousands have been killed in a style as though they are enjoying doing what they are doing. Do you think that Allah is going to let it go? Do we not want to see justice? We want to see justice. Will that justice happen in this world, in my life? Inshallah, but maybe it might not happen the way we want it to happen. But Allah says, leave it to me.

That doesn't mean don't do anything about it. I'm speaking about it right now. Right? But what it does mean, is that they will pay the heaviest price on the day of Qiyamah, the day of judgment, to say the least.

There is no chance. No chance that they are going to be let loose on that day. The day of judgment, Allah will call everyone and bring them to justice.

لِمَنِ الْمُلْكُ الْيَوْمَ

"Allah asks a question, whom is the kingdom for today? There will be dead silence. No one can talk. That is Allah."

لِلَّهِ الْوَاحِدِ الْقَهَّارِ

"Kingdom belongs to Allah. The one, the most powerful. The one, the irresistible."

Cannot resist Allah. He's there. So don't you want to see justice? So Allah will not forgive you for something you did against someone else. Right? When they want the justice against you, you will have to pay, pay in this world. But Allah says, you did something against me, I can forgive it. I can forgive it.

And that's why they say, backbiting is worse than adultery. Adultery, they committed, is a sin between them and Allah. It's a major sin. It is forgivable by Allah. You seek the forgiveness, Allah is Al-Affuw, Al- Ghafoor. And on top of that, another name of Allah is Al-Ghaffar.

What's the difference? Ghaffar is a term in the Arabic language, the name that refers to something being repeated. So Allah is oft-forgiving. The one who forgives again, and again, and again, and again, and again. That is Ghaffar. Look at the mercy of Allah. And that is why, if you take a look at Aisha radiallahu anha, when she asked the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) that if I see and witness the night of decree, Laylatul Qadr, what should I do or say? The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says:

Du'a for Laylatul Qadr

"O Allah, You are Al-Affuw, You love to pardon, so pardon me."

(Sunan at-Tirmidhi Hadith 3513)

You love to forgive, so forgive me. In what sense? Forgive me for things I remember, things I don't remember, things I did openly, things I did silently, quietly, privately, things I did by day, things I did by night, things I did that were major, things I did that were minor, forgive me for everything. Why? Because you are the one who loves to forgive, so forgive me.

The Great Reward of Tawbah

One narration says, if we did not sin, Allah would bring about people who sinned in order for them to seek forgiveness that Allah forgave them. This hadith does not mean Allah wants you to sin, but rather it is there in order to give you hope, to say, don't lose the hope. Allah is Al-Affuw, Al-Ghafoor, Al-Ghaffar, At-Tawwab.

What is Tawwab? It's another name which is quite similar. Taaba yatubu is one who returns to Allah. If I say, Astaghfirullah, what have I done? I've done seeking forgiveness. Al-Ghaffar and Al-Ghafoor will

accept your Astaghfirullah. You understand what I'm saying? Can I explain it? Al-Ghaffar is the one who forgives you often. Al-Ghafoor is the one who forgives.

He will forgive you when you say, Astaghfirullah, O Allah, I seek your forgiveness. Those two qualities come into play and Allah has forgiven you, right? I sought forgiveness, but did I change my life? Did I change my life? Changing your life could be a separate matter. It could be a separate matter.

In the sense that I said, O Allah, forgive me. But my life didn't really change so much. But when you change your life, you became a person, Raja'a ila Allahi, Taaba ila Allah, Tawba, Arruju'u, to go back to Allah. That is called Tawba. When your life changed and you went back to Allah, it's Tawba. It is Tawwab, the name of Allah.

Allah says, when you change your life, you came back to us, we accept it from you. Now look, many of you here are new Muslims, reverts, Balik Islam, converts. Call it what you want, right? The day you stood and you said:

Shahada

What happened? The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says:

Hadith about Islam

"Ya Khalid, innal islama yajubbu ma qablah. What happens? The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) says, O Khalid, when you accept Islam, it deletes all the bad that you did before it, completely. You start off new, brand new."

(Sahih Muslim Hadith 121)

You start off new. Wow, that's amazing. Your life changed. Guess what? I want to give you good news. Whoever makes Tawba has the same reward. Has the what? The same reward.

Hadith about Repentance

"At-ta'ibu minal dhanbika man la dhanbala. That's the hadith. The one who did Tawba from a sin is equivalent to the one who didn't commit the sin."

(Sunan Ibn Majah Hadith 4250)

Why? You might say, that's not fair. Right? I stayed without committing the sin. That guy committed the sin and made Tawba and you're telling me he's equivalent to me who didn't sin? You understand? It's not fair, right? That's what someone would say.

Allah says, no. The fact that he turned back for us and he left something after tasting what it was like or whatever it might have been and he decided, oh Allah, forgive me and I'm coming back to you only for you. Even though I have the ability to do it again and again but I have chosen not to for you. Allah says,

that act of worship is so high that it's equivalent to the one who didn't sin at all and he didn't have the opportunity to do exactly that. Wow, you might not understand it fully. But if you think about it, it makes sense.

The Bonus for Those Who Repent

Imagine a drunkard. I want to tell all of you. We all have some habits we're trying hard to get rid of. Some of us are hooked on to pornography. Some on to alcohol. Some on to drugs. Some on to maybe just wasting time on the phone with the opposite sex. Maybe with the same sex. Naudhu Billahi.

But all of that when you know that there is something displeasing to Allah and you hold back no matter how much you really want to fall in it. Don't you deserve something great? A guy who never ever tasted a drug. Allah has got a very high status in that regard. I always tell the kids, don't even smoke. Not even a puff. Not even a cigarette. No. Don't even try it. Because one thing leads to another. Before you know, they are trying weed. And before you know, they are trying some other drug. Just now people were saying, Duterte is no longer here. The drug problem is coming up again. I think it's true. Maybe it's true.

More and more people are looking. And I tell myself, Duterte is no longer there. Yeah? You know what I'm talking about, right? May Allah make it easy. We have a few politicians sitting here. They must be thinking, this man is entering dangerous territory. No, no. It's okay. I'm only mentioning one good point. But what I want to tell you is, for someone who was there, they are addicted and hooked.

Don't they need a lot of power, encouragement, willpower, strength, to quit something they are addicted to. And they turn back to Allah. Allah says, you know what? I forgive you. You are equivalent to the one who didn't do it. Come, let's go. We start off new leaf.

That's why Allah does not want you to lose hope in His mercy. Because if you were doubting the mercy of Allah, and if He told you that, no, I'm still going to punish you, or you are not equal to this, you would lose hope. You would lose hope completely to say, you know what? I sinned, now it's over. As it is, I'm going to hell. Let me just sin whatever other sins they are. Allah says, no, no, no, no, no.

Come back. Because you know what? You are equal to someone who didn't sin because of your coming back and changing your whole life. So much so, there is a bonus that person gets that Allah says in the Quran, in Surah Al-Furqan.

Ayah about Conversion of Bad Deeds

"Allah says, when you repent to Him and you quit your bad ways, and you change your entire life, He takes your bad deeds and He puts them on the right side of the scale and converts them into good deeds."

You want to hear it? Allah says, when you repent to Him and you quit your bad ways, and you change your entire life, He takes your bad deeds and He puts them on the right side of the scale and converts

them into good deeds. When you come on the day of judgment, you'll see a massive pile of good deeds. What was that? That was your turning and those were your bad deeds that became good deeds as a result of you changing your entire life for the sake of Allah.

That's a bonus. A big bonus. So that doesn't mean, okay, let me go and sin for a few years. Then when I come back, imagine all of that is going to become good deeds. Allah says, no, you can't do that. You don't know how long you're going to live. You can't plan to do all of that. You might die in the middle of a sin. May Allah grant us all a good death in salah, in sujood, ameen.

The Name Al-Wadud (The Most Loving)

Allah is Al-Affuw. Allah says, forgive. I was telling you about the day of judgment when justice will be served against these murderers, genocide perpetrators. Justice will be served to the degree that they will be made to pay the price of every single person they enjoyed killing. They're enjoying it. They're making it a game.

Go and watch how the people are going and dancing, and looking for babies and kids and playing the fool. May Allah Almighty grant us goodness. May Allah grant us victory. My brothers and sisters, justice comes. And Allah has kept the day of judgment there. He will bring justice.

If there was no justice, it would be so unfair. It would be so unfair. Imagine going and Allah says, you know what, it's okay, there's no justice. I'll just do what I want. No, Allah says, I'm just, I'm fair. If I told you that you will pay the price, you will pay the price. If I told you that this will happen, it will happen. Allah does not go against His promised time or His promises in any way, shape or form. He made a promise, it's a promise.

The only time Allah will excuse you and He will let go of you, when you've done something wrong against Him or against yourself. Allah says, it's okay. That's why Allah says, Tell my worshippers who have wronged themselves. That don't worry, Allah will forgive all your sins. You wronged yourself, Allah will forgive all your sins. This is Allah, Al-Affuw.

The second name we were to discuss in today's speech is Al-Wadud. It's connected to the first one. Al- Wadud means the most loving. Allah calls Himself the most loving. Allah calls Himself the pardoner. It's out of His love for us that He pardons.

Didn't I tell you moments ago, when someone pardons you without you having said, I'm sorry. He loves you, or she loves you. Allah says, minor sins, you don't even have to say, I'm sorry, it's gone, it's wiped out. It's over. Imagine. Out of His love, He's pardoning.

Because He's Wadud, He's also Affuw. Because He's Wadud, He's Affuw. If He was not Wadud, how would He be Affuw and Ghafoor and Tawwab and Ghaffar and those names which are connected to forgiveness. So many names are connected to forgiveness, not just one. In order to give you hope in the mercy of Allah. Rahman, Rahim, Subhanallah.

Lovely, beautiful names of Allah. Most merciful, most compassionate. The beneficent, the forgiving, the pardoner, the one who oft forgives. The one who loves to forgive. Loves to forgive. That's a name, man. That's an amazing name. It brings a smile to my face straight away. Loves to forgive, wow. Loves to forgive. Allahu Akbar. O Allah, forgive our shortcomings.

So, Wadud is a level of love. These names have appeared in the Quran.

Ayah about Al-Wadud

"Inna Rabbi Rahimun Wadud Allah says, Indeed, My Lord is merciful, and He is most loving."

He is most loving. Allah is most loving. You know, Allah mentions in one of the verses of the Quran, the two terms together. Which two? The first name I spoke about is Al-Affuw. And then Allah speaks about Al-Qadeer. The all-able. Allah is able, He has Qudra. But still He just pardons. I can, but I forgive.

Ayah about Allah's Acceptance of Repentance

"So, says Allah, It is Allah who accepts the repentance of a person. And He wipes out or He pardons the sins of the people. He pardons."

The difference between the two. One, I sought the forgiveness. The other one, Allah says, I just forgave you.

"And He knows what you do. That's the rest of the verse,"

He knows what you do. But Allah says that when I know that I can destroy you because of your sin, still I forgive you. It shows power. Imagine, if you know that the person who wronged you, you can fix him up. Would you not fix him up? Someone came and stole something from you. Someone came and slapped you. Someone came and swore you. And you know you're a powerful person or you're very strong.

What would you do? Slapped you? Slap him back? Drop him to the ground? Pack him away? And maybe even more in the Philippines. Right? It's true. Someone stole from you. Not just him, but in some countries, him and everything around him is in trouble. Why? Because he stole from you and you're a big man. Right? But if you're a weak person and someone slapped you, what do you do? Come on.

You got to look at him and say, Thank you, sir. Am I right? Because a big man came, strong guy, he says, Hey, one slap on your face. What are you going to do? Or you might look at another person who's strong and tell them, Right? Because you know I'm weak, I can't really do anything.

Which one is more powerful? Tell me. The one who has all the power but he still does not do anything. Or, the one who has all the power and he does whatever he can, who is more powerful? The one who