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During the second ten days of Ramadan, Muslims focus on seeking forgiveness from God and others. They believe God's most important attributes during this time are Al-Ghafoor (The Forgiver) and Al-Ghaffaar (The Forgiving). Muslims practice seeking forgiveness from God through a specific prayer called Taubah. They also seek forgiveness from those they have harmed and make amends. Additionally, Muslims work to forgive others and emulate God's forgiving attributes of Al-Ghafoor and Al-Ghaffaar. This helps Muslims focus on humanitarianism during Ramadan.

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108 views2 pages

FORG

During the second ten days of Ramadan, Muslims focus on seeking forgiveness from God and others. They believe God's most important attributes during this time are Al-Ghafoor (The Forgiver) and Al-Ghaffaar (The Forgiving). Muslims practice seeking forgiveness from God through a specific prayer called Taubah. They also seek forgiveness from those they have harmed and make amends. Additionally, Muslims work to forgive others and emulate God's forgiving attributes of Al-Ghafoor and Al-Ghaffaar. This helps Muslims focus on humanitarianism during Ramadan.

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Seeking Forgiveness While Fasting - The Second Ten Days of Ramadan

by Allhumdulilah For Everything! on Saturday, August 21, 2010 at 7:55am


Forgiveness is the Fruit of Islam
During the second ten days of Ramadan two attributes of God become the most impo
rtant to the Muslim: Al-Ghafoor (The Forgiver), and Al-Ghaffaar (The Forgiving).
Islam teaches that God has ninety nine names through which the Muslim learns of
the Attributes of God. One of the attributes is Al-Ghafoor ("the forgiver"); ano
ther is Al-Ghaffaar ("the forgiving"). During the second ten days of Ramadan, th
ese two attributes become a point of emphasis.
The root of "Al-Ghafoor" and "Al-Ghaffaar" is Ghafara. "Ghafara" means "to cover
, hide, conceal, forgive, give protection, set the affairs right, suppress the d
efect." (Omar, pg 405) As such, these two words express two forms of forgiveness
inherit in the attributes of God; first they carry the meaning of protecting th
e human being from committing a sin; secondly they carry the meaning of protecti
ng the human from punishment for sins. God is the one who protects the believer
from committing sins and protects from the punishment of sins. These two words c
ollectively display the range and characteristics of God's forgiveness.
Thus, Muslims believe that God actively protects the believer from her/his own s
elf and provides for a way which believers can approach God if a sin is committe
d.
There is no belief in Islam that humans are made in God's image. However, Muslim
s practice spirituality by emulating God through sharing forgiveness in their da
ily lives. Thus, for the believer, there are three ways in which forgiveness is
practiced: seeking God's forgiveness, seeking forgiveness of others, and seeking
to forgive others.
Seeking Forgiveness of God
During Ramadan, amidst the fasting and extra prayers, it's believed that God fur
ther instructs the Muslim through the teachings of Prophet Muhammad that humanit
y should seek God's forgiveness from all past indiscretions, and ask that they b
e protected against future indiscretions.
Unlike other religions, Muslims do not seek forgiveness in front of a pastor, pr
eacher, priest, or Rabbi. Instead, forgiveness is sought at the very presence of
God. It is sought through a specific prayer that is conducted by the Muslim cal
led Taubah. During this prayer, that consist of two Raka (a series of standing,
bowing and prostrating while reciting verses from the Quran), the believer since
rely repents to God and asked that past sins be forgiven, and that protection be
given to prevent one from committing such sins in the future.
Seeking Forgiveness of Others
At some point, an individual may commit an act that hurts another person's feeli
ngs and causes harm to their well-being, either purposefully or inadvertently. I
t is the selfish side of the nafs ("self, soul") which can lead a person to even
tually cause such harm to someone else and, thus, stand in need of having to see
k the forgiveness of those harmed.
Altruistically, a believer will seek out the one harmed, endeavor to make amends
, and set things right. This is due to the teachings of Islam which state that i
f two, or more, people have a problem, they should resolve it within three days.
The one who initiates clemency will be the one most rewarded by God for seeking
peace, and forgiveness.
Seeking To Forgive Others
As such, being the initiator of reconciliation is a virtue that Islam works to i
nstill in each believer. During the initiation of reconciliation the Muslim is e
mulating the attributes of his Lord, Al-Ghafoor and Al-Ghafaar. She/he is demons
trating the nature, and godlike qualities, which Islam is meant to develop withi
n the Muslim.
In this way, not only has the Muslim been seeking the forgiveness of others but
also is actively forgiving the harm done to him or her by working to forgive, an
d forget, the harm that was committed against him or her.
In retrospect, the second ten days of Ramadan helps the Muslim to focus on aspec
ts of humanitarianism. Thus, the Muslim can be conscious of God and conscious of
the needs of humanity without feeling that these two objectives are in conflict
. As such, the most spiritual of the Muslim population are not to be found in a
cave or some far away sanctuary. In contrast, Islam teaches that the most spirit
ual, and God-Conscious, of Muslims are found in the very mist of civilization wo
rking to achieve the greater goals of humanity.
Sources:
Abdullah Yusef Ali, The Holy Quran; With Arabic Text. Abdul Mannan Omar, Diction
ary of The Holy Quran.
Read more at Suite101: Seeking Forgiveness While Fasting: The Second Ten Days of
Ramadan http://islamic-practices.suite101.com/article.cfm/seeking_forgiveness_w
hile_fasting#ixzz0xByvH4Xk
http://islamic-practices.suite101.com/article.cfm/seeking_forgiveness_while_fast
ing
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