'Ghāfir' and the Bearers of the Throne

Occasion: Transcription of a Fajr khatira delivered on July 23, 2026 Source: A transcription of a video khatira by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — Watch the original video on YouTube

In Sūrat Ghāfir: "Ghāfir" (Forgiver), a word that expresses the measure of what you receive from Allah, and the first thing you receive from Allah is His mercy, and part of the perfection of His mercy is forgiving the sins of His servants and pardoning them. A generous man's nobility is not complete until he rises above people, or above their mistakes, so that he does not look at the petty things people do so much as he looks at his compassion for them, his gentleness toward them, and his mercy in their midst.

The simplest example: if every father punished his children for every mistake they make, would you see a house left standing? You would see all the houses in ruins, because souls are small and minds cannot take in the dimensions of conduct. In childhood, children are overcome by their desires, and their whims incline them toward petty and trivial matters. What moves a child's hand to snatch a morsel from his brother at home? Did this happen or not? A child snatched a morsel from his brother, so you say to him: enough, my dear, never mind, I will bring you another, this is not right. But if you punished each of them for everything they do, he would stay with you by compulsion until he grew up and became a man, and when he is able, he leaves without a backward glance at you and never asks after you again. Why? That is the result of harshness.

Then: ﴿وَلَوْ يُؤَاخِذُ اللَّهُ النَّاسَ بِمَا كَسَبُوا مَا تَرَكَ عَلَىٰ ظَهْرِهَا مِن دَابَّةٍ﴾ (And if Allah were to take people to account for what they have earned, He would not leave upon its back any creature):^[1] if Allah took people to account for everything they do, He would not leave anyone on the face of the earth, because we err very often; whether we intended it or not, deliberately or heedlessly, attentively or negligently, there are possibilities without limit or number.

Forgiver of Sin and Acceptor of Repentance

So "Ghāfir" comes to you, and I imagine and picture this link between ﴿غَافِرِ الذَّنبِ وَقَابِلِ التَّوْبِ﴾ (the Forgiver of sin and Acceptor of repentance) and what comes after His saying: ﴿وَسِيقَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا إِلَىٰ جَهَنَّمَ زُمَرًا حَتَّىٰ إِذَا جَاءُوهَا فُتِحَتْ أَبْوَابُهَا وَقَالَ لَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ رُسُلٌ﴾ (And those who disbelieved will be driven to Hell in groups until, when they reach it, its gates are opened and its keepers say to them: Did there not come to you messengers), a scene the Lord of the worlds describes to us and joins to the other scene: ﴿وَسِيقَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا رَبَّهُمْ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ زُمَرًا حَتَّىٰ إِذَا جَاءُوهَا وَفُتِحَتْ أَبْوَابُهَا﴾ (And those who feared their Lord will be driven to Paradise in groups until, when they reach it and its gates are opened).^[2] This scene and that one represent the reality of the contrast, on the Day of Resurrection, between the people of disobedience, disbelief, denial and ingratitude, and the people of obedience, righteousness and gentleness.

And among the very wonderful scenes is that when the people of Paradise sit in it, they ask one another: what brought you to this station? How did you get here? Where did you come from? ﴿قَالُوا إِنَّا كُنَّا قَبْلُ فِي أَهْلِنَا مُشْفِقِينَ﴾ (They will say: Indeed, we used to be, among our families before, apprehensive).^[3] What does "apprehensive" mean? That we overlook petty and trivial matters, and treat only what deserves it, and stop only at what calls for it. There may be something in the matter that is minor, for a person has a mind and a measure of understanding and comprehension that leads him to act with wisdom. And if he disciplines, there is a difference between disciplining and punishing; we only discipline.

So Allah's saying "Forgiver of sin" comes to us: He overlooks His servants' mistakes, on condition that you carry in your heart, or in yourself, a sound heart and a soul that is by origin pure, and a mind that aspires to what is with the Most Merciful, and that you not be among those who plot evil by night.

The State of Those Who Disbelieved

And those who disbelieved were described in these recited verses by two descriptions. Why does He say: ﴿فَلَا يَغْرُرْكَ تَقَلُّبُهُمْ فِي الْبِلَادِ﴾ (So let not their strutting about in the land deceive you)? Our Lord, glorified be He, says: ﴿مَا يُجَادِلُ فِي آيَاتِ اللَّهِ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا﴾ (None dispute concerning the signs of Allah except those who disbelieve). So what is the attribute they have? Disputation, the back-and-forth, and this is obstinacy in a loathsome mentality. Then we have examples that preceded: ﴿كَذَّبَتْ قَبْلَهُمْ قَوْمُ نُوحٍ وَالْأَحْزَابُ مِن بَعْدِهِمْ ۖ وَهَمَّتْ كُلُّ أُمَّةٍ بِرَسُولِهِمْ لِيَأْخُذُوهُ ۖ وَجَادَلُوا بِالْبَاطِلِ لِيُدْحِضُوا بِهِ الْحَقَّ فَأَخَذْتُهُمْ ۖ فَكَيْفَ كَانَ عِقَابِ﴾ (The people of Noah denied before them, and the factions after them, and every nation intended against its messenger to seize him, and they disputed by falsehood to refute thereby the truth, so I seized them; and how was My penalty!).^[4] What do you think?

And the second attribute: ﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يُنَادَوْنَ لَمَقْتُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ مِن مَّقْتِكُمْ أَنفُسَكُمْ إِذْ تُدْعَوْنَ إِلَى الْإِيمَانِ فَتَكْفُرُونَ﴾ (Indeed, those who disbelieved will be called out to: The hatred of Allah for you is greater than your hatred of yourselves, when you were invited to faith and you disbelieved), ﴿قَالُوا رَبَّنَا أَمَتَّنَا اثْنَتَيْنِ وَأَحْيَيْتَنَا اثْنَتَيْنِ فَاعْتَرَفْنَا بِذُنُوبِنَا فَهَلْ إِلَىٰ خُرُوجٍ مِّن سَبِيلٍ﴾ (They will say: Our Lord, You have made us die twice and given us life twice, and we have acknowledged our sins; so is there any way out?). Is there a way? No. And why not, when He is the Forgiver of sin? ﴿ذَٰلِكُم بِأَنَّهُ إِذَا دُعِيَ اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ كَفَرْتُمْ وَإِن يُشْرَكْ بِهِ تُؤْمِنُوا﴾ (That is because, when Allah was invoked alone, you disbelieved, but if others were associated with Him, you believed); the psyche is not sound in the first place, and the basic component is not upright.

So Remain Upright as You Have Been Commanded

﴿فَاسْتَقِمْ كَمَا أُمِرْتَ﴾ (So remain upright as you have been commanded):^[5] this sentence, with which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was addressed, each of us needs to reflect on and remember, for the crookedness that occurs in our lives every day spares no one. And people have their ranks in their mistakes; each of us shows forth such wrongdoing as suits only him and does not come from anyone else. Take the respected, eminent imam who leads people in the prayers and gives sermons to them and speaks; would Satan be naive? He will not come to him and say: come look at this woman, for this guidance is pointless. But he shows him his own self, so he is pleased with himself, and those are grave, fatal errors before Allah on the Day of Resurrection. Or he tempts him with his self: that he judged between two people and decided between them and one of them objected, so how can he object to my ruling, I who am the imam? Calm down, uncle Hajj. ﴿فَاسْتَقِمْ كَمَا أُمِرْتَ﴾ is how the Lord of the worlds addresses His Messenger ﷺ, and our Lord, glorified be He, relates to us from the experiences of the prophets and messengers what shows us such levels of lapses that occur here and there.

And among people is one who stays upright in his home, safeguarding his family and committed to his dependents, but his eye strays now and then, or he gazes, or he tells a lie, or his desire inclines and he craves something. Then our Lord says "Ghāfir." For whom?

Those Singled Out by the Angels' Supplication

For those who were singled out by the supplication of the angels who carry the Throne and those around it: ﴿الَّذِينَ يَحْمِلُونَ الْعَرْشَ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا﴾ (Those who carry the Throne and those around it exalt Allah with praise of their Lord and believe in Him and ask forgiveness for those who have believed).^[6] These are attributes of the angels, but which angels? The bearers of the Throne. And what are their attributes? How many duties do they have? Three: they carry the Throne, and that is their task; and they glorify and believe, and that is theirs between them and Allah; and the third: and they ask forgiveness for those who have believed. And look at the sweet wording of the supplication: ﴿رَبَّنَا وَسِعْتَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ رَّحْمَةً وَعِلْمًا فَاغْفِرْ لِلَّذِينَ تَابُوا وَاتَّبَعُوا سَبِيلَكَ وَقِهِمْ عَذَابَ الْجَحِيمِ﴾ (Our Lord, You have encompassed all things in mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who have repented and followed Your way, and protect them from the punishment of the Hellfire), then their admission into the Gardens, then ﴿وَقِهِمُ السَّيِّئَاتِ﴾ (and protect them from evil deeds).

These people suit "Forgiver of sin," and they even find, for attaining forgiveness, helpers whose mark and attribute is that they are angels, and not like the rest of the angels, but the bearers of the Throne in the presence of the Most Merciful, glorified and exalted be He. And we have three verses one after another that are enormously enriching to yourself and your soul; so seek in the Noble Qur'an the guidance of souls and their uprightness, the soundness of minds and their rising up against all this accumulation of small evils, which are great before Allah on the Day of Resurrection.

I ask Allah, the Most High, the Almighty, to inspire us with glorification, to make us among those who have attained forgiveness, and to place us among those whom the angels single out with supplication.

--- ^[1]: Editor's documentation: Fāṭir: 45; the speaker cited it in the context of speaking about people being taken to account for what they have earned. ^[2]: Editor's documentation: al-Zumar: 71 and 73, and Ghāfir: 3 for His saying "Forgiver of sin and Acceptor of repentance"; the speaker cited the two in parts, and the two verses are given only as far as he cited them. ^[3]: Editor's documentation: al-Ṭūr: 26. ^[4]: Editor's documentation: Ghāfir: 4 and 5, then 10–12 for His saying "Indeed, those who disbelieved will be called out to…"; the verses are given only as far as the speaker cited them. ^[5]: Editor's documentation: the speaker mentioned the sentence without attribution; it is in Sūrat Hūd: 112 and al-Shūrā: 15, and is not in Sūrat Ghāfir. ^[6]: Editor's documentation: Ghāfir: 7, and the rest of the supplication is in 7–9.