The word used for forgiving is from ghafr, which, as shown above, also means the granting of protection and the prayer has not the remotest reference to any confession of sin on the part of Noah. Similarly, Abraham is looked upon as a sinner because he is spoken of as expressing the hope that God “will forgive me my mistake (khaṭī’atī) on the Day of Judgment” (26:82). It is one thing to commit a mistake and quite a different thing to go against the Divine commandments, and no sensible critic could twist such words into a confession of sin.
The Holy Prophet Muḥammad is said by these critics of Islām to be a sinner because he is commended to seek Divine protection (istaghfir) for his dhanb (40:55). Now to seek protection against sin does not mean that sin has been committed — he who seeks Divine protection rather guards himself against the commission of sin; and, moreover, the word used here is dhanb which means any human shortcoming. The following verses may, however, be discussed at greater length: “Surely We have granted thee a clear victory, that Allāh may cover for thee thy (alleged) shortcomings in the past and those to come” (48:1, 2). The Arabic words used are dhanbi-ka. Even if the meaning thy dhanb or thy fault is adopted, there is no imputation of sin, but only of human shortcomings, for, as has been already shown, dhanb carries that wider significance. But as a matter of fact dhanbi-ka here means the dhanb attributed to thee26 not thy dhanb. The victory spoken of in the first sentence is, on the best authority,27 the Ḥudaibiyah truce. During a prolonged state of hostilities, between the Muslims and their opponents, the latter had had no opportunity for reflecting on the beauties of Islām, but had, in fact, contracted a certain hatred towards it. They did not come into contact with the Holy Prophet except as enemies on the field of battle, and hence they drew a dark picture of him as an enemy. The truce drawn up at Ḥudaibiyah was a victory for Islām, or, at any rate, a gain to the cause of Islām, since it put a stop to hostilities; and peace being established in the country, the non-Muslims freely mixed with the Muslims, and the good points of Islām together with the high morality of the Holy Prophet made their impression. Misunderstandings were removed, and people began to be attracted by the bright picture of Islām. It was in this
26 This significance of the idzāfa is a commonplace of the Arabic language. Again and again the Holy Qur’ān speaks of shurakā’ (associates) of God, though the meaning is that they are the associates attributed to the Divine Being by polytheists. Similarly in 5:29, the word ithmī does not mean my sin, but the sin committed against me: “I would rather that thou shouldst bear the sin against me (ithmī) and thy own sin.”
27 48:1; Bu. 64:37.