In the Quran, forgiveness belongs first to God. It is one of His defining attributes, and many passages close with "GOD is Forgiver, Most Merciful." Its reach is meant to leave no one hopeless: "O My servants who exceeded the limits, never despair of GOD's mercy. For GOD forgives all sins. He is the Forgiver, Most Merciful" (39:53). The one exception is idolatry: "GOD does not forgive idolatry, but He forgives lesser offenses for whomever He wills" (4:48). Dr. Khalifa's footnote explains that idol worship is unforgivable only "if maintained until death," and that "one can always repent from any offense, including idolatry before death comes" (4:48). In one of his recordings he connects the two verses the same way: God forgives all sins, and the single unforgivable offense is worshiping anything besides Him.
Repentance is the way to forgiveness, and the Quran's stories show it working. Adam and his wife said, "Our Lord, we have wronged our souls, and unless You forgive us and have mercy on us, we will be losers" (7:23). Moses killed a man with a punch, recognized it as "the work of the devil," and prayed, "My Lord, I have wronged my soul. Please forgive me," and the same verse records that God forgave him (28:15-16). Dr. Khalifa pointed out that Moses repented at once and was forgiven "in the same breath". Timing matters, because repentance is accepted from those who sin out of ignorance and "repent immediately thereafter," but not from those who keep sinning until death and only then say, "Now I repent" (4:17-18). God asks for "a firm repentance" (66:8). Forgiveness can also go beyond erasing the past: for those who repent, believe and live righteously, "GOD transforms their sins into credits" (25:70). The daily prayers and good works feed the same process, since "the righteous works wipe out the evil works" (11:114).
Others can pray for a person's forgiveness, but only within limits. The angels around the throne ask forgiveness "for those who believe" and "repent and follow Your path" (40:7). The messenger was told that if the people who wronged themselves had come to him and asked God's forgiveness, and he had prayed for them, they would have found God redeeming (4:64). Prayer cannot override a person's own rejection, though. For those who disbelieve, "even if you ask forgiveness for them seventy times, GOD will not forgive them" (9:80). Believers are not to ask forgiveness for idol worshipers who are destined for Hell, even close relatives. Abraham asked forgiveness for his father only because he had promised to, and he disowned him once he saw he was God's enemy (9:113-114). It follows that forgiveness is not something one person can earn for another. It depends on the sinner's own turning to God.
The Quran also asks believers to forgive. Among the traits of the believers: "when angered they forgive" (42:37). It does not require anyone to accept injustice. Believers "stand up for their rights" (42:39), and equivalent retribution is a just response (42:40). Still, "those who pardon and maintain righteousness are rewarded by GOD" (42:40), and "Resorting to patience and forgiveness reflects a true strength of character" (42:43). The righteous are "suppressors of anger, and pardoners of the people" (3:134). The Quran ties our forgiveness of others to the forgiveness we hope for: after commanding kindness and tolerance toward relatives and the needy, it asks, "do you not love to attain GOD's forgiveness?" (24:22). It applies this inside the family as well: "If you pardon, forget, and forgive, then GOD is Forgiver, Most Merciful" (64:14). The Quran Talk blog adds a point worth noting: we can pardon wrongs done to ourselves, but we have no standing to pardon a harm someone did to another person.
Taken together, these verses ask three things of the reader. First, never despair, however serious the sin, but repent right away and sincerely, without persisting in it knowingly (3:135). Second, keep worship devoted to God alone, because that is the only condition He has put on His forgiveness. Third, treat others the way you hope God will treat you: hold back anger, forgive where you can, and let a person who repents and reforms start fresh, as with enemies who repented and became "your brethren in religion" (9:11). The Quran calls this a race: "eagerly race towards forgiveness from your Lord and a Paradise whose width encompasses the heavens and the earth" (3:133).
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