(ف) صَفَحَ يَصْفَحُ صَفْحًاṣafaḥa yaṣfaḥu ṣafḥan: the basic meaning is «to spread out separately and broaden»; then to pardon, not even to make someone feel his fault, to refrain from reproach. ﴿وَلْيَعْفُوْا وَلْيَصْفَحُوْا﴾ (An-Nūr 24:22); ﴿فَاصْفَحِ الصَّفْحَ الْجَمِيْلَ﴾ (Al-Ḥijr 15:85)
There is a subtle difference between عَفْوٌʿafw and صَفْحٌṣafḥ: ʿafw (عَفَا يَعْفُوْʿafā yaʿfū) means refraining from punishment, i.e. giving up the intention to punish someone for his offence and sin; whereas ṣafḥ (صَفَحَ يَصْفَحُṣafaḥa yaṣfaḥu) means refraining from censure, i.e. not even reproaching or rebuking the sinner and offender. This is why the author of the Mufradāt wrote that ṣafḥ is a higher course of conduct than even ʿafw, for how often it happens that a man forgives someone (the punishment) yet still goes on to reproach him; that is, refraining from punishment is somewhat easy, but refraining from reproach نسبتاًnsbtan is difficult and requires greater magnanimity, and this is why in the Quran the command of ṣafḥ most often follows that of ʿafw معاًmʿan.
صَفْحًاṣafḥan: turning the face away, turning aside. ﴿اَفَنَضْرِبُ عَنْكُمُ الذِّكْرَ صَفْحًا﴾ (Az-Zukhruf 43:5)
Form III (mufāʿalah) صَافَحَ يُصَافِحُ مُصَافَحَةًṣāfaḥa yuṣāfiḥu muṣāfaḥatan: to shake hands (this verb is not used in the Quran).