Arabic root

ت-و-ب

Ta-Waw-Ba

2 words from this root family

About this root

Ta-Waw-Ba (ت-و-ب) has 2 words in the Fahm dictionary: tawbah (repentance), tāba (he repented / he turned back (to God)).

In the Quran, words built on this root occur 87 times in 69 verses, across 25 of the 114 suras. The first is in 2:37. The form تَابَ (he repented / he turned back (to God)) accounts for 63 of them.

Themes: Quranic

Words from this root

Word	Meaning	Type	In the Quran	Taught in
تَوْبَةٌ tawbah	repentance	noun, A2	7×	Guidance and Knowledge
تَابَ tāba	he repented / he turned back (to God)	verb, B1	63×	Prophets and Messengers

“In the Quran” counts every occurrence of that dictionary form, in any of its senses.

In the Quran

فَتَلَقَّىٰٓ ءَادَمُ مِن رَّبِّهِۦ كَلِمَـٰتٍ فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ

Then Adam received from his Lord words (of revelation), and He relented toward him. Lo! He is the relenting, the Merciful.

Quran 2:37

إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ بَعْدَ إِيمَـٰنِهِمْ ثُمَّ ٱزْدَادُوا۟ كُفْرًا لَّن تُقْبَلَ تَوْبَتُهُمْ وَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلضَّآلُّونَ

Lo! those who disbelieve after their (profession of) belief, and afterward grow violent in disbelief: their repentance will not be accepted. And such are those who are astray.

Quran 3:90

وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلَّا لِيُطَاعَ بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذ ظَّلَمُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ جَآءُوكَ فَٱسْتَغْفَرُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَٱسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ ٱلرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ تَوَّابًا رَّحِيمًا

We sent no messenger save that he should be obeyed by Allah's leave. And if, when they had wronged themselves, they had but come unto thee and asked forgiveness of Allah, and asked forgiveness of the messenger, they would have found Allah Forgiving, Merciful.

Quran 4:64

Arabic text: Tanzil Quran Text (Uthmani 1.1), CC BY 3.0, tanzil.net. English: Marmaduke Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (1930), public domain, via Project Gutenberg. Counts and verse choice: Quranic Arabic Corpus morphology data (corpus.quran.com).

Word cards with examples

A2noun

تَوْبَةٌ

tawbah

repentance

Example

وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ

wa-tūbū ilā Allāhi jamīʿan ayyuha al-muʾminūna laʿallakum tufliḥūn

And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed (24:31)

Root: ت-و-ب Quranic

Grammar

Feminine verbal noun (maṣdar) of تَابَ. The root ت-و-ب means 'to return/turn back.' God is التَّوَّابُ (The Oft-Returning, The Acceptor of Repentance).

Culture

Tawbah in Islam is always accepted if sincere. There is an entire surah named At-Tawbah (9). The door of repentance remains open until one's final moments.

B1verb

تَابَ

tāba

he repented / he turned back (to God)

Example

وَمَنْ تَابَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَإِنَّهُ يَتُوبُ إِلَى اللَّهِ مَتَابًا

wa-man tāba wa-ʿamila ṣāliḥan fa-innahū yatūbu ilā Allāhi matābā

And whoever repents and does righteousness, indeed he turns to Allah with true repentance (25:71)

Root: ت-و-ب Quranic

Grammar

Hollow verb (أجوف). Past: تَابَ, Present: يَتُوبُ. Takes إِلَى (toward God) or عَلَى (when God turns in mercy toward someone). God is التَّوَّابُ (The Oft-Returning).

Culture

When applied to God, tāba ʿalā means 'He turned in mercy toward.' The mutuality is beautiful: the servant turns to God in repentance, and God turns to the servant in mercy.