Definition
Sincere return to Allah — comprising regret, ceasing the sin, resolve never to return, and (if rights of others are involved) restoring those rights.
Etymology & Root
From ت-و-ب (t-w-b), 'to return'. From the servant: returning to Allah from sin. From Allah: returning to the servant with acceptance and forgiveness — He is at-Tawwāb.
Usage in the Qur'an
'O you who believe, repent to Allah with sincere repentance (tawbatan naṣūḥā)' (at-Taḥrīm 66:8). 'Indeed Allah loves those who constantly repent and those who purify themselves' (al-Baqarah 2:222).
Usage in the Sunnah
'Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His servant than one of you who lost his camel in a barren land and then found it' (Bukhārī, Muslim). 'The one who repents from sin is like one with no sin' (Ibn Mājah, ḥasan).
Scholarly Notes
Conditions of valid tawbah (Ibn al-Qayyim, Madārij as-Sālikīn): (1) sincerity to Allah, (2) regret over the sin, (3) immediate cessation, (4) firm resolve never to return, (5) before the death-throes or before the sun rises from the west, (6) returning rights of others if the sin involved them.
Common Misconceptions
(1) That tawbah for repeated sins is invalid — false; repent every time, even if you fall again. (2) That major sins are unforgivable — only shirk is unforgivable if one dies upon it (an-Nisāʾ 4:48). (3) That istighfār alone without ceasing the sin is true tawbah — that is the 'tawbah of liars' (al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī).
Practical Application
Make tawbah immediately after any sin — do not delay. Combine it with a good deed (Hūd 11:114). Renew tawbah daily before sleep.
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