Repentance in Islam

Tawba ((Arabic: توبة‎‎) also called tevbe or Turkish: tövbe) is a Quranic Arabic word that means “a retreat”, “a return” or "to regret". Both the Qur'an and the Hadith incorporate the word to refer to the act of leaving what Allah has prohibited and returning to what He has commanded. In the Islamic theology, the word denotes the act of being repentant for one's misdeeds, atoning for those misdeeds, and having a strong determination to forsake those misdeeds. Because Qur'an and Hadith repeatedly mention and emphasize the act of atoning for one's misdeeds, tawba is of immense importance in Islamic tradition. For a Muslim, it is regarded as a major gateway to rectifying his or her life.

In Islam, the main sources of the word tawba are the Qur'an and the Hadith. The Qur'an mentions the word in several places, some of which are: 1) Sura 24, ayah 31; 2) Sura 25, ayah 70-71; 3) Sura 66, ayah 08.

The literal meaning of tawba is 'to return' or 'to retreat'. In Islamic Sharia, it means to turn or to retreat from past sinful and evil activities, and to firmly resolve abstaining from them in future. In Sura 66, verse no. 08 of the Qur'an, the word tawba has been associated with the word نصوح (nasūh) which means 'to make pure or sincere'. Thus tawba signifies sincere and faithful repentance, free from pretense and hypocrisy. The first sign of Tawba is to regret and to determine not to repeat those acts again.

In the Quran, there is a complete Sura naming At-Tawba which means the repentance. Like many other topics, the act of atoning (for one’s misdeeds) and seeking Allah’s forgiveness has also been discussed in the Quran with much importance. For those believers who have wronged themselves, the Qur'an asks them to become repentant, seek Allah’s forgiveness, and make a sincere tawba, and assures them that if they do this, Allah will forgive them, and exonerate them from their misdeeds:

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