التواب
al-Tawwāb
Topic
A divine name: He Who accepts repentance again and again, and Himself turns to His servants in mercy
What it means
Al-Tawwāb is one of the beautiful names of Allah. It comes from the root t-w-b, to return, and is an intensive form: Allah turns again and again to those who return to Him. The Quran has it at the moment Adam was forgiven (2:37) and in the prayer of Abraham and Ishmael, “accept our repentance, for You are the Acceptor of repentance, the Merciful” (2:128). The name is often joined with al-Raḥīm, the Merciful. The Quran also uses the plural of the human side of the relation, saying that Allah loves al-tawwābīn, those who repent often (2:222). Muslims turn to Allah directly in repentance.
Often misunderstood as
That forgiveness in Islam needs a mediator or a sacrifice, when the name states that Allah accepts repentance directly.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 26, listed as AL TAWWĀB. The definition is restated here.