أواب
Awwāb
The Muslim who repeatedly turns back to God in repentance after any misdeed; plural awwābūn.
What it means
Awwāb comes from the root meaning to return. It names the believer who turns back to God again and again, particularly after a lapse. The form of the word suggests repetition: this is a person who returns every time he strays, with no single return that ends the matter. The Quran uses the word for several prophets. David is called awwāb (38:17) and so is Solomon (38:30). It also promises Paradise to everyone who is awwāb and mindful (50:32). The word therefore carries honour: constant repentance belongs to the best of God’s servants.
Often misunderstood as
That repentance marks a bad person, when the Quran gives this title to prophets.
What the sources say
Quranic usage links the awwāb with those who keep God’s limits and guard their duty to Him, in the passage promising Paradise at 50:32.
Term and Arabic as listed in Ismail al Faruqi, Toward Islamic English (International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1995), p. 24, listed as AWWĀB. The definition is restated here.