فَتَلَقَّىٰٓ ءَادَمُ مِن رَّبِّهِۦ كَلِمَٰتٍ فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
Quran glossary · accepted
ت و ب
return
To re-enter or restore a prior relation or course after departure or interruption.
Lexical scope
Scope: semantic unit · Occurrences: 87
Roots: توب
Lemmas: تاب · تواب · توبة · متاب · تائب · توب · تائبة
Forms: تَابَ · يَتُوبُ · تَابُ · تُوبُ · تَّوَّابُ · تُبْ · يَتُوبَ · تَوَّابًا · تَّوْبَةُ · تَوْبَةً · تَّوْبَةَ · تَوَّابٌ · أَتُوبُ · تَّوَّٰبِينَ · تَوْبَتُ · تَّٰٓئِبُونَ · تَّابَ · مَتَابِ · مَتَابًا · تَّوْبِ · يَتُبْ · تَتُوبَ · تَٰٓئِبَٰتٍ · تَوَّابًۢا
Occurrence examples (10 of 87)
Scoped occurrences shown: the first 10 of 87 in Quran order. They are included as a compact, position-based preview and are not ranked as stronger evidence than the omitted occurrence count of 77.
فَتَلَقَّىٰٓ ءَادَمُ مِن رَّبِّهِۦ كَلِمَٰتٍ فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِۦ يَٰقَوْمِ إِنَّكُمْ ظَلَمْتُمْ أَنفُسَكُم بِٱتِّخَاذِكُمُ ٱلْعِجْلَ فَتُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰ بَارِئِكُمْ فَٱقْتُلُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمْ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ عِندَ بَارِئِكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِۦ يَٰقَوْمِ إِنَّكُمْ ظَلَمْتُمْ أَنفُسَكُم بِٱتِّخَاذِكُمُ ٱلْعِجْلَ فَتُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰ بَارِئِكُمْ فَٱقْتُلُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمْ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ عِندَ بَارِئِكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِۦ يَٰقَوْمِ إِنَّكُمْ ظَلَمْتُمْ أَنفُسَكُم بِٱتِّخَاذِكُمُ ٱلْعِجْلَ فَتُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰ بَارِئِكُمْ فَٱقْتُلُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمْ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ عِندَ بَارِئِكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
رَبَّنَا وَٱجْعَلْنَا مُسْلِمَيْنِ لَكَ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِنَآ أُمَّةً مُّسْلِمَةً لَّكَ وَأَرِنَا مَنَاسِكَنَا وَتُبْ عَلَيْنَآ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
رَبَّنَا وَٱجْعَلْنَا مُسْلِمَيْنِ لَكَ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِنَآ أُمَّةً مُّسْلِمَةً لَّكَ وَأَرِنَا مَنَاسِكَنَا وَتُبْ عَلَيْنَآ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ تَابُوا۟ وَأَصْلَحُوا۟ وَبَيَّنُوا۟ فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ أَتُوبُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَأَنَا ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ تَابُوا۟ وَأَصْلَحُوا۟ وَبَيَّنُوا۟ فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ أَتُوبُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَأَنَا ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ تَابُوا۟ وَأَصْلَحُوا۟ وَبَيَّنُوا۟ فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ أَتُوبُ عَلَيْهِمْ وَأَنَا ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
Quran-internal lexical rationale
One return in both directions
The Quran uses the same توب operation for people returning to God and for God returning upon people. Subject and preposition set the direction; they do not create two lexical meanings.
This is one relational operation, not context changing the word. People return to God with إِلَى, while God returns upon people with عَلَى. The accompanying grammar identifies who returns and in which direction; the توب core remains return.
The paired wording in 9:118 is decisive. God first returned upon the people so that they might return, and the verse then names God as تَوَّاب. Rendering the first verb as accepted repentance and the second as repent would conceal the repeated Arabic operation and reverse the stated sequence.
The surrounding vocabulary supplies controlled contrasts. In 9:104, يَقْبَلُ separately means accepts while تَوْبَة names the return. In 2:187, عَفَا separately supplies pardon after God's return upon the people. In 11:3, seeking covering and returning are ordered as two distinct actions.
Morphology then determines the English profile: perfect verbs are returned, indicative imperfects may be returns, imperatives and other unmarked forms are return, ordinary participants are returning, the human intensive plural is repeatedly returning, and the divine intensive singular is Ever-Returning. Favor can be inferred when God returns upon a beneficiary, but it is not inserted into the word layer.
Primary-text sources
- Quranic Arabic Corpus dictionary: توب Root inventory توب
Where other meanings fail
pardon
2:187
أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ ٱلصِّيَامِ ٱلرَّفَثُ إِلَىٰ نِسَآئِكُمْ هُنَّ لِبَاسٌ لَّكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ لِبَاسٌ لَّهُنَّ عَلِمَ ٱللَّهُ أَنَّكُمْ كُنتُمْ تَخْتَانُونَ أَنفُسَكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَعَفَا عَنكُمْ فَٱلْـَٰٔنَ بَٰشِرُوهُنَّ وَٱبْتَغُوا۟ مَا كَتَبَ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمْ وَكُلُوا۟ وَٱشْرَبُوا۟ حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكُمُ ٱلْخَيْطُ ٱلْأَبْيَضُ مِنَ ٱلْخَيْطِ ٱلْأَسْوَدِ مِنَ ٱلْفَجْرِ ثُمَّ أَتِمُّوا۟ ٱلصِّيَامَ إِلَى ٱلَّيْلِ وَلَا تُبَٰشِرُوهُنَّ وَأَنتُمْ عَٰكِفُونَ فِى ٱلْمَسَٰجِدِ تِلْكَ حُدُودُ ٱللَّهِ فَلَا تَقْرَبُوهَا كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ ءَايَٰتِهِۦ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ
Alternative: So He pardoned you and pardoned you.
Research rendering: So He returned upon you and pardoned you.
The coordinated عَفَا supplies pardon as a separate action. تَابَ therefore cannot already mean pardoned.
Acceptor of repentance
9:104
أَلَمْ يَعْلَمُوٓا۟ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ يَقْبَلُ ٱلتَّوْبَةَ عَنْ عِبَادِهِۦ وَيَأْخُذُ ٱلصَّدَقَٰتِ وَأَنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
Alternative: God accepts repentance from His servants, and God is the Acceptor of repentance.
Research rendering: God accepts the return from His servants, and God is the Ever-Returning.
The verse already uses يَقْبَلُ for accepts. Replacing تَوَّاب with Acceptor erases the contrast between قبول and توب inside the same sentence.
repent
9:118
وَعَلَى ٱلثَّلَٰثَةِ ٱلَّذِينَ خُلِّفُوا۟ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا ضَاقَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْأَرْضُ بِمَا رَحُبَتْ وَضَاقَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ أَنفُسُهُمْ وَظَنُّوٓا۟ أَن لَّا مَلْجَأَ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ إِلَّآ إِلَيْهِ ثُمَّ تَابَ عَلَيْهِمْ لِيَتُوبُوٓا۟ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
Alternative: Then He repented upon them so that they might repent.
Research rendering: Then He returned upon them so that they might return.
The same verb first has God as subject and then the people. Repent gives the two occurrences unrelated English operations and makes God perform the human wrongdoer's act.
seek forgiveness
11:3
وَأَنِ ٱسْتَغْفِرُوا۟ رَبَّكُمْ ثُمَّ تُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَيْهِ يُمَتِّعْكُم مَّتَٰعًا حَسَنًا إِلَىٰٓ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى وَيُؤْتِ كُلَّ ذِى فَضْلٍ فَضْلَهُۥ وَإِن تَوَلَّوْا۟ فَإِنِّىٓ أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ كَبِيرٍ
Alternative: Seek covering from your Sustainer, then seek forgiveness to Him.
Research rendering: Seek covering from your Sustainer, then return to Him.
The verse orders ٱسْتَغْفِرُوا and تُوبُوا as two actions. The first seeks covering; the second returns to the stated destination.