Mercy and forgiveness
At-Tawwāb ٱلتَّوَّاب
The Acceptor of Repentance — and the One who turns to the servant first, so that he repents at all.
11 āyāt · 6 sūrahs · root ت و ب
Why Allah uses this name
Ibn Kathīr explains the two turnings: Allah turns to the servant granting him tawfīq to repent, then turns to him again accepting it — which is why the name is repeated around scenes of failure and return.
Take this with you
The wish to repent is already His gift; do not treat it as your own achievement.
'Then He turned to them so that they might repent. Indeed Allah is At-, Ar- (9:118).
Qurʾān 9:118; Ibn Kathīr ad loc.
Where it appears in the Qur'an
Counted from the muṣḥaf text as served by the Quran.com API. A few occurrences describe someone other than Allah; read the āyah in place to see which.
2. Sūrat Al-Baqarah البقرة
4 āyahs
āyah 37, 54, 128, 160
4. Sūrat An-Nisāʾ النساء
2 āyahs
āyah 16, 64
9. Sūrat At-Tawbah التوبة
2 āyahs
āyah 104, 118
24. Sūrat An-Nūr النور
1 āyah
āyah 10
49. Sūrat Al-Ḥujurāt الحجرات
1 āyah
āyah 12
110. Sūrat An-Naṣr النصر
1 āyah
āyah 3
Names it closes āyāt with
The Qur'an often seals an āyah with two names together. These are the pairings this name appears in most.
Names close to this one
Ar-Raḥmān ٱلرَّحْمَٰن
The Exceedingly Merciful: mercy as an overwhelming, essential attribute reaching all creation.
Ar-Raḥīm ٱلرَّحِيم
The Bestower of Mercy: that same mercy in continuous action, and specifically toward the believers.
Al-Ghaffār ٱلْغَفَّار
The Repeatedly Forgiving: forgiveness given again and again to the one who keeps returning.
Al-Laṭīf ٱللَّطِيف
The Subtle and Gentle: He reaches the finest hidden thing, and arranges good by means you never see.
Al-Ḥalīm ٱلْحَلِيم
The Forbearing: He does not hasten punishment, though He has full power to.
Al-Ghafūr ٱلْغَفُور
The Ever-Forgiving: He covers sins and then does not expose their doer.
Ash-Shakūr ٱلشَّكُور
The Most Appreciative: He multiplies the reward of a small deed and never lets it go unnoticed.
Al-Wadūd ٱلْوَدُود
The Most Loving: He loves His believing servants and is loved by them.