المعنى الاصطلاحي :

Giving up sin, regretting doing it, resolving to never return to it, in addition to amending whatever deeds can be amended by returning people's rights.

الشرح المختصر :

"Tawbah" (repentance) is one of the greatest righteous deeds and a characteristic of the Prophets and Messengers. It means the slave's return, inwardly and outwardly, from what Allah dislikes to what He likes. "Tawbah" can be categorized in various ways: Internal and external "tawbah": 1.Internal "tawbah": it is between a slave and his Lord. Allah accepts the "tawbah" if its conditions are met. 2. External "tawbah": "tawbah" that is necessary for eligibility of being in a position of authority, accepting of testimony, cancelling corporal punishment, and giving judgments concerning individuals. An example of this is the "tawbah" of a sorcerer, or a heretic. Obligatory and recommended "tawbah": obligatory "tawbah" means that one repents of giving up an obligatory act or doing a prohibited act. On the other hand, recommended "tawbah" is when one repents of abandoning recommended acts and doing disliked acts. Others categorized "tawbah" into two categories: "Tawbat-ul-inaabah" ("tawbah" of return): that a person fears Allah because of His ability over him, and "tawbat-ul-istijaabah" (repentance of response): that a person is bashful of Allah on account of his closeness to Him. "Tawbah" has some conditions. They are: 1. That it is done out of sincerity to Allah, not for worldly gains or attaining people's praise. 2. That he gives up the sin and admits to it being a sin. 3.That he regrets committing that sin and hates its ugliness. 4. That he has the resolve to never go back to that sin again in the future. 5. If the sin has to do with another person, then he must correct the wrongdoing that he did to that person and restore the rights to whom they are due. 6. It must be done before the sun rises from the west and before a person is in his final stages of death.

التعريف اللغوي المختصر :

"Tawbah": returning from sin. When Allah does "tawbah" to someone, it means that Allah returns to him with forgiveness. "At-Tawwaab" is someone who always repents and returns to Allah. Original meaning: return and going back.