How many times is Repentance (Tawbah) mentioned in the Quran?
75 times, counting every form of تَوْبَة. Here is every word from its root, where it appears most, and the verses that explain it.
times in the Quran
in 25 surahs
Tawbah means turning back: leaving a sin, regretting it, and returning to Allah. The same verb is used for Allah, who “turns” to the one who repents by accepting it, which is why At-Tawwab, the Ever-Accepting of repentance, is one of His names.
The headline count is about repenting. It leaves out At-Tawwab (12 times), the name of Allah, which is still listed in the table.
Every form of the root ت و ب
| Word | Meaning | Times |
|---|---|---|
| تابَ | to repent, to turn back; of Allah, to accept repentance | 63 |
| تَوّاب | At-Tawwab, the One who keeps accepting repentance (a name of Allah) | 12 |
| تَوْبَة | repentance (the noun, tawbah) | 7 |
| مَتاب | a return, a turning to Allah | 2 |
| تائِب | those who repent (men) | 1 |
| تَوْب | repentance | 1 |
| تائِبَة | those who repent (women) | 1 |
Counted in the Quranic Arabic Corpus morphology: each word is counted once, in every form built from the lemma (singular, dual, plural, with attached letters such as “and” or “the”). Other counting rules give slightly different numbers.
Where it appears most
| Surah | Words from this root |
|---|---|
| 9. At-Tawbah | 17 |
| 2. Al-Baqarah | 13 |
| 4. An-Nisa | 12 |
| 5. Al-Ma'idah | 5 |
| 11. Hud | 5 |
Key verses about repentance (tawbah)
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ تُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ تَوْبَةً نَّصُوحًا عَسَىٰ رَبُّكُمْ أَن يُكَفِّرَ عَنكُمْ سَيِّـَٔاتِكُمْ وَيُدْخِلَكُمْ جَنَّـٰتٍ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ يَوْمَ لَا يُخْزِى ٱللَّهُ ٱلنَّبِىَّ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مَعَهُۥ ۖ نُورُهُمْ يَسْعَىٰ بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَبِأَيْمَـٰنِهِمْ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَآ أَتْمِمْ لَنَا نُورَنَا وَٱغْفِرْ لَنَآ ۖ إِنَّكَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
O ye who believe! Turn unto Allah in sincere repentance! It may be that your Lord will remit from you your evil deeds and bring you into Gardens underneath which rivers flow, on the day when Allah will not abase the Prophet and those who believe with him. Their light will run before them and on their right hands; they will say: Our Lord! Perfect our light for us, and forgive us! Lo! Thou art Able to do all things.
۞ قُلْ يَـٰعِبَادِىَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا۟ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا۟ مِن رَّحْمَةِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ ٱلذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلْغَفُورُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
Say: O My slaves who have been prodigal to their own hurt! Despair not of the mercy of Allah, Who forgiveth all sins. Lo! He is the Forgiving, the Merciful.
إِلَّا مَن تَابَ وَءَامَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَـٰلِحًا فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ ٱللَّهُ سَيِّـَٔاتِهِمْ حَسَنَـٰتٍ ۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا
Save him who repenteth and believeth and doth righteous work; as for such, Allah will change their evil deeds to good deeds. Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful.
وَيَسْـَٔلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلْمَحِيضِ ۖ قُلْ هُوَ أَذًى فَٱعْتَزِلُوا۟ ٱلنِّسَآءَ فِى ٱلْمَحِيضِ ۖ وَلَا تَقْرَبُوهُنَّ حَتَّىٰ يَطْهُرْنَ ۖ فَإِذَا تَطَهَّرْنَ فَأْتُوهُنَّ مِنْ حَيْثُ أَمَرَكُمُ ٱللَّهُ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلتَّوَّٰبِينَ وَيُحِبُّ ٱلْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ
They question thee (O Muhammad) concerning menstruation. Say: It is an illness, so let women alone at such times and go not in unto them till they are cleansed. And when they have purified themselves, then go in unto them as Allah hath enjoined upon you. Truly Allah loveth those who turn unto Him, and loveth those who have a care for cleanness.
English: Marmaduke Pickthall (public domain). Arabic: Uthmani script, via quran.com.
What these verses teach
The Quran asks for “sincere repentance” (66:8) and says Allah loves those who turn to Him (2:222). No sin is too big for it: “Despair not of the mercy of Allah, Who forgiveth all sins” (39:53). And for those who repent, believe and do good, Allah changes their bad deeds into good ones (25:70).
More Quran word counts
Frequently asked questions
How many times is tawbah mentioned in the Quran?
Tawbah (تَوْبَة) appears 75 times in the Quran, counting every form of the word. Words from its root, ت و ب, appear 87 times in all.
Which surah mentions tawbah the most?
At-Tawbah (Surah 9), with 17 words from the root ت و ب.
Why do other websites give different numbers?
Counts depend on the rule used: whether plurals and verb forms are included, and whether the whole root is counted or one word. We count words as written in the Hafs text, using the Quranic Arabic Corpus, and print the rule on the page.