Classical Arabic - English Dictionary

تَابَ, (T, A,) or تاب إِلَى ٱللّٰهِ, (Ṣ, M, Ḳ,) aor. يَتُوبُ, (Mṣb,) inf. n. تَوْبَةٌ and تَوْبٌ, (T, Ṣ, M, Mṣb, Ḳ,) both of these signifying the same, (T, Ṣ, M, Mṣb,) the ة in the former being added to denote the fem. gender, or, as some say, the former is a n. un. like ضَرْبَةٌ, (Mṣb,) or, as Akh says, تَوْبٌ is pl. [or a quasi-pl. n.] of تَوْبَةٌ, like as عَوْمٌ is of عَوْمَةٌ, (Ṣ,) or like as لَوْزٌ is of لَوْزَةٌ, and this is the opinion of Mbr, (M,) and تَابَةٌ, (M, Ḳ,) which is for تَوْبَةٌ, (M,) and مَتَابٌ (Ṣ, M, A, Ḳ) and تَتْوِبَةٌ, (Ṣ,* M,* Ḳ,) of the measure تَفْعِلَةٌ, (Ṣ, M,) an anomalous form, (TA,) syn. with تَوْبَةٌ, mentioned in the Book of Sb; (Ṣ;) [He repented; or repented toward God; as will be shown by what follows:] originally, he returned unto God, (T, TA,) مِنْ كَذَا and عَنْ كَذَا [from such a thing]: (TA:) or he returned, [or returned unto God,] (Ṣ, M, A, Ḳ,) from sin, (Ṣ,) or from his sin, (A,) or from disobedience (M, Ḳ) to obedience: (M:) or تَابَ مِنْ ذَنْبِهِ signifies he desisted from his sin: (Mṣb:) تَوْبَةٌ signifies the repenting of sin; i. e. the grieving for it, or regretting it, with the confession of having no excuse for the commission thereof. (Kull.) It is said in a trad., النَّدَمُ تَوْبَةٌ [Repentance is] a returning from sin. (Ṣ.) The time of El-Islám is termed زَمَنُ التَّوْبَةِ as being The time of returning from [or repenting of] the belief in a plurality of gods. (A.) A poet says,

* تُبْتُ إِلَيْكَ فَتَقَبَّلْ تَابَتِى *

* وَصُمْتُ رَبِّى فَتَفَبَّلْ صَامَتِى *

[I have repented toward Thee, and accept Thou my repentance; and I have fasted, O my Lord, and accept Thou my fast]; meaning تَوْبَتِى and صَوْمَتِى. (M.)

تَابَ ٱللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ God returned to forgiveness towards him; became again forgiving to him: (T:) or disposed, or adapted, him to repentance, or returning from sin or disobedience: (Ṣ, Ḳ:) or reverted from severity to mildness towards him: or returned to him with his favour, or grace, and his acceptance, or approbation; became again propitious to him: (A, Ḳ:) all these meanings are correct: (TA:) or God forgave him, and saved him from acts of disobedience: (Mṣb:) or accepted his repentance: (Jel in ii. 35, &c.:) or returned towards him with mercy, and acceptance of repentance. (Bḍ ibid.)

استتابهُ He proposed to him that he should return [to obedience unto God], (T, A,) and repent of that which he had committed: (T:) he asked him to return from sin, or disobedience: (Ṣ, Ḳ:) or he asked him to desist from his sin. (Mṣb.)

تَابُوتٌ, originally تَوَبُوتٌ, the ت not being the characteristic of the fem. gender, (Z, MF, TA,) of the measure فَعَلُوتٌ, and meaning A chest, or box, from التَّوْبُ, because what is taken out from it continually returns to it: (AAF, IJ, Z, MF, TA:) or originally تَابُوَةٌ; (Ṣ, Ḳ; [in the CK تَأْبُوَةٌ;]) the و being made quiescent, and the ة changed into ت: (Ṣ, Ḳ:) [in Chald. תֵּיבוּתָא: in Hebr. תֵּבָה:] it signifies also the ribs, with what they contain, as the heart and the liver, &c.; as being likened to a chest, or box; (IAth, TA in art. تبت;) the chest, breast, or bosom: (A in that art.:) or [primarily] the ribs, with what they contain, as the heart, &c.: and [hence] applied to a chest, or box: (Towsheeh, MF, TA:) also written تَبُوتٌ. (Ḳ in art. تبت.) [It is generally applied in the present day to a bier: a coffin: and an oblong case that is placed over a grave: the pl. is تَوَابِيتُ.] El-Kásim Ibn-Maan says that it is the only word in the Ḳur-án in respect of which the dialects of Kureysh and the Ansár differ; the former pronouncing it تَابُوتٌ; (Ṣ;) and the latter, تَابُوهٌ. (Ṣ, Ḳ.) But IB denies that its last letter is originally ة, the fem. termination; asserting the final ت to be a radical letter, the measure of the word to be فَاعُولٌ, and its proper place in art. تبت: he says that the final ت is changed in a case of pause, but not generally, into ه, as is that of الفُرَات [the Euphrates], in which the ت is not the fem. termination. (L, TA.) You say, مَا أَوْدَعْتُ تَابُوتِى شَيْئًا فَقَدْتُهُ, meaning I have not deposited in my bosom anything of knowledge, or science, that I have lost. (A in art. تبت.)

تَوَّابٌ, applied to a man, [One who repents much or often;] returning from disobedience to obedience [to God] (M, Ḳ, TA) much or often. (TA.)

And applied to God, One who returns [much or often] to forgiveness towards his servant who returns unto Him: (T:) or who [often] disposes, or adapts, to repentance, or returning from sin or disobedience; or reverts from severity to mildness; or returns with his favour or grace,, &c.: (A, Ḳ: [see 1, last sentence:]) or who forgives much, and save from acts of disobedience. (Mṣb.)

تَائِبٌ [Repenting of sin: (see 1:) originally,] returning from disobedience (M, Ḳ) to obedience to God. (M.)