Turning
\r\n Al-Tahrim (The Prohibition) - Chapter 66: Verse 8 (partial)
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"O believers, turn (tubu) unto God in sincere repentance (tawbatan nasuhan). It may be that you Lord will remit from you your evil deeds and let you enter gardens with rivers flowing underneath ..."
God's limitless goodness and grace extend even to those faithless who have fallen into the temptation to commit the most heinous sin against God, the sin of idolatry, provided that they repent of their evil ways and return to the faith.
\r\nSo all believers are strongly enjoined to turn to God in sincere repentance. It may be that God will forgive them their previous sins, committed consciously or unconsciously. A truly repentant heart merits even the reward of Paradise.
\r\nThroughout the Quran it is constantly emphasized that 'God turns (yatubu, from the same root as tawbah) towards who He will. It is interesting to observe that the same word tawbah, means 'repentance' on the part of man, and 'forgiveness' on the part of God. Man 'turns' towards God in repentance, and God 'turns' towards man with His grace. There is clearly a correlative relationship of 'turning' between God and man, and this is reflected in the semantic behaviour of the word tawbah.
\r\nThe emphatic form from the same root, tawwab is also used very often. When applied to a man, it means 'one who repents very often'; when applied to God, it naturally means 'He Who is wont to turn to sinners in forgiveness, Who reverts very often from wrath to grace.'
\r\nCompiled From:
\r\n "Ethico Religious Concepts in the Quran" - Toshihiko Izutsu, pp. 110, 111