Cover Story
Tafsir by Mufti Shafi Usmani رحمة اهلل عليه
Translated by Mufti Taqi Usmani دامت بركاهتم
ُ
ً ُ َّ ً َ ِ ّٰ َ
ت ۡو ُب ۡۤوا ِال الل ت ۡو َبة نص ۡوحا
“...turn to Allah with a faithful
repentance...”(66:8)
The word tawbah, literally, means ‘to turn’ or ‘to
return’, in the sense of turning or withdrawing
from sins. In the terminology of the Quran
and Sunnah, it signifies ‘to regret committing sins
in the past and to firmly resolve abstaining from
them in future’. Tawbah is qualified in the verse by
the word نصوحnasuh. If it is taken as the infinitive
of nasahal nasihah, it signifies ‘to make pure and
sincere’; and if it be derived from nasahah, it
signifies ‘to repair clothes by sewing. In terms of
the first meaning, the expression nasuh signifies
sincere/fait hful (repentance) free from pretence
and hypocrisy. In this interpretation, a sinner is
required to regret the sins he has committed and
NISBAH 56