Awwāb (أوّاب) is a word from the Qur’an for a person who turns back to God again and again: after a mistake, in remembrance, in praise. It is not a word for someone who never falls. It is a word for someone who always comes back.
At a glance
The word and its root
Awwāb comes from the Arabic root ʾ-w-b (أ و ب), which carries the meaning of returning. The same root gives maʾāb, a place of return, which the Qur’an uses for the final home of the righteous (Qur’an 38:25). The pattern of the word, faʿʿāl, describes someone who does a thing often and fully. So an awwāb is not someone who returned once, but someone for whom returning has become a way of life.
Arabic has a second word close to it: tawwāb, from the root t-w-b, to repent. When it describes God, at-Tawwāb means the One who keeps accepting repentance: “Indeed, He is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful” (Qur’an 2:37). Awwāb describes the servant. One keeps coming back, and the Other keeps receiving.
Where awwāb appears in the Qur’an
The word appears five times as awwāb and once in the plural, awwābīn. Three of the five praise prophets by name:
وَوَهَبْنَا لِدَاوُۥدَ سُلَيْمَـٰنَ ۚ نِعْمَ ٱلْعَبْدُ ۖ إِنَّهُۥٓ أَوَّابٌ
“And We gave Dāwūd Sulaymān. How excellent a servant! He was ever turning back to God.”
Qur’an 38:30
- Dāwūd (David), 38:17. “Remember Our servant Dāwūd, the man of strength. He was ever turning back to God.” (38:17)
- The birds with Dāwūd, 38:19. “And the birds, gathered, all turning back to Him with him.” Here the word means returning God’s praise again and again, as in 34:10, where the mountains are told to repeat His praise with Dāwūd (awwibī). (38:19, 34:10)
- Sulaymān (Solomon), 38:30. “How excellent a servant! He was ever turning back.” (38:30)
- Ayyūb (Job), 38:44. “We found him patient. How excellent a servant! He was ever turning back.” (38:44)
- The people of Paradise, 50:32. “This is what you were promised: for everyone who kept turning back and kept faith.” (50:32)
- The plural, 17:25. “Your Lord knows best what is in your hearts. If you are righteous, He is ever Forgiving to those who keep turning back.” (17:25)
Notice who is praised. Dāwūd and Sulaymān were kings; Ayyūb was tested with years of illness and loss. Their lives could hardly have been more different, and one word sums up all three: they kept turning back to God. And the promise of 50:32 is not for those who never slipped. It is for the awwāb.
The prayer of the awwābīn
The Prophet ﷺ gave the name to a prayer too. Zayd ibn Arqam saw people praying the forenoon prayer early, and reported that the Messenger of God ﷺ said: “The prayer of the awwābīn is when the young camels feel the heat of the sun” (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 748). It is the ḍuḥā prayer, prayed once the morning has grown warm: a few rakʿahs in the middle of a busy day, at the very hour when returning to God is easiest to forget.
Awwab as a name
Awwab is also given as a boy’s name, and it is a name of hope: not a claim to be perfect, but a promise to keep coming back. It is the same hope behind the Awwab app. However far the day pulls you, the next prayer is a way back.
Frequently asked questions
What does Awwab mean in Arabic?
Awwāb (أوّاب) means one who returns often and fully, above all to God: in repentance, in remembrance and in praise. It comes from the root ʾ-w-b, to return, in an Arabic form that describes a lasting habit, not a single act.
Is Awwab one of the names of Allah?
No. Awwāb describes God’s servants. The related name of God is at-Tawwāb, the One who keeps accepting repentance (Qur’an 2:37), which comes from a different root.
Where is Awwab mentioned in the Qur’an?
As awwāb in 38:17, 38:19, 38:30, 38:44 and 50:32, and in the plural, awwābīn, in 17:25. A verb from the same root, awwibī, appears in 34:10.
What is Salat al-Awwabin?
The Prophet ﷺ called the forenoon (ḍuḥā) prayer, prayed once the day has grown hot, the prayer of the awwābīn (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 748). Some people also use the name for voluntary prayers after Maghrib, but the authentic hadith gives it to the ḍuḥā prayer.
How do you pronounce Awwab?
Say “aw-wab”: hold the doubled w for a moment, then a short, clean “ab”, without stretching it. In Arabic it is written أَوَّاب.