SURAH AL-BAQARAH: 37

Part 2

The Arabic word for repentance is TAUBAH (توبہ) which means "a return". When the word Taubah  is  used with reference to a person, it means a combination of three attributes:

1. Acknowledging one's sin as a sin, and feeling shame and remorse for it.

2. Giving up the sin altogether.

3. Vowing never to engage in that sin in the future.

If any of these three attributes is missing then Taubah is not complete. This tells us that merely uttering the word of Taubah is not enough for one's deliverance unless it is accompanied by the three elements of remorse and guilt for sins committed in the past, giving it up immediately in the present, and vowing never to engage in it again in the future.

From Ma'ariful Quran, by Mufti Muhammad Shafi RE