Voice of British Muslim Women

Nadia Ghauri, Oxford

The divine concept of God has long perplexed mankind. Yet through the Holy Qur’an and His Messengers, Allah the Exalted has provided us with a wealth of material that aids our understanding of His supreme and unmatched qualities.

Rabb is the second most prevalent term for God in the Qur’an after the name Allah itself. It occurs more than 900 times [1], and is found at the start of countless prayers. However, we do not reflect enough upon its profound significance. In fact, it appeared in the very first divine revelation to the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be on him):

اِقۡرَاۡ بِاسۡمِ رَبِّکَ الَّذِیۡ خَلَقَ

خَلَقَ الۡاِنۡسَانَ مِنۡ عَلَقٍ

“Recite in the name of your Lord Who created, Created man from an adhesive clot.”[2]

Rabb is distinct from most of the other names of Allah, as it does not use the definite article ‘al’–as other names of Allah do, literally meaning ‘the’. Despite being so familiar with the term Rabb, and our instinctive inclination to translate it as ‘Lord’, the standard, classic English translation of the term, it does not quite do the Arabic term much justice and can be seen as reducing its multifaceted meaning to a rather inferior definition. The term ‘lord’ can have quite a trivial sense to it, often denoting individuals of a certain nobility. However, the Arabic term Rabb possesses an unparalleled meaning that can only ever refer to God alone.

His Holiness Mirza Tahir Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) explained that rabb means to change something from a lower state into a higher one. For example, the Arabic expression ‘rabb al-fuluwwa’ refers to foals that have attentively been looked after and raised so that they become well-trained horses. Thus, the attribute Rabb is often translated as The Provident to illustrate how God has provided for and nourished His creation in every stage of its development [3].

The Promised Messiah (peace be on him) has elucidated the nature of rabubiyat, referring to it as God’s divine grace. This can be read in The Essence of Islam, Volume II [4]. The Promised Messiah (peace be on him) gives a description of not one, but seven, interpretations of the word Rabb:

Firstly, he explains it as Master or Owner, also expressed by the name al-Malik that indicates Allah’s possession and authority over every living and non-living thing.

The second meaning is master or chief, Al-Sayyed, which again emphasises Allah’s supremacy. The Promised Messiah (peace be on him) highlights that although worldly kings may enforce obedience by oppressing their people, a true Sayyed will have followers that voluntarily obey Him out of a sincere love.

The third meaning is the Regulator Al-Mudabbir, One who is aware of the conclusion of all affairs. The fourth, Al-Murabbi literally means One who nurtures; the fifth is Qayyim, One who safeguards; the sixth is al Mun’im meaning the Bestower; and the seventh, Al-Mutamim, signifies how God is the perfecter of everything.

These definitions reflect how Allah has provided us with both physical and spiritual nourishment. In a keynote address in the 2013 Germany Jalsa,  His Holiness, Mirza Masroor Ahmad (may Allah be his Helper) beautifully elucidated how this sustenance is not just for those who believe in God, rather he explained:

“…[He] fulfils all necessary requirements and provides the means of subsistence for all people, without any form of discrimination. God, according to Islam, is the God for the entire world.” [5]

Physical bounties are manifest in the plants, animals and climate that have created the ideal conditions for humans to survive, while the Holy Qur’an, the Holy Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him) and the Promised Messiah (peace be on him) are all signs of God’s spiritual guidance.

We, in the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, ourselves are witnesses to His blessings if we look at the resources that He has bestowed upon our community, which once started off in a small, unassuming village in India but can now be found in over 200 countries.

We cannot deny that the term Rabb succinctly embodies multiple names in just a single syllable. God uses this term throughout the Qur’an and we need only to look to the first surah, Al-Fatihah, to note the term Rabb al-Alameen, Lord of all the worlds. We can also look very easily to the very final surah, which mentions Rabb al-nas, Lord of mankind. In this way, the divine quality of rabubiyat literally frames and fills the Qur’an from beginning to end.

 

 

 

References:

 

[1] Encylopaedia of Islam, edited P. Bearman et al.

[2] The Holy Qur’an, Chapter 96, verses 2-3.

[3] Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge and Truth.

[4] ‘Arabic Mother of all Languages’ (translation of ‘Minan al Rahman’) in Essence of Islam, Volume II.

[5] https://www.khalifatulmasih.org/articles/four-fundamental-attributes-god/.