What Does Rabb (رَبّ) Mean in the Quran?
The root carries nurturing, sustaining, and mastery. A rabb is not only an owner but the one who raises and sustains what he owns.
Counted from the Uthmani text bundled with this site: the singular rabb with its attached pronouns (rabbi, rabbuka, rabbana, rabbihim and the rest) and the prefixes bi- and li-. The plural arbab is a different written form and is not included.
Inside the Quran
Rabb is how the Quran most often describes Allah's relationship with creation, the Lord who continuously sustains. The opening of al-Fatiha praises Him as Rabb al-alamin, Lord of the worlds.
It almost always appears with a possessive ending: rabbi (my Lord), rabbuka (your Lord), rabbuna (our Lord), rabbihim (their Lord). Spotting these endings teaches you half the pronoun system of Arabic for free.
“[All] praise is [due] to Allāh, Lord of the worlds -”
“But among them is he who says, "Our Lord, give us in this world [that which is] good and in the Hereafter [that which is] good and protect us from the punishment of the Fire."”
“Say, "I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind,”
Arabic quoted letter for letter from the Uthmani text of our Quran reader. Translation: Saheeh International.
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