Name of Allah Ar Rabb – The Lord
Sheikh Abd Ar-Rahman As-Sa’di says :
Allah’s nurturing for His creation are of two types:
Firstly: A general nurturing which includes believers and disbelievers, obedient and disobedients. This is related to their creation, provision, handling their affairs, granting, detaining, honoring, lowering, relieving distress and answering to the supplications of those who are in desperate need to Him. Everyone in the creation has his share of this general nurturing.
قال الله تعالى: {يَسْأَلُهُ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۚ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ هُوَ فِي شَأْنٍ} الرحمن 29
Whosoever is in the heavens and on earth begs of Him (its needs from Him). Every day He is (engaged) in some affair (such as giving honor or disgrace to some, life or death to some).
Surah Ar-Rahman [55: 29]
Secondly: A special nurturing to His true believers whom Allah loves. Allah guides their hearts to Him and He enlightens their hearts with knowledge about Him, leading them to understand about Tawhid (monotheism- worshipping Him alone without any partner). He brought them out of the darkness of ignorance and shirk (polytheism) to the light of knowing Him and worshipping Him alone. He enabled them to go upon the right path and guided them away from the straying paths. He facilitated every goodness to them and protected them from all evil.
That’s why you will find in the Quran that Allah makes special mention of the Prophets and the true believers, when they supplicate to Allah using the name Ar-Rabb, “Rabbana (Our Lord).”
This is because they are asking for this special nurturing, care and guidance. Accordingly, when you supplicate you need to feel this meaning in your heart and remember that your are asking your Rabb (Your Lord) for this specific and special nurturing. (4)
Now let’s ponder about this special nurturing and Lordship (ar-Rububiyyah) for His believing slaves. Reflect upon the following. Who guided you to Him? Who made your heart alive by knowing Him and by knowing about Islam and Tawhid? Who guided your heart to accept this Message? Who guided you to perform each and every act of worship? Who guides your heart to repent from any sin you commit? Who accepts your repentance and gives you His love again? Who facilitated for you the path to Paradise? Who prepared for His true believers a Paradise with all types of bounties and joy beyond imagination?
Ar-Rabb Is The One Who provided for us, guided us and taught us everything we know.
Sometimes He nurtures us through His punishments. He punishes you so that you may realise your wrongdoing and come back to Him (in repentance). He might give you a calamity or hardship so that you stop and reflect and say: “Why did this happen to me? Allah I need You and I cannot tolerate Your punishment” and thus repent and be guided back to Him again.
The Only One Who can truly make your heart happy is Allah, Your Rabb. So that’s why when the knowledgeable believers of Allah say, “Rabbana (Our Lord)”, they know that they are saying it because no one will guide their heart or put love into it or give it eagerness to strive for Paradise except their Lord (Ar-Rabb).
Sheikh Muhammad bin Salih al-‘Uthaymeen commented on the verses in Surah Al-Imran (191-194) where the believers keep repeating the word “Rabbana” several times in their supplication to Allah:
Saying ‘Rabbana’ gives a pleasure to the heart. The heart of the believer enjoys the feeling that Allah is their Rabb (Lord) and in turn they are His slaves. This feeling of enjoyment indicates their true faith. (5)
At this point we should reflect on ourselves when we say “Rabbana.” Do we feel the sweetness of being slaves to Allah and feel our need for Him in every second of our lives? Do we repeat the word while supplicating to Him so that our hearts will take its share from this sweet, comforting feeling?
We need to understand that Allah is The Only One Who can benefit us and The Only One Who can punish us and we should teach this to our hearts until it is engrained. Everything is in His hands, even your own heart, your pleasure, your health, your children, your security and your money.
Source: Fiqh Asma Al Husna by Shaykh Abdur Razzaq Al Badr
