Semantics of ‘ Rabb ’ as an Attribute of God in the Framework of Quranic Teachings

The term rabb as an attribute of God is repeated frequently in the Quran. It assumes a significant role in comprehension of other attributes of God as well as some Quranic teachings. Comprehension of this term requires methodological consideration of Quranic verses, traditions, and other evidence in a semantic framework. Accordingly, the only definition that can be presented for this term is malik mudabbir. Other definitions including murabbi (instructor/trainer/cultivator) are insufficient. In the definition, Malik may be rendered as Master/Owner/Lord meaning that He holds complete possession and absolute authority over all of creation. In addition, mudabbir (director/ordainer) is an attribute involving the absolute knowledge, wisdom, power, and mercy of God as well as other divine attributes. Thus, the term rabb comprehends various divine attributes and can have a wide range of implications. Polytheism in lordship (and following that, in divinity) emerges when an entity other than God is associated with some aspect of lordship (e.g. believing in a god that intercedes or forgives). If such beliefs did not exist, polytheism would never originate. © 2014 Elixir All rights reserved ARTICLE INF O Artic le h istory: Received: 7 July 2013; Received in revised form: 20 January 2014; Accepted: 1 February 2014;