“Our Rabb”
By Hisham Abu Yusuf | 2026-10-07T17:39:41.896762+00:00 | Topic: Allah | Masjid: Hisham Abu Yusuf
Summary
Our Rabb: The All-Knowing Companion
- Allah, our Rabb, knows what we show and what we hide.
- Nothing in the earth or the sky is hidden from Allah.
- He is our companion in times of solitude and with us in despair.
"Rabb": The Most Frequent Call in Du'a
- The word 'Rabb' is used most often when making du'a to Allah in the Quran.
- Forms like 'Rabbana' (Our Rabb) and 'Rabbi' (My Rabb) appear hundreds of times.
The Rarity of "Allahumma"
- In stark contrast to 'Rabb', the word 'Allahumma' is used very rarely in the Quran.
- It appears only five times throughout the entire Quran.
- This emphasizes the unique and preferred usage of 'Rabb' for direct address.
"Rabb": The Only Name You Can Claim
- This is the *only* name of Allah that you can attribute to yourself.
- This unique aspect signifies a deeply personal and intimate relationship with the Divine.
Why Not "My Rahman" or "My King"?
- You never see 'my Rahman' (Rahmani) in the Quran.
- Similarly, 'my Ilah' (Ilahi) or 'my King' (Maliki) are not found.
- The exclusive use of 'Rabbi' (my Rabb) highlights its special nature and our personal bond.
Our Rabb
My Rabb, you know what we show and what we hide — and nothing in this earth or the sky is hidden from Allah. Your Rabb is the companion for you in your times of solitude, the one who is with you in your times of despair.
The word used to make du'a to Allah the most in the Quran is the word Rabb. اللهم in the Quran is used very rarely — five times in the Quran. You search the word رَبَّنَا (Rabbana), رَبِّي (Rabbi) with a kasra — hundreds of times in the Quran.
And this is the name of Allah — the only name of Allah you can attribute to yourself. That is one of the unique things about it.
In the Quran you never see the word رَحْمَانِي — my Rahman. You never see the word إِلَهِي — you never see it in the Quran. You never see مَلِكِي — my King. You don't see it in the Quran. But you see رَبِّي — my Rabb.