Ar-Rabb has two meanings. First, the nurturer, from tarbiyah: the one who looks after every need and cultivates something until it reaches maturity, as a parent raises a child or a teacher a student. Second, the lord, master or king, which the Quran very often pairs with al-abd, the servant.

Ar-Rabb. The teacher says that from the first page of the Quran to the last you will be hard pressed to find a page that does not mention it, starting with Alhamdu lillahi Rabbil Alamin in the very first surah, straight after the name Allah.

Because it is the only name a believer can attribute to himself. The Quran never says Rahmani, Ilahi or Maliki, but says Rabbi and Rabbana over a hundred times, while Allahumma appears only five times. It expresses belonging, like saying my team.

The teacher says abd means serving someone out of love and gratitude, by choice and not by force, like doing things for one's parents. He cites the Prophet standing in night prayer until his feet swelled and answering Aisha: how can I not be a grateful servant?

He explains that in moments of desperation the prophets have no time to stretch the ya, so they say Rabbi with a kasra, as Zakariya did after waiting nearly a century for a child. He compares it to calling 999 rather than the non-urgent 111.