Dictionary of The Holy Quran — Page 307
رب of the property or its owner or master. أُذْكُرْنِي عِنْدَ رَبِّكَ : Remember me or mention me to thy lord )12:43( أَرْبَابٌ plural. أَرْبَابٌ مُتَفَرِّقُوْنَ : Are diverse lords better or Allah? )12:40( هِيَ رَبَّةُ الْبَيْتِ : She is the mistress of the house. اَلرَّبُّ : One of the epithets used for God. رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ : The Lord of all the worlds )1:2( رَبُّ الْأَرْبَابِ : The Lord of Lords i. e. God. رَبِّيْبٌ : A boy reared, fostered, brought up and taken good care of until he reaches his puberty (step-son); a man's wife's son; a woman's husband's son; a confederate. رَبِّيْبَةٌ )feminine) and رَبَائِبُ is plural. She is the daughter of a woman's husband by another wife or the daughter of a man's wife by another husband, because he or she rears her in spite of her being not a real daughter; (stepdaughter) or it means the wife of a man having child by another wife; also a woman who has the charge of a child who rears or fosters it. رَبَائِبُكُمُ الَّتِي فِي حُجُوْرِكُمْ : Your stepdaughters who are your wards )4:24( رِبِّيٌّ )plural( )رِبِّيُّونَ( is related to رِبَّةٌ which means, a large company of men. رِبِّيُّونَ means, numerous companies. It also means, learned, pious, patient men. قَاتَلَ مَعَهُ رِبِّيُّونَ كَثِيرٌ : Fought beside him numerous companies of their followers )3:147( رَبَّانِيُّوْنَ or رَبَّانِيِّينَ is the plural of رَبَّانِيٌّ which is a relative noun from رَبُّ )Lord), just as لِحْيَانِيُّ )long-beard) and شَعْرَانِيُّ )having long hair) are derived from لِحْيَةٌ and شَعْرٌ respectively. Keeping in view the different meanings of رَبُّ the word رَبَّانِيٌّ would mean: One who devotes himself to religious service, or applies himself to acts of devotion; one who possesses knowledge of God; one who is learned in religious matters; a good or righteous man; a worshipper of the Lord; a teacher of others who begins to nourish people with the small matters of knowledge or science before the great; a learned man who not only practices what he knows but also instructs others; one of a high rank in knowledge; a lord or master; a leader; a reformer. وَلَكِنْ كُوْنُوْا رَبَّانِيِّينَ : But be solely devoted to the Lord )3:80( رُبَّ )and رُبَ( is a word of which there are many dialectic variants, some that are formed with the affix some with the affix and some with 307 رب