QUST̤ANT̤ĪNĪYAH (قسطنطينية). The word used in the Traditions and in Muḥammadan history for Constantinople. (See Ḥadīs̤u ʾt-Tirmiẕī.) Istambūl (استمبول), is the word generally used by modern Muslims.
QUT̤B (قطب). Lit. “A stake, an axis, a pivot.” The highest stage of sanctity amongst Muslim saints. A higher position than that of g͟hauṣ. According to the Kashshāfu ʾl-Iṣt̤ilāḥāt, a qut̤b is one who has attained to that degree of sanctity which is a reflection of the heart of the Prophet himself. Qut̤bu ʾd-Dīn, “the axis of religion,” a title given to eminent Muslim divines. [[FAQIR].]
R.
AR-RABB (الرب). “The Lord,” “The Sustainer,” “The Supporter.” A title frequently used in the Qurʾān for the Divine Being, e.g.:—
[Sūrah iii. 44]: “God (Allāh) is my Lord (Rabb) and your Lord (Rabb).”
[Sūrah xviii. 13]: “Our Lord (Rabb) is the Lord (Rabb) of the heavens and the earth.”
From its frequent occurrence in the Qurʾān, it would seem to occupy the place of the Hebrew יְהֹוָה Jehovah, the Κύριος of the LXX., the Dominus of the Vulgate, and the Lord of the English Bible; but all Muslim writers say that whilst Allāh is the Ismu ʾẕ-Ẕāt, or “Essential name of God,” ar-Rabb, “the Lord,” is but an Ismu Ṣifah, or attribute, of the Almighty.
Al-Baiẓāwī, the commentator (p. 6, line 10, of Flügel’s edition), says, “rabb, in its literal meaning, is ‘to bring up,’ that is, to bring or educate anything up to its perfect standard, by slow degrees, and inasmuch as the Almighty is He who can bring everything to perfection, the word الرب ar-Rabb, is especially applied to God.”
It is the Hebrew רַב Rab, which enters into the composition of many names of dignity and office in the Bible.
In Muslim works of theology, the word occurs with the following combination:—