Tesneem Alkiek – Inspirational Muslim Women #04 Rabiah AlAdawiyya
AI: Summary ©
The speaker discusses the story of a famousumpy woman named Rabia Al Adui granted who was a woman known for renouncing the world and devoting herself to only worship. The story also highlights the importance of praying to Allah in order to fulfill one's faith and achieve the promises of the holy eye. The speaker emphasizes the importance of finding one's own way to remind oneself of the shortness of life and finding one's own way to develop a relationship with Allah Subhanahu Wa ta'ala.
AI: Summary ©
Assalamu Alaikum, and welcome back to another episode
of Sayeedati.
Today, I want to shift focus just a
bit and share the story of a woman
unlike many others we've discussed thus far.
I want to tell the story of a
famous ascetic, Rabia Al Aduiyah
who was a woman known particularly for renouncing
the world and devoting herself to only worship.
Although she didn't make any tangible contributions to
her society,
she's contributed to us and all the generations
that followed her by providing us with a
powerful example and how to love and worship
god which I think is a contribution that
can most definitely help us change our own
lives. Radia was born in the early 8th
century AD in the city of Basra in
Iraq.
She herself didn't write any books or leave
us with anything about her life so most
of what has been recorded about her are
unverifiable stories
Despite that a lot of what we do
know about her might not be historically or
entirely true, the impressions she leaves are still
a great reminder of the need to refocus
our life for the worship of God and
to reflect on the shortness of this life
so that we take advantage of our time
and do as much as we can to
develop personally
and to contribute to our society. The well
known tale of Radhya's childhood was narrated along
these lines.
She grew up in a very poor family
and lost both parents when she was still
a child.
Later in her life when she was out
alone as a young orphan girl, she was
kidnapped by a stranger and sold into slavery.
She was quickly bought and then forced to
work laboriously.
In order to maintain her relationship with God,
she would fast all day and spend the
night in prayer. As the story goes, 1
night her master woke up from his sleep
and looked out through his bedroom window where
he saw raviha and sujud for prostration
making dua and pleading you Allah oh God
you know that what my heart desires aligns
with your commands
and that the light of my eye isn't
serving you If I had the choice I
wouldn't resist even an hour from serving you
that you have set me under the hand
of this creature referring to her master.
When her master overheard her litany and saw
the light that was rating radiating around her
and throughout her entire room he was in
awe and summoned Rabia in the early morning
to set her
free a few centuries after her death Rabiya's
thoughts and experiences reflected upon by none other
than Imam al Ghazali in his well known
compendium Ahiya'un al Muaddeen the revival of the
Islamic Sciences
in addition to citing some of her famous
poetic verses alazani quotes the answer she gave
when she was asked about paradise
she was replied by saying first the neighbor
then the house
Meaning that what she desired was not the
delights of paradise, but the Lord of paradise
himself.
Her aim was to primarily please her Lord
and worship him in this world for the
sake of His pleasure alone
rather than solely aiming for the pleasures Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala has promised us in paradise.
This is the example of
a woman who has been recorded in a
history as a leader and exemplar of hesiticism
and closeness to God. Her love for God
alone created a doctrine of selfless love that
countless others have followed by worshiping and fearing
God solely for his pleasure. She demonstrated that
it's not enough to fulfill our ritual requirements
like salah by robotically going through the various
actions
rather she emphasized the importance and necessity of
praying to Allah with the same khushur and
concentration as the Prophet salallahu alaihi wasalam.
To pray out of entire love and fear
of God not simply to pray out of
obligation.
Although I and many others might not be
at the that stage in our life in
which our actions are entirely governed by the
pleasure of God,
but we can reflect on the life of
this woman who devoted every ounce of her
conscience out of love for Allah.
We need to remember and reflect on the
shortness of this life.
What always helps me to try and push
myself harder
is thinking about the day of judgment
I see myself standing among the dense and
hot crowd waiting to be called upon to
be held accountable for my actions
and I imagine the moment that I have
to stand before Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and
my life is replayed right before my eyes.
And I'll see my friends, myself, going out
with my friends, hanging out with family, eating,
studying
and all the
other things ordinary stuff I used to do.
And I think of that moment and how
I'll be there watching it all flash before
my eyes as I think to myself,
if only I got up at that moment
after dinner and prayed 2 rakas
if only as I said among my friends
I made istighfar under my breath
if only as I was studying I consciously
renewed my intention to learn for the sake
of Allah Subhana Wa Ta'la
but on the day of judgment it will
be too late to lament what could have
been I want to encourage you all to
reflect on the life of and find your
own way to remind yourself about the shortness
of this life
whether you can fuel yourself by trying to
please God alone or by trying to attain
the paradise he has promised
Take a moment to think about the world
to come and don't fall prey to the
fleetingness of this dunya
Rabia was a woman who not only managed
to understand this
but the most admirable characteristic of all was
that she was the happiest person alive
when she managed to build that connection with
Allah swanha wa ta'ala she recognized that everything
around her was only a test from Allah
and that so long as she remained focused
no person or event of this world could
ever compete with the love and happiness she
gained from her closeness to Allah Subhanahu wa
ta'ala. May Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala grant us
the insight to chase after him in worship
and maintain sincerity in our seeking of him
and may we too enjoy the real happiness
of this world by developing our relationship with
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Ameen, thank you for joining us today and
we'll see you next time inshaAllah. Zakummaqayr and
hu salamu alaykum