Tesneem Alkiek – Inspirational Muslim Women #04 Rabiah AlAdawiyya

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