Rabia Basri: A Pioneer of Divine Love in Sufism
Rabia Basri, also known as Hazrat Rabia al-Adawiyya, was a highly influential Sufi saint and mystic of the 8th century. Considered by many to be the first female Sufi saint in Islam, she is celebrated for her devotion, asceticism, and pioneering concept of Divine Love. Her life story, though often intertwined with legend, continues to inspire those who seek a deeper connection with the divine.
Early Life and Origins
Born between 714 and 717 A.D. (95 and 99 Hijri) in Basra, Iraq, Rabia was the fourth daughter of a poor but respected family. The name "Rabia," meaning "fourth," reflects her birth order. "Basri" in her name denotes her home town as she was from "Basra". Adawiyya and Kaisiyya denote her genealogy, whereas "Tajunnisa" is an honorific epithet which means "Crown of the Ladies". Sources describe her father as a deeply religious Muslim, whose lifestyle greatly influenced her.
According to Farid al-Din Attar, a later Sufi saint and poet who documented much of her early life, Rabia's family was so impoverished that they lacked even oil to light a lamp or cloth to swaddle her. In one account, her mother asked her husband to borrow oil from a neighbor, but he had resolved never to ask for anything from anyone except the Creator.
A divine intervention is said to have occurred the night Rabia was born. In a dream, Prophet Muhammad appeared to her father, informing him that his newborn daughter was a favorite of the Lord and would guide many Muslims to the right path. The Prophet instructed him to approach the Amir of Basra with a message: the Amir should offer Durood to the Holy Prophet one hundred times every night and four hundred times every Thursday night. Overjoyed, Rabia's father followed these instructions. The Amir, upon receiving the message, was delighted and rewarded Rabia's father with 400 dinars and distributed 1000 dinars to the poor.
Trials and Tribulations
After the death of her father, Basra faced a famine, and Rabia became separated from her sisters. Legend recounts that she joined a caravan that was attacked by robbers, who took her captive and sold her into slavery. During her captivity, Rabia's devotion to prayer never wavered. She would spend her nights in prayer after completing her household chores.
Read also: Comprehensive Ranking: Women's College Basketball
One night, her master overheard Rabia's heartfelt prayer: "O my Lord, Thou knowest that the desire of my heart is to obey Thee, and that the light of my eye is in the service of Thy court. If I were free I would pass the whole day and night in prayers." Moved by her devotion, her master realized it was sacrilegious to keep such a saint in his service. He freed her and offered to serve her instead. However, Rabia chose to leave and dedicate herself to worship in solitude. Some sources claim that the very first miracle of Bibi Rabia Basri was seen in this captivity when Bandits/kidnappers tried to torture her. This incident frightened those bandits, and they sold her as labor to one of the cruel men. That cruel master, after realizing her miraculous personality, freed Rabia. It is worth noting that Almighty Allah Save Rabia from every sexual molestation either by miraculous events or others, thereby protected her honor (virginity). Author Margaret mentioned Hazrat Rabia Basri in one of his books as "second spotless Marry".
Asceticism and Divine Love
Rabia went into the desert to pray, spending some time at a Sufi hermitage. She then began what according to Farīd al-Dīn was a seven year walk (some accounts describe her as crawling on her stomach) to Mecca, to perform the Hajj. According to Farīd al-Dīn, as she approached the Ka'bah, her monthly period began, which made her unclean and unable to continue that day. Farīd al-Dīn uses this as lesson that even such a great saint as Rabia was "hindered on the way." Another story has the Ka'bah coming to greet her even as she persevered in her journey yet she ignored it, since her desire was for the "House of the Lord" alone, "I pay no attention to the Ka'bah and enjoy not its beauty.
Rabia's life was marked by extreme asceticism. She owned little more than a broken jug, a rush mat, and a brick she used as a pillow. However, it was her concept of Divine Love that truly set her apart. She introduced the idea that God should be loved for God's own sake, not out of fear of punishment or hope of reward. This concept revolutionized Sufi thought, shifting the focus from asceticism as an end in itself to a path toward genuine love and intimacy with the divine.
She taught that repentance was a gift from God, as no one could repent unless God had already accepted them and granted them this gift. While acknowledging the fear sinners deserved for their sins, she offered them greater hope of Paradise than many other ascetics.
Rabia articulated her philosophy through poignant prayers: "O Allah! If I worship You for fear of Hell, burn me in Hell, and if I worship You in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise. But if I worship You for Your own sake, withhold not Your everlasting Beauty."
Read also: Phoenix Suns' New Center
Bibi Rabia Basri again went to her home after having such a troublesome life. In her interest, she again started doing "Riyazat" in her home to please Allah. Because of her piousness and miraculous personality, she was soon renowned as a Sufi Saint. Even the then caliph, "Harun-ur-Rashid" was inspired by her growing fame and sent her various gifts, but she refused to accept. This incident further made her famous and her simple house had been converted into "Khanqah" and Madrasa. Many local females used to visit Bibi Rabia Basri to receive her guidance. Her notable students include Bibi Mariyam Basri and Maazato Adawiyya or Ma'za Adawiyya.
Encounters and Teachings
It is unclear whether Rabia received formal instruction in the Sufi way. Legend persistently associates her with Hasan of Basra, although their probable chronologies make this impossible. Hasan is sometimes described as her master although other stories suggest that her station along the path was more advanced.
One day, she was seen running through the streets of Basra carrying a torch in one hand and a bucket of water in the other. When asked what she was doing, she replied, “I want to put out the fires of Hell, and burn down the rewards of Paradise. They block the way to God.
Another anecdote illustrates her spiritual superiority. When Hasan Basri and other Sufi pirs visited Rabia, her home was dark. Hasan wished aloud that he only had some light. Rabia retorted, “Hasan, when you are showing off your spiritual goods in this worldly market, it should be things that your fellow-men are incapable of displaying.” And she flung her prayer rug into the air, and flew up on it. “Come up here, Hasan, where people can see us!” she cried. Hasan, who had not attained that station, said nothing. Rabe’a sought to console him. “Hasan,” she said, “what you did fishes also do, and what I did flies also do. The real business is outside both these tricks.
Meeting with Hasan Basri Incident of meeting of Rabia Basri with Hasan Basri mentioned several times by the subject experts, the similar incident has mentioned by Sunni Scholar Sayyed Aminul Qadri in one of his lecture which says, once Hasan Basri approaches Rabia Basri and stand behind her, he asked behind the curtain about her opinion to marry him. To which Rabia replied, “first you have to answer my four questions. Based on your answers, I will decide whether to marry you or not".
Read also: About Grossmont Community College
The first question she asked Hasan Basri was, whether she was Heavenly (Jannati) or Hellish (Jahannumi), to which Hasan did not reply; she further asked him a second question, whether her balance sheets of deeds (Nama e Aamal) will be on the right side or left side. Her third question to Hasan was, when the deeds will be counted on Meezan (balance) what will be her conditions whether her good deeds will be more or bad deeds will be more, still Hasan was quiet, Rabia continued with her fourth question, what will be my conditions when I will pass through “Pulsirat” (kind of bridge leading to Jannah) whether I will swiftly cross that bridge or will fell into the hellfire.
After Remaining silent for a few minutes, Hasan replied, “Rabia, how can I tell about your fate when I am unsure about my own fate” to which Rabia requested Hasan to leave her to let her practice Islam sincerely till she got assurances of her fate, she continued she don’t have ample time to waste in marriage and all, rather she wants to invest her time in the preparation of Akhirat.
As her fame grew, Rabia attracted many disciples, suggesting that she was recognized as a teacher in her own right. She also had discussions with many of the renowned religious people of her time. It is widely held that she achieved self-actualization, the end of the mystical path, that is, the total passing away of the self into complete intimacy and unity with the divine truth.
Sufi Ideologies Bibi Rabia Basri clearly emphasized on the principle of "Love of Allah for the sake of Allah", this can be witnessed by one of her incident where she took "a glass of water" in one hand and fire in another to burn the heaven and extinguished the hell so that the greedy people will not worship Allah in the greed of heaven or in the fear of hell but just for Allah.
Rejection of Marriage
Though marriage is considered a duty in Islam, Rabia remained celibate, dedicating her life solely to God. She turned down numerous offers, including one from the Amir of Basra.
When asked why she wouldn't marry, she replied, “The tie of marriage applies to those who have being. Here being has disappeared, for I have become naughted to self and exist only through Him. I belong wholly to Him. I live in the shadow of His control.”
Death and Legacy
Rabia was in her early to mid-eighties when she died in 801 A.D. (185 Hijri), having followed the mystic Way to the end. Scholars and subject experts have contrasting opinions about her resting place. Some believe she is resting in Basra, whereas others considered her resting place to be in Jerusalem. She believed she was continually united with her Beloved.
Her pioneering of love-mysticism in Islam produced a rich legacy. Farid ad-Din Attar, among that of others, stands on her shoulders. It is primarily from his work that what little biographical information we have has survived. However, lack of details of her life is compensated by the abundance of stories of her piety and total trust in God to provide for her every meal. Her love of God and her confidence in God's mercy was absolute; since God provided for "those who insult Him" her would surely "provide for those who love Him" as well. The high praise that Rabia attracts from Muslim men as well as from Muslim women testifies to the value of her legacy as a guide for others to realize the same intimacy with God that she enjoyed. The fact that details of her life have not survived while her reputation for piety has means that her achievements do not overshadow her devotion to God.
Rabia is still celebrated as one of the female pioneers in the world of Sufism and is a role model to those who aspire for God, breaking down the barriers of gender and religion.
Rabia Basri in Film
The life of Rabia has been the subject of several motion pictures of Turkish cinema. One of these films, Rabia, released in 1973, was directed by Osman F. Aksoy. Rabia, İlk Kadın Evliya (Rabia, The First Woman Saint) is another Turkish film on Rabia.
tags: #rabia #basri #biography
