Sayedaty
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Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. As-salamu alaikum and welcome back to another episode of Sayyidati. Today I want to shift focus just a bit and share the story of a woman unlike many others we've discussed this far. I want to tell the story of a famous ascetic, Rabia al-Adawiyya, 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 has contributed to us and all the generations that followed her by providing us with a powerful example in how to love and worship God, which I think is a contribution that can most definitely help us change our own lives. Rabia 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 Rabia'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, one night her master woke up from his sleep and looked out through his bedroom window, where he saw Rabia in sujood, or prostration, making dua and pleading, Ya Allah, O 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, but you have set me under the hand of this creature, referring to her master.
When her master overheard her la'ini and saw the light that was 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, Rabia's thoughts and experiences were reflected upon by none other than Imam al-Ghazali and his well-known compendium, Ihya' al-Ulm al-Din, the revival of Islamic sciences. In addition to citing some of her famous poetic verses, Ghazali 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 has promised us in paradise. This is the example of Rabia al-Adawiyya, a woman who has been recorded in history as a leader and exemplar of asceticism and closeness to God. Her love for God alone created a doctrine of selfless love that countless others have followed by worshipping 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 khushu' and concentration as the prophets, salallahu alayhi wa sallam, 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 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, 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 two rukas, 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 subhanahu wa ta'ala. 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 Rabia 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 subhanahu 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 inshallah. Jazakumullah khayran. Wassalamualaikum.
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