Week 23 · mystical

Rabia al-Adawiyya

Rabia al-Adawiyya was born into poverty in 8th-century Basra, orphaned young, and sold into slavery. After years of hardship, she was freed and became one of the most important figures in Sufi mysticism. She never married, owned almost nothing, and spent her life in devotion so fierce it changed how Islam understood the relationship between humans and God. She introduced the idea that you could love God with no expectation of anything in return.

“"O God, if I worship You for fear of Hell, burn me in Hell. If I worship You in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise. But if I worship You for Your Own sake, grudge me not Your everlasting Beauty." She said that in the 8th century. It's still the most radical statement about love most people have ever read.”