Women have always played vital and important roles in Islam, although regrettably much of the telling of Islamic history has been confined to "his"story. Nevertheless we do have glimpses of the lives of some famous Muslim women who have been strong enough to make their mark.
Little is known for sure about Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya al-Qaysiyya (known as Rabi'a of Basra), revered as one of the earliest and greatest Sufi mystic ascetics in Islam.
She was born into poverty: the fourth girl (hence her name Rabi'a meaning "fourth") around 95-99 A.H. in Basra. It is thought she was captured after being orphaned and sold into slavery, becoming a flautist.
Rabi'a was freed by her owner after an event in which he was startled by observing an enveloping radiance (sakina) around her whilst she was rapt in prayer. It is said that she retreated into the desert and began occupying herself with a life of worship.
Rabi'a led a life of poverty, rejecting numerous offers of marriage including reportedly the hand of Hasan of Basra, although this is unlikely as Hasan lived decades before her and would have died when she was a young girl. Nevertheless she had many disciples who sought to learn from her and some of the most famous parables of her life depict Hasan as her student. It is reported Hasan said:
"I passed one whole night and day with Rabi'a speaking of the Way and the Truth, and it never passed through my mind that I was a man nor did occur to her that she was a woman, and at the end when I looked at her, I saw myself spiritually bankrupt [i.e. spiritually worth nothing], and Rabi'a as truly sincere." 1
Rabi'a is probably best known for her emphasis on unselfish love for Allah (swt): loving Allah (swt) only for His sake, and not for fear of punishment or desire of reward. She prayed:
"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, grudge me not Your everlasting Beauty. "
1 Smith, Margaret. Rabi'a : the life & work of Rabi'a and other women mystics in Islam. (Oxford: Oneworld, 1994). p32-33.
Resources
- Rabi'a al-Adawiyya. Doorkeeper of the heart : versions of Rabia. Trans. Charles Upton. (Putney: Threshold Books, 1988)
- Smith, Margaret. Rabi'a : the life & work of Rabi'a and other women mystics in Islam. (Oxford: Oneworld, 1994). p32-33.
- http://www.digiserve.com/mystic/Muslim/Rabia/index.html
- http://sufimaster.org/adawiyya.htm
- http://goto.bilkent.edu.tr/gunes/rabia1.htm
- http://www.islamicresources.com/Prominent_Muslims/Others/rabiah_basri_mystic.htm
- http://www.hal-pc.org/~crusader/ISWEB/rabia.htm
- Aishah Bint Abi Bakr: Story of the wife of the Prophet who was in her own right a leader in politics and war as well as a major transmitter of hadith.
- Ramlah bint Abi Sufyan: Brief story of Ramlah, also known as Umm Habibah, who was one of the emigrants to Abyssinia and who later became a wife of the Prophet Muhammad.
- Umm Salamah: Lifestory of one of the early Muslims, Hind was a companion of the Prophet Muhammad.
- Asmaa Bint Abu Bakr: Sister of 'A'isha, Asmaa was one of the first to accept Islam. She remained a staunch and faithful Muslim.
- Barakah: Maidservant to Aminah, this is the life-story of the woman who became the surrogate mother of the Prophet and continued to be close to him throughout his life.
- Fatimah bint Muhammad: Short biography of this exemplary Muslim role model and daughter of the Prophet Muhammad.
- Maryum Jameelah: Formerly Margret Marcus, Maryam was the first American Jewish woman to convert to Islam.
- Muslim Women in History: Short biographies of famous Muslim women including Um al Muqtadir-billah who ran state affairs for her caliph son; Busra bint Uzwan who employed Abu Huraiyrah, the scribe of the Prophet; as well as other early Muslim women.
- Rumaysa bint Milhan: Biography of one of the first women of Yathrib to accept Islam.
- Shagrat al-Durr: Biography of Shagrat al-Durr who took upon herself the title of Sultan and regrouped the Egyptian army to take Damietta back from the Frankish Crusaders.
- Shamima Shaikh: Commemorative website devoted to this South African Muslim women's rights activist.
- Sister President: Interview with Iman Elkadi, who was elected President of the Bay County Islamic Center to her astonishment.
- Tomb of Princess Iparhan: Information about the Muslim Uyghur woman heroine also known as "Fragrant Lady".
- Woman Warrior: Nusseyba bint Ka'b was one of the Madinese Muslims who gave their oath of allegience to the Prophet, and noted warrior who fought in defense of Islam.
- Women Scholars of Hadith: Mohammad Omar Farooq's appraisal of Dr. Muhammad Zubayr Siddiqi's paper on early female Muslim scholars with an appeal for women's education and promotion of scholarship.
- Zaynab al-Ghazali: Egyptian activist, Zaynab al-Ghazali headed the women's chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood.
(From Important Muslim Women at DMOZ)
Please Note: this is the text version of Maryams.Net, designed for those visitors who have browsers that cannot read the javascript and graphic intensive version. If you have browsed here by mistake and wish to visit the full graphical version, please surf here!
Home (Text Version) | Biographical Sketches | Organizations and Groups | Articles | Links | Discussions Forum | About Maryams.Net | Bookshop | Contact Maryams.Net via info [at] maryams [dot] net | Copyright | Sitemap