Rabia of Basra

Rabia of Basra (Arabic: رابعة البصري, romanized: Rābiʿa al-Baṣrī; c. 714, 717 or 718—801 was an Arab Muslim saint and Sufi mystic.

Quotes

 * I so detached my heart from the world and cut short my hopes that for thirty years now I have performed each prayer as though it were my last and I were praying the prayer of farewell.
 * as quoted in Early Islamic Mysticism (New York: Paulist Press: 1996), p. 165


 * O God! 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.
 * as quoted in Khushwant Singh, The Freethinker's Prayer Book (2013), p. 35


 * I want to put out the fires of Hell, and burn down the rewards of Paradise. They block the way to Allah. I do not want to worship from fear of punishment or for the promise of reward, but simply for the love of Allah.
 * as quoted in Farid al-Din Attar, Memorial of the Friends of God (c. 1230, 2009 Translation edited by Losensky).

The Sayings and Teachings of the Great Mystics of Islam (2004)

 * Love, for Rabia, is the basis of spiritual perfection at all the stages on the journey to God. She teaches to love God for the sake of God.
 * p. 29
 * O my Lord! If I worship Thee on account of the fear of Hell, burn me in Hell, and if I worship Thee with the hope of Paradise, exclude me from it, but if I worship Thee for Thine own sake, then withhold not from me Thine Eternal Beauty.
 * p. 29, also quoted in her prayer.
 * I have not served God for fear of Hell, for I should be like a wretched hireling, If I did it for fear: nor for love of Paradise, for I should be a bad servant if I served for the sake of what was given, but I have served Him only for the love of Him and out of desire for Him.
 * p. 29-30
 * Repentance is attained by the saints with the Divine grace and it comes from the side of God who enlightens the hearts of those whom He loves. Seeking a formal forgiveness is the sin for lying. If I seek repentance of my self, I shall have need of repentance again.
 * p. 30
 * Seclusion is the soul's ideal preparation for reaching God. It is in the state of solitude that the soul contemplates on the attributes of God.
 * p. 30
 * The soul comes from God and it can be united with Him if it is purified through the process of mortification.
 * p. 30

Quotes about Rabia of Basra

 * Were Women all like those whom here I name, Woman to man I surely would prefer; The Sun is feminine, nor deems it shame; The Moon, though masculine, depends on her.
 * Jami, Nafahat al-Uns, as quoted in A Literary History of Persia by, p. 299.