By sidra khan
“If I repent now will God forgive me?
No, but if God forgives you, you will repent.”
Rabia Basri
Once upon a time there was a girl named Rabia. She was the fourth daughter of her parents and named Rabia meaning fourth. Her parents were very poor. When Rabia Basra born her parents had no oil to fire the lamp and even to wrap the child. Her mother asked her father to borrow some oil from neighbor but her father was so noble as he did not ask anything from anybody except ALLAH. He pretended to go to neighbor and returned home empty handed.
At night hazrat MUHAMMAD (PBUH) appeared in his dream and told him that your newly born daughter is very dear to ALLAH and will lead many humans to right path. Hazrat MUHAMMAD (SAW) asked her to go to the Amir of Basra and present him a letter in which should be written this
“You offer darood every day hundred times and offer 400 times on Thursday but you fail to offer darood last Thursday and as a penalty you have to give 400 dinars to the bearer”.
When the Rabia’s father got up he went straight to the Amir and present him a letter when Amir heard this message he felt so happy that he is in the eyes of HAZRAT MUHAMMAD (SAW) and give 1000 dinar to the poor and 400 dinars to him and asked her to come to him in time of need as he would be blessed by helping such a pious soul dearer to ALLAH.
Soon her parents died and famine overtook Basra. They had nothing to eat and her sisters sold her to the man and take some money. The man brings Rabia to his home and kept her as his servant. He takes so much hard work from Rabia she used to work hard at day time and at night she offers her prayers regularly. One night she was praying and offering dua in these terms
“Lord! You know well that my keen desire is to carry out your commandments and to serve Thee with all my heart, O light of my eyes. If I were free I would pass the whole day and night in prayers. But what should I do when you have made me a slave of a human being?”
Suddenly her master heard these words , After hearing this the man felt so sacrilegious to keep such a pious lady in his service he called her and said that from now he would server her but if you want to leave my home then you are free now. Rabia accepted the second offer to leave the home.
She went to the desert and spends her days and nights in offering prayers. She possess nothing other than a broken jug, rush mat and a brick she used as her pillow. Soon her fame grew everywhere she had many discussions with great Muslim scholars of that time.
She offer prayers not because of fear of hell nor for paradise instead she had a great love for her God.
She prayed: “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.”
She felt her beloved every time with her. She died in Jerusalem in 185 AH.
