Syed Ahmed Owais, Chicago, USA
We live in times where people often champion causes along gender lines – men standing for men, women for women. But as members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat, we belong to a faith whose founder, the Holy Prophet Muhammadsa, didn’t just talk about women’s rights – he established women as complete and equal members of society when the many parts of the world treated them worse than animals.
To portray this liberation and elevation granted to women by our beloved Prophetsa, a story which moved me deeply might be fitting – the story of a woman named Hazrat Rabiah Basrirh. I first heard her name during Hazrat Khalifatul Masih V’saa Friday Sermon on 4 November 2022, and it left a deep impression on me.
Huzooraa narrated an incredible incident: One day, Rabiahrh had 20 guests arrive unexpectedly at her home. She had only two pieces of bread. Without hesitation, she told her servant, “Go and give these two pieces of bread to a poor person.”
Imagine that for a moment. 20 guests. Two pieces of bread. And she gives them away.
The servant stood there, probably thinking her mistress had lost her mind. But before she could even process what just happened, someone knocked at the door. A wealthy woman had sent eighteen pieces of bread to Rabiah’srh home. The servant brought them in, relieved. But Rabiahrh refused them.
“These aren’t mine,” she said simply.
The servant tried to reason with her – surely Allah had sent these! But Rabiahrh held firm. She had given away two pieces and asked Allah for tenfold in return. That meant twenty pieces, not eighteen.
Moments later, they heard the wealthy woman calling to her own servant: “Where did you go? I told you to take 20 pieces to Rabiah Basri – you’ve delivered them to the wrong house!”
That story stuck with me. Who has that level of certainty in Allah’s promise? Who measures their faith with such precision? I had to learn more about this remarkable woman.
So, recently, I came across Tazkirat al-Awliya by Farid al-Din Attar – available in English as Muslim Saints and Mystics. This classical text profiles over ninety saints, but mentions only one woman: Hazrat Rabiah Basrirh.
The author addresses this directly, quoting the Holy Prophetsa: “God does not regard your outward forms.” Faith isn’t about gender – it’s about sincerity. The Prophetsa also said: “Mankind will be raised up according to their intentions.”
The author adds something profound: If it’s acceptable to derive two-thirds of our religion from Hazrat Aishara, then surely we can learn from someone who followed in her footsteps. When a woman reaches the spiritual heights that Rabiahrh reached, ordinary labels no longer apply.
Rabiah bint Isma’il al-‘Adawiya was born into crushing poverty and sold into slavery as a child. She eventually settled in Basra, where she became one of the most respected spiritual figures of her time. Scholars differ on whether she died in 135 AH (752 CE) or 185 AH (801 CE), but her legacy is undisputed.
The night she was born, her family had nothing. No oil to anoint her, no lamp to light the room, no cloth to wrap her in. She was the fourth daughter – hence the name “Rabiah” meaning “fourth” in Arabic.
Her mother begged her father to borrow some oil from the neighbors, but he had taken a vow never to ask anyone for anything except Allah. He walked to the neighbor’s door, placed his hand on it, and returned saying they wouldn’t answer. His wife wept. Exhausted and anxious, she fell asleep.
In a dream, she saw the Holy Prophetsa who addressed her in the following words:
“Don’t be sorrowful. This daughter is a queen among women. She will intercede for seventy thousand of my followers. Tomorrow, go to Isa-e Zadan, the governor of Basra, and write to him: ‘Every night you send a hundred blessings upon me, and on Friday nights, four hundred. Last Friday night, you forgot me. In expiation, give this man four hundred lawfully acquired dinars.’”
When she awoke, Rabiah’s father followed these instructions to the letter. The governor read the message and immediately responded:
“Give two thousand dinars to the poor as thanks for being remembered by the Master. Also give him four hundred more and tell him I wish to meet him – though perhaps it’s more fitting that I come to him. Ask him to let me know if he ever needs anything.”
For a while, the family lived in comfort. But when both parents passed away, famine struck Basra. The sisters were scattered. Rabiah was abducted by a corrupt man and sold into slavery for just six dirhams. Her master forced her into hard labor.
One afternoon during her travels, Rabiah saw a strange man approaching. She turned and ran, but stumbled and injured her wrist badly. She pressed her forehead to the ground and prayed:
“O Lord, I’m alone in this world – no parents, no freedom, now injured and vulnerable. But none of this troubles me. All I want to know is: have I earned Your favor?”
A voice answered her: “Let your heart be at peace. By tomorrow, you’ll be granted such an exalted rank that even the angels will look upon you with wonder.”
Think about that response. She didn’t ask for freedom. She didn’t ask for healing. She asked if Allah was pleased with her – and that’s what He addressed.
She returned to her master’s house and continued as before: fasting and serving by day, praying all night until dawn. One night, her master woke up and looked through his window. He saw Rabiahrh prostrated in prayer, and above her head, a luminous lamp hovering in midair, flooding the entire house with light.
He heard her praying: “You know, O Lord, that my soul’s longing aligns with Your purpose. My greatest joy is serving at Your threshold. If the choice were mine, I’d spend every moment in Your service – but You’ve placed me under another’s authority.”
Witnessing this, her master was overwhelmed. He stayed awake until dawn, then called for Rabiahrh. He spoke gently to her and granted her freedom.
“I ask your permission to leave,” she said. He gave it, and she left for the wilderness.
After spending time in worship and solitude, Rabiah decided to perform Hajj. She loaded her belongings onto a donkey and headed into the desert. Deep in the wilderness, her donkey collapsed and died.
Her traveling companions offered to help: “Let us carry your things.”
“Go on ahead,” she told them. “I didn’t start this journey putting my trust in people.’ They left, and she was alone in the vast desert. She raised her eyes to the sky:
“O God, is this how kings treat a solitary, defenseless woman? You invited me to Your sacred house, and halfway through the journey, You let my donkey die, leaving me stranded in this empty place?”
The moment her prayer ended, the donkey stirred and stood up. She loaded her belongings and continued. (The narrator of this story later claimed he saw that same donkey being sold in a marketplace – make of that what you will).
After several more days, she stopped and cried out again:
“O God, my spirit is heavy. What am I even chasing? I’m just mortal clay, and Your house is just stone. What I really need is Your presence – here and now.”
And, according to the author, God spoke directly into her heart:
“Rabiah, you’re journeying through the essence of countless realms. Have you forgotten what happened when Moses asked to see Me? I revealed just a fragment of My glory upon the mountain, and it shattered into pieces. Find contentment here in My name alone.” (Muslim Saints and Mystics [Tazkirat al-Awliya], translated by AJ Arberry, 2000, pp. 29-48)
Rabiah’srh story isn’t just history or a fable for us to enjoy – it’s a mirror. How many of us are chasing destinations, thinking that’s where we will find peace? How many of us believe that if we just reach that goal, achieve that milestone, get to that place – then we will feel close to Allah?
Rabiahrh learned what we all need to learn: Allah isn’t waiting for us at the finish line. He’s present in every struggle, every stumble, every moment we turn to Him with sincerity.
Her greatest spiritual insights didn’t come in comfort – they came when she was enslaved, injured, or alone in the desert with a dead donkey. And that’s when she heard His voice most clearly.
Sometimes what we’re searching for isn’t at the journey’s end. It’s present in every step we take, if we have the faith to recognise it.
May Allah grant us even a fraction of the certainty, devotion and spiritual strength that He blessed Hazrat Rabiahrh Basri with. Amin.