The Language of Love

" [...] To illustrate his point, Shaykh Muhammad narrated the following story.

Rabi’a Al-Adawiya fell ill and Hasan Al-Basri, Shaqiq Al-Balkhi and Malik ibn Dinar, may Allah be pleased with them all, visited her.

Al-Basri said to her: None is sincere in his claim to love God unless he patiently “endures” the blows of his Lord.

Rabi’a: This sounds like egoism.

Shaqiq: None is sincere in his claim to love God unless he gives “thanks” for the blows of his Lord.

Rabi’a praised this but felt that there must be better.

Malik: None is sincere in his claim to love God unless he “delights” in the blows of his Lord.

But Rabi’a was not satisfied with this state either. She said it needed to be improved. So they asked her to speak.

Rabi’a: None is sincere in his claim to love God unless he “forgets” the blows in beholding his Lord.

Shaykh Muhammad pointed out that “enduring” entails remembering, not only the blows, but also the pain behind the blows. Giving “thanks” and “delighting” are also about remembering while Rabi’a Al-Adawiya was teaching that “before your Lord, you should not remember anything.”

Nazim Baksh
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