7:46 PM
NK
Indeed your days are numbered, for when one day passes, a significant portion of your life has passed away. And when that portion has fled, soon it will come to pass that your whole life has disappeared. As you know this, strive always towards the performance of good deeds.
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 myself, I shall have need of repentance again.
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.
The best thing for a servant who desires to be near his Lord, is to possess nothing in this world or the next save Him.
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.
'O God, You are aware that the sole longing of my heart is to be totally surrendered to your command. The very light of my eyes is service to Your court. If it were up to me, I would never cease serving you, even for an hour. Yet you have caused me to be subject to a creature. For this, I come late to your service.'
Hazrat Malik bin Dinar (ra) has described Hazrat Rabia (ra)'s life-style as follows:
I visited the saint. She possessed a pitcher with a crack in it which she employed both for ablutions and drinking; instead of a pillow, she used a brick. There was also an old straw mat. My heart was anguished at the sight, and I pleaded with her, 'I have wealthy friends; only indicate it and I’ll see that they regard you favourably.' 'You are wrong Malik,' she replied, 'my Provider is their Provider too, isn't He?' 'Of course,' I replied. 'Do you imagine,' she rejoined, that He has forgotten the poor because of their poverty, while assisting the rich because they are wealthy?' 'No,' I answered. 'Since He is aware of my state then,' she went on, 'what need is there to remind Him? If this is how He likes it, my, wish is one with His.'
Hazrat Rabi'a al-Adawiyya al-Qaysiyya (ra) was a Mystic Sufi saint from Iraq. She lived during the 8th Century and was born in Basra, a seaport in southern Iraq where she spent the vast majority of her life. Much of her early life is narrated by Hazrat Fariduddin Attar (ra), a later Sufi saint and poet, who used earlier sources. She did not leave any written works herself.
