Excerpts from Early Sufi Women: Dhikr an-niswa al-muta  ‘abbidât as-sûfiyyât

By Abû ‘Abd ar-Rahmân al-Sulamî

Trans. Rkia E. Cornell.

 

 

XXIX

Râbi‘a bint Ismâ‘îl[1] , The Wife of Ahmad ibn Abî al-Hawârî[2]

 

            Râbi‘a was one of the great women of Syria.  She was extremely rich and spent all of her wealth on Ahmad (ibn Abi al-Hawari) and his companions.

            Abû Ja‘far ar-Râzî reported from al- ‘Abbâs ibn Hamza that Ahmad ibn Abî al-Hawârî related: Râbi‘a said to me one day: “I used to pray to God Most High that someone like you or your companions would consume my fortune.”

            I heard Abû Bakr ibn Shâdhân [ar-Râzî] report from Yûsuf ibn al-Husayn [ar-Râzî][3] that Ahmad ibn Abî al- Hawârî related: Râbi‘a said to us: “Take that wash basin away from me!  For I see written on it: ‘Hârûn [ar-Rashîd][4], the Commander of the Believers has died.’”

            Ahmad said: We looked into the matter, and found that Hârûn had indeed died that day.

            Muhammad ibn Ahmad b. Sa‘îd reported rom al-‘Abbâs ibn Hamza that Ahmad ibn Abî al- Hawârî related: “I heard Râbi‘a say: “Sometimes I see spirits (al-jinn) in the house coming and going.  At times I see houris (al-hûr al-‘ayn)[5], who veil themselves from me with their sleeves.” She said  this swearing with her hand upon her head.

            [Ahmad ibn Abî al- Hawârî] said: I heard Râbi‘â say: “I never look at blowing snow without thinking of the dispersal of the pages of destiny; I never look at a swarm of locust without thinking of the gathering of souls at the Resurrection; and I never hear the muezzin without thinking of the Caller of Souls on Judgment Day.”

            And on the same authority, Ahmad said: Once I called for Râbi‘a and she did not answer. After an hour had passed she answered me: “What prevented me from answering you was that my heart was filled with happiness from God Most High.  For this reason I did not answer you.”

 

 

XLII

Fâtima bint ‘Abdallâh known as Juwayriyya (The Little Slave)

           

            Fâtima was the companion of Abû Sa‘îd al-Kharrâz [of Baghdad].[6]  ‘Ali ibn Sa‘îd al-Muqri’ reported that Ahmad ibn al-Husayn al-Mâlikî heard Fâtima bint ‘Abdallâh, known as Juwariyya, the student (tilmîdha) of Abû Sa‘îd al-Kharrâz say:  “The first feeling of distress that befalls the Gnostic cuts him off from everything.  This is a sign of God’s consideration for them, for He purifies them of all worldly affairs through their distress.”

            Also based on [Ahmad ibn al-Husayn’s] authority she said, “I heard Abû Sa‘îd al-Kharrâz say: ‘It is in the nature of the lover’s (muhibb) relationship with his Master ,that when affection (mawadda) for Him is established in his consciousness (damîr), it purifies his heart for fondness (kalaf) toward Him, for infatuation (shaghaf) in his love (hubb) for Him, for delirium (hadhayân) because of his remembrance (dhikr) of Him, and prevents him from opening himself up to anything else.’”

            [Abû Sa‘îd al-Kharrâz also said]: “It is in the nature of one whose heart is touched by desire (shawq) that he forgets his destiny in this world and in the Hereafter, he loses control over himself, and, unlike Majnûn, he finds no satisfaction in service.  He becomes delirious, wasted, dazed, and confused in his infatuation for his Master.

            Also based on [Ibn al-Husayn al-Mâlikî’s] authority, Fâtima bint ‘Abdallâh said: I heard Abû Sa‘îd say: “It is in the nature of the gnostic (‘ârif) to be seen at times as infatuated and cut off from the world; he performs no action that is not for the sake of his Lord.  At other times, he can be seen among humankind, as if he is one of them.  However, his station is concealed from them; he has ceased all inner turmoil, and is attached in his spiritual motivation (himma) to the source of his ecstasy.”

 

XLVII

‘Â’isha the daughter of Abû ‘Uthmân Sa ‘îd b. Ismâ ‘îl al-Hîrî of Nishapûr

 

            Of all the children of Abû ‘Uthmân [al-Hîrî], ‘Â’isha was the most ascetic and scrupulous.  She was the best among them in her spiritual state and in conforming to the requirements of the moment.[7]  She was also known for her prayers being answered.

            I heard her daughter Umm Ahmad bint ‘Â’isha say: My mother said to me: “Oh daughter do not take pleasure in that which perishes, and do not anguish over that which vanishes.  Rather take pleasure in God, and be anxious about falling out of God’s favor.”

            I also heard her say: My mother said to me: “Commit yourself to good conduct (adab) both outwardly and inwardly; for whenever one transgresses the bounds of conduct outwardly, he is punished outwardly, and whenever one transgresses the bounds of conduct inwardly, he is punished inwardly.”

            [As-Sulamî] said: ‘Â’isha said: “When one feels lonely in his solitude, this is because of his lack of intimacy with his Lord.”

            She also said: “He who shows contempt for God’s slaves shows his lack of knowledge of the Master.  For he who loves the Craftsman glorifies in the Craftsman’s handiwork.”

            Shed died in the year 346/957-58.

 

 

LVI

Fâtima of Damascus

 

            Fatima was unique in her age. She used to rebuke the Sufi shaykhs.  I heard ‘Alî ibn Ahmad of Tarsus[8] say when Abû al-Hasan al-Mâlikî entered Damascus, he lectured at the Umayyad mosque of Damascus and spoke very well.  Fâtima attended his session and said to him: “Oh Abû al-Hasan!  You spoke very eloquently, and you have perfected the art of rhetoric.  Have you perfected the art of silence?”  Abû al-Hasan became silent, and did not utter a word after that.


[1] See also, Sifat as-Safwa Appendix section XIII below.  Râbi‘a bin Ismâ‘îl’s name has also been rendered as “Rayi‘a” (See Roded Women in Islamic Biographical Collections, 94).  A more probable alternative is Râbi‘a.  Râbi‘a was the name of one of the 2 branches of the “northern” or Qays Arabs of Syria, the region where Râbi‘a bin Ismâ‘îl lived.  The Râbi‘a allied themselves with the Qahtân or Yemeni Arabs against the other northern branch, the Mudar.   Râbi‘a and Qahtân were closely associated with the sedentary and urbanized people of Syria and Iraq and their members were often patrons of non-Arab Muslim converts.  Râbi‘a’s burial place is in Jerusalem, on the Mount of Olives next to the tomb of the female Christian saint Pelagia of Antioch.  Later writers have often confused her with Râbi‘a al-‘Adawiyya of Basra.

[2] Died in 230/845.

[3] Abû Ya‘qub Yûsuf ibn al-Husayn ar-Râzî (d. 304/916-17) was a disciple of Dhû an-Nûn al-Misrî (d. 245/859) and studied under Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241/855), the founder of the Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence.  He was a noted stylist in the Arabic language and a great traveler, visiting Iraq, Syria, Egypt.  See al-Isfahânî Hilyat al-awliyâ’ vol. 10. 238-43 and ibn al-Jawzî Sifat as-Safwa, vol. 4, 102-3.

[4] Harun al-Rashid the 5th ‘Abbasid caliph died in 193/809.

[5] The Arabic noun hûr rendered in English as “houris” is the plural of both ahwar (masc) and hawrâ’ (fem), which denote a person distinguished by hawar, intense whiteness of the eye and lustrous black of the iris.  In a more general sense hawar signifies whiteness, or as a moral attribute, purity.  Hence, the compound expression hûr al-‘ayn used in this passage and in the Qur’ân, signifies “pure beings” or “companions pure” that are pleasing to the eye.  ‘Ayn may also be understood as “the essence of the soul.”    Some early Qur’ân commentators such as al-Hasan alBasrî (d. 110/728) interpreted al- hûr al-‘ayn as meaning “the righteous among women.”  See for example Qur’ân 56:22-23: “And with them will be their companions pure, most beautiful of the eye, like unto pearls still hidden in their shells.”

[6] This information puts the probably date of Fâtima bint ‘Abdallâh’s death at the beginning of the 4th/10th century.

[7] As-Sulamî’s student, al-Qushayri (fl. 438/1046) defined “the moment” (al-waqt) as follows: “The Sufi is “the son of the moment” In other words he is only concerned with what concerns him in his present state, firmly maintaining what is required from him at the present moment.” (idem. Ar-Risâla, 55-56).  In the tradition given about ‘Â’isha bint Abî ‘Uthmân given above, as-Sulamî similarly links the mastery of the moment to the maintanence of one’s present state.  For a detailed description of this concept see Gerhard Böwering, “Ideas of time in Persian Sufism.” In Lewisohn,ed. Classical Persian Sufism, 199-233.

[8] D. 364/974-75.  Was a Sufi traditionalist who was a source both for as-Sulamî and Abû Nasr as-Sarrâj, Kitâb al-luma‘ fi’l-Tawassuf, ed. R. A. Nicholson (London, 1943) xxi.