Rab'ia al-Adawiyya (Iraq,
717-801 C.E.)
Rab'ia was
an eighth century Sufi saint who set forth the doctrine of "Divine
Love." Rab'ia was born into a poor family, orphaned at a young age and was
eventually sold into slavery. One night, while her owner witnessed her bowing
in prayer, a lamp hung above her head without support, so he freed her. When asked why she walked down the street with a bucket of water
in one hand and a lit candle in the other, she replied, "I want to set
fire to heaven with this flame and put out the fire of hell with this water so
that people will cease to worship GOD for fear of hell or for temptation of heaven.
One must love GOD as GOD is Love." She is widely considered to be the most
important of the early Sufi poets.
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