The Real Business why we are here

My riches consist not in the extent of my possessions, but in the fewness of my wants
—J. Brotherton

A broken jug. An old rush mat. A brick for a pillow. Such were the possessions of Rabi’ah Adawiyah. A person would grieve at such deprivation, but Rabi’ah would accept nothing more. Her poverty was self-chosen, a vehicle for a message proclaiming complete submission and dependence on the God she served.

To Rabi’ah, poverty was not the enemy. She was asserting another scale of values. Austerity and simplicity had marked the life of the Prophet s.a.w and his companions. Muhammad s.a.w himself had just one cushion in his room, stuffed with palm leaves, and gave it to his guests while he sat on the floor.

For Rabi’ah, the real business of life was a total concentration on the love of God. Gratitude, so strong a note in her life, must be for the Giver, not the gift. She rebuffed anything that could distract her, and her refusal of any form of comfort is ascribed to this motive. One day she was persuaded to replace the rags she wore, and sent a servant to buy a piece of cloth. The man turned round as he went and asked, “What colour?”. This was too much for Rabi’ah, and so she snatched back the dirhams and threw them in the Tigris. “How did colour come into the business?” she said.