Rabia al-Basri (Rabia al- Adawiyya): I have two ways of loving You:

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I have two ways of loving You:

by Rabia al-Basri (Rabia al- Adawiyya)
(717 - 801) Timeline

English version by
Charles Upton

Original Language
Persian/Farsi

I have two ways of loving You:
A selfish one
And another way that is worthy of You.
In my selfish love, I remember You and You alone.
In that other love, You lift the veil
And let me feast my eyes on Your Living Face.

-- from Doorkeeper of the Heart: Versions of Rabia, Translated by Charles Upton

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/ Photo by Pink Sherbet Photography /

Themes

Lover and Beloved

Recommended Books

	Doorkeeper of the Heart: Versions of Rabia, Translated by Charles Upton
	Early Islamic Mysticism: Sufi, Quran, Miraj, Poetic and Theological Writings (Classics of Western Spirituality), by Michael A. Sells
	First Among Sufis: The Life and Thought of Rabia Al-Adawiyya, the Woman Saint of Basra, by Widad El Sakkakini
	Islamic Mystical Poetry: Sufi Verse from the Early Mystics to Rumi, Translated by Mahmood Jamal
	Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West, Translated by Daniel Ladinsky

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This brief poem by Rabia reminds us that simply thinking of the Divine is not enough, because in doing so we still retain ourselves. The busy mind perpetuates itself in thought while telling itself it is virtuously thinking of holy things. No, unselfish love of God is allowing ourselves to be completely vulnerable, hiding nothing, withholding nothing. In doing so, we allow the eternal presence to "lift the veil" and see us truly, intimately, as we are. And in being seen, we finally see. We perceive the Divine Face everywhere, and we ourselves are lost in that vision.

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