King Abdullah II of Jordan at the UN
[ by Charles Cameron — and the thought of Rabia of Basra ]
.
In a variant on these words, which I’ve quoted here from Asra Nomani‘s Milestones for a Spiritual Jihad, Rabia also wrote this poem, translated here by Charles Upton:
O my Lord,
if I worship you
from fear of hell, burn me in hell.If I worship you
from hope of Paradise, bar me from its gates.But if I worship you
for yourself alone, grant me then the beauty of your Face.
