These verses not only bring out the spiritual equality of the believers, men and women, but also describe most exquisitely those spiritual virtues whose cultivation is necessary for attaining the greatest spiritual reward.  It’s important to note that In Islam the union with the Divine is contingent upon love of the Prophet, who is the last spiritual monarch ruling over the earth.

The title of saint was bestowed upon women equally with men, and since Islam has no order of priesthood and no priestly caste, there was nothing to prevent a woman from reading the highest religious rank in the hierarchy of Muslim saints. From the first days of Islam, there is Khadija, the Prophet’s wife also known as Umm ul Momineen, mother of believers whose spiritual strength supported the Prophet in his mission.  Some theologians name Fatema, the Prophet's daughter as the first “qutb” or spiritual head of the Sufi fellowship.  Below the qutb were 4 “awtad” and next in rank were 40 ‘abdal’ or substitutes who are described as being the pivot of the foundation and support of the affairs of men.  Jami relates how someone was asked “How many are the Abdal?” and he answered “40 souls”.  When someone asked him why he didn’t say “40 men?” he replied “There have been women among them”.

So, from the earliest days of Islam where pious women were blessed with the company of the Prophet and led a spiritual life under his guidance (sahabiyyat) to the spiritual life of great female saints, female spirituality has adorned every century of Islamic history. A considerable number of women of the ninth and tenth centuries are mentioned in the Arabic and Persian sources for their extraordinary achievements in piety and mysticism as well as being traditionalists, poets or calligraphers. There is a feminine dimension of Islamic spirituality reflected in the doctrines concerning the nature of God, the wedding of the soul and spirit.  Forms of women manifest gentleness and the serene receptivity of the soul at peace with God.  In them God's own beauty reveals itself clearly as the image of the divine beloved.  The outward form of the world is not important.

Female spirituality is manifest in those women who follows a spiritual path and are guided by their love for God, which they express according to the Qur'anic revelation. Their adornment consists in the remembrance of God, and through  spiritual discipline they cultivate virtues of patience, piety, humility, charity, truthfulness, and absolute dependence on God’s Will (Tawakkul) - the beautiful truth is that God is ever close to those men and women who seek Him.

In the world of mysticism, a human being’s meaning or reality is his spirit while his body or outward form is the prison from which he must escape.  However one cannot function without the other. So it is said ” when a woman walks in the way of God like a man, she cannot be called a woman.”  According to the spiritual teachings of Maulana Jelaluddin Rumi:

“She is the radiance of God, she is not your beloved. She is the creator – you could say that she is not created”.  Rumi also said: “in view of the intellect, heaven is the man, and earth the woman – whatever one throws down, the other nurtures.

The Sufis loved to tell stories about female saints and spiritual women, so much of the history of female spirituality is told in folklore. There is a touching legend of Lalla Mimunah in the Maghreb. She was a poor black slave who asked the captain of a boat to teach her the ritual prayer, but she could not remember the formula correctly. To learn it once more, she ran behind the departing boat – walking on the water.. Her only prayer was: “Mimunah knows God and God knows Mimunah”. She became a saint greatly venerated in North Africa.

While male mysticism and Sufism is an established norm, the role of women sponsoring sufi activities should also be outlined.  It was in this field that pious wealthy women found an outlet for their energies and could do much good by offering facilities for dervish gatherings.  They found spiritual rewards in gathering of the mystics.  Many of these women went on to become revered saints. Anatolia can boast of a large number of small shrines where historical women are buried – noble and simple village women whose very names suggest sad stories.  The same is true in Iran but the area where women saints flourished most is probably Muslim India.

Motherhood is an extremely spiritual concept in Islam.  Esoterically the very process of pregnancy and birth is part of the Divine command.  One  scholar has likened the role of a mother with attributes similar to those of God.  While God is the creator, a mother gives birth to a life;  God provides sustenance to his people, a mother provides nourishment to child without being asked; God is merciful and forgiving the same way a mother is with her child, God forgives first and punishes last, a mother does the same.  In essence, a mother is the pivotal point in the circle of life, where all humanity is connected to the core - if she moves or is misplaced, the entire circle moves and if she is put out of sync, the circle is broken.

Histories of the lives of saints frequently reveal that their mothers played a vital role in leading them towards the spiritual path.  To cite an example, Sultan Bahu who is renowned for his spirituality, often mentioned his mother with the utmost reverence and firmly believed that his spiritual attainment was solely due to the efforts of his mother, who was a deeply 
spiritual woman. 

The fact that the first true Saint of Islam was a woman – the great lover Rabia al Adawiyya has helped shape the image of the ideal pious women who can be praised in glowing terms.  Rabia has been included in the rank of saints and mystics,  because God does not regard outward forms.  The root of the matter is not form, but intention. 

Rabia was born in a mud hut to a poor family in Basra so she is also called Rabia al Basri.  Rabia became a model of selfless love and introduced the concept of love of God in the somewhat austere teachings of her ascetic predecessors, addressing her yearning for Allah in beautiful verses.  She lived a simple life in poverty, but her hut served as a treasure house of spiritual wisdom, Blessings and Gods’ Mercy.

This is well reflected in the allegorical story of when a robber came to her hut and found nothing but a pitcher of water. As he was about to leave, Rabia said to him “if you are really a thief then do not leave without taking anything”.  The thief replied sarcastically “What is there to be taken?”  Rabia replied “O needy one, perform the ablution with the water in the pitcher, enter the prayer room and say two rakats of prayer.  Then leave after receiving something”.  The thief obeyed and when he stood for prayer, Rabia also prayed to the Almighty, “O Lord, this man has found nothing here. I have brought him to Thy door, bless him by Thy bounty and Grace.” In response to Rabia's appeal to the Hearer of Prayers, the thief felt spiritual absorption and joy and continued his prayers.  Early in the morning when Rabia entered the prayer room, she found him prostrate before the Almighty seeking repentance.  It is said of Rabia: If all women were like as the one we have mentioned

Then women would be preferred to men
For the feminine gender is no shame for the sun
Nor is the masculine gender an honour for the crescent moon. 

Finally, for those who criticize the injunctions of the shariah concerning women and the role of women in general in Islam (which I will address later today in detail). Such people do not understand the rights bestowed upon women in Islam.  The Prophet conferred on women a dignified status commensurable with their feminine role and responsibilities. Most important of all, the vistas of spiritual growth and development were fully opened to the female sex.  As a result, in the context of Islamic spirituality, once a woman strives in the spiritual life, she is able to gain access to all the possibilities of the Islamic tradition and to become, like a man, the vicegerent of God (Khalifat Allah) on earth.  

Let’s end with a prayer of Rabia al Adawiyya:

O God whatsoever thou hast apportioned to me of worldly things, do thou give that to thy enemies; and whatsoever thou hast apportioned to me in the world to come, give that to Thy friends – for Thou suffices for me.