He does not refuse sustenance to the one who speaks ill of Him. How then could He refuse sustenance to the one whose soul is over flowing with love for Him?
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes divine generosity and love, suggesting that if God provides for those who speak negatively of Him, He certainly provides for those who love Him deeply.
Rabia Basri's quote illustrates the boundless nature of divine love and generosity. It contrasts the treatment of those who speak ill of God with that of those who express love and devotion. The underlying message highlights that true sustenance—be it spiritual or material—is given freely and abundantly to those who genuinely love God, reinforcing the idea that love is a powerful and transformative force in our relationship with the divine.
In practice
In a sermon about unconditional love and generosity, this quote could serve as a powerful illustration.
Your prayers are your light; _x000D_ _x000D_ Your devotion is your strength;_x000D_ _x000D_ Sleep is the enemy of both. _x000D_ _x000D_ Your life is the only opportunity that life can give you._x000D_ _x000D_ If you ignore it, if you waste it,_x000D_ _x000D_ You will only turn to dust.
O Beloved of Hearts, I beseech only You. Have pity this day on those who turn to You. My Hope, my Rest, my Delight, this heart can love none other but You.
True devotion is for itself: not to desire heaven nor to fear hell.
Great doubt will eventually lead to great awakening.
O God! if I worship Thee in fear of Hell, burn me in Hell; and if I worship Thee in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise; but if I worship Thee for Thine own sake, withhold not thine everlasting beauty.
How many gifts and graces You have given me! How many favors You have fed me from your hand! I look for your love in all directions, then suddenly its blessing burns in me.
What power is it which mounts my love so high, that makes me see, and cannot feed mine eye
The love that you withhold is the pain that you carry.
Today at Pearl Harbor, veterans are gathering to pay tribute to the young men they remember who never escaped the sunken ships. And over the years, some Pearl Harbor veterans have made a last request. They ask that their ashes be brought down and placed inside the USS Arizona. After the long lives given them, they wanted to rest besides the best men they ever knew. Such loyalty and love remain the greatest strength of the United States Navy.
Perhaps you can feel if you can’t hear,” was her fancy. “Perhaps kind thoughts reach people somehow, even through windows and doors and walls. Perhaps you feel a little warm and comforted, and don’t know why, when I am standing here in the cold and hoping you will get well and happy again.
I do not love you-except because I love you; I go from loving to not loving you, from waiting to not waiting for you my heart moves from the cold into the fire.
How will a person know, Selina, when the soul that has the affinity with hers is near it?" She answered, "She will know. Does she look for air, before she breathes it? This love will be guided to her; and when it comes, she will know. And she will do anything to keep that love about her, then. Because to lose it will be like a death to her.
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