Rabia earned the admiration of many men, but she rejected their proposals of marriage.
When the governor of Basra implored her to marry him, she said, "Only someone who exists can enter into marriage, but "I" do not exist. I don't belong to myself; I belong only to God."
"Please!" he said. "If you marry me, I'll give you all my wealth!"
"Even if you gave me all your wealth, what difference would that make?" replied Rabia. "How could I devote myself to you when I cannot turn from God for even as long as the blink of an eye?"
Inspired by: Sufi Women by Javad Nurbakshsh
Notes: This story is on p. 19 of the book. You can find out more about Rabia of Basra at Wikipedia.
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