Do You Know ‘Rabia of Delhi’—Bibi Fatima Sam Popularly Known as “Dilli Ki Rabia”?

By Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi, New Age Islam 22 July 2024 What Kind of Heart Is That Which Is Not Familiar with The Ecstasy and Pleasures of Divine Love? And What Sort of Life Is a Life That Does Not Benefit the Creations of God? Bibi Fatima Sam (RA) ------ In every era, some special servants of God—whom I call the "Divine Lovers"—detached from the mundane worldly affairs, baser and selfish instincts, divorced from the prevailing political turmoil, removed from the hue and cry of competitive social life and far away from materialistic indulgences, are deeply engaged in unconditional devotional love and worship of the Beloved Divine Creator, while at the same time caring for all the Creations. Among them, the greatest example among Delhi's Chishti Sufi Sages is our very own beloved, and Beloved of the Divine (Mahbub-e-Ilahi) Khwaja Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya (may Allah be pleased with him). It is a piece of common knowledge now that he is considered the Spiritual Sultan of Delhi. But not many know about "Rabia of Delhi" Bibi Fatima Sam RA popularly known as "Dilli Ki Rabia". Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya himself used to revere her as his spiritual mentor and Baba Fariduddin Ganj Shakkar as his "spiritual sister". Khwaja Naseeruddin Mahmood Chiragh Dilli (also called Chiragh Dehlvi) narrates that Hazrat Nizamuddin Awliya (RA) would undertake pilgrimages to the tomb of Bibi Fatima Sam, which is near the enclosure of a pool. Bibi Fatima Sam originally hailed from a place on the borders between Iraq and Iran. But her spiritual search and an inner urge eventually settled down in Delhi—the city of 22 great Sufi saints, Awliya and Khwajgaan. Today, everyone considers the visitation of Dargah Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya as a blessing for him, at least once a month if he/she is in Delhi. But imagine the visitation of the great woman Sufi's shrine which witnessed the regular attendance and blessed presence of even the Beloved of Divine (Mahbub-e-Ilahi) himself! He would consider visiting Bibi Fatima Sam as the unveiling of thousands of veils for his augmentation of inner knowledge, enlightenment, and an eternal reward for himself. Now it is not difficult to see how high this mystic Muslim woman's place was estimated in the eyes of established Awliya like Baba Farid and his close disciples in the Chishtiyya lineage. This is the tale of the great Sufi woman of her time who was venerated by many male and female saints as Murshida (spiritual guide or master), Abida (great devotee and worshipper), Zahida (ascetic), and Sufi Sha'ira (a mystic poetess) and above all, the "Rabia of her time" originally named Hazrat Bibi Fatima Sam (may Allah have mercy on her). She is also known as 'Rabia of Delhi' and Rabia Dehlvi. A deep, simple and sober woman mystic, Bibi never flaunted her saintliness. Therefore, she was endeared by many saints including Baba Farid and his brother Khwaja Mutawakkil and Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia. All of them held her in high esteem. During the dynasty of Sultan Iltutmish, numerous Sufis, poets, scholars and Muslim mystics from Arabia and Central Asia gathered in Delhi in great numbers. Devotees thronged to them. Many of them had great ties with the Sultan. In the historic city of Delhi in that period, a dervish woman with the least craving for worldly power or limelight was silently and discreetly emerging among them. With a lofty position that was beyond their comprehension, her spiritual intellect and Firasat-e-Mo'mina (insight of a true believer) were unmatched and unprecedented. Sitting often on her prayer mat, with an inner flame of divine love, she was inseparably connected to her only Almighty Lord, with complete detachment from the Sultan and politics. One thing had settled in her heart that life was incomplete without igniting one's mind and soul with Ishq-e-Ilahi (Divine Love). With the light and Noor of this certitude (Ilm-Ul-Yaqeen), she sought, spoke and spread the same truth to the last breath of her God-conscious life. It never happened that the moon of a new month was seen, and the dervish woman was not found fasting. A maid used to keep two loaves of bread and a cup of water near her Musalla/prayer mat at sunset. But the pain of seeing the poor all around her would not allow her to feed herself if even a single person slept hungry in her neighbourhood. And when the bread sent by Bibi Fatima Sam would reach another dervish in the vicinity of her Khanqah, he would look up at heaven and invoke: O Allah the Almighty! Bestow the light (Noor) and intellect (Aql) like this woman dervish possess, to our emperor so that he may also be aware of the condition of the poor like us. Then he would smile and say: “Alas! The sultans do not possess that inward cleanliness; by which they may be acquainted with our condition”. From this spiritual ambiance and blissful atmosphere in Delhi of those days, which was created by Baba Farid, Bibi Fatima Sam, Hazrat Nizamuddin Awliya and their Chishti caliphs, a garden of spirituality, sincerity, and purity of heart was blossoming and flourishing in every corner of the city. Late Sadia Dehlvi, an acclaimed author on Delhi’s Sufi saints notes in her book “The Sufi Courtyard: Dargahs of Delhi”: Bibi Fatima Sam (who died on 17 Shaban 644 Hijri/1246 AD) is called the Rabia of Delhi, after Rabia of Basra, the famous mystic of the eighth century. Renowned writer and historian Rana Safvi, author of “Where Stones Speak – The Delhi Trilogy” and translator of “City of my Heart” says: “Not much is known about Bibi Fatima Sam except that she was the adopted sister of Baba Farid and her Dargah in midst of the residential area of Kakanagar is an oasis of peace”. Bibi Fatima Sam reposed great faith in Hazrat Najeebuddin Mutawakkil—a brother of Baba Farid Ganj Shakkar and a great saint of the era, she writes. Mutawakkil treated Fatima Sam as his sister. When there was nothing in the house to eat, it was Bibi Fatima who used to send him some bread. Rana Safvi recounts some related stories in her blog which is a repository of her writings especially on Delhi’s cultural heritage and the city’s famous Sufi mystics. She tells us an enchanting account of her visit to the tomb of Bibi Fatima Sam: “The Mutawalli (custodian) of the Dargah Bibi Fatima Sam very patiently answered all my questions about the Bibi. I saw a few people praying there and I too wanted to pray. I was a bit apprehensive as there was only one room with the main shrine and most Mutawallis (shrine custodians) have reservations about women. He very politely told me to pray in the corner of the room hidden from view by the shrine so I would not be disturbed. I am glad that at least in a Dargah of a lady, ladies are respected and treated at par.” This writer also made several visits to the calm and composed shrine of the Bibi which exhumes serenity and solace in Delhi's Kaka Nagar. Despite all her regular invocations, daily prayers, Ibadat and Riyazat, the exceptional eminence of this woman mystic was that flowing Persian poetry would come to her naturally. She was a Sufi poet par excellence. Rhymes filled with Ishq-e-Elahi and devotional love for God would bring tears to all those sitting in her divine presence when she would recite some of her couplets in extempore. Look at his nuanced piece from her Persian poetry: ہم عِشق طلب کنی، وہم جَاں خواہی ہَر دو طلبی وَلے میسّر نہ شود Translation: You ask for divine love and at the same safety of your life, These two desires cannot be achieved together! Tales of the great spiritual place and prominence of this first saint of Delhi—Bibi Fatima Sam, also known as Rabia Dehlvi or " Dilli Ki Rabi’a" are also recorded in some Sufi discourses and documents. What is most worth mentioning is that Hazrat Baba Farid used to say that "the worship of this single woman is equal to ten perfect saintly men (Awliya-e-Kamilin)." According to Hazrat Amir Khurd Kirmani R.A: " At the beginning of the 14th century AD, it was a sign of her overwhelming acceptance that the Dargah of Hazrat Bibi Fatima Sam (Rahmatullah Alaiha) was seen as the Qiblah of all godly men." The Dargah of Bibi Fatima Sam (r.a) is located in Kaka Nagar near Khan Market in Delhi. The biography of Bibi Fatima remains rather undiscovered and her life is not detailed. But from what is recorded about her in oral transmissions among the Awliya of Delhi, one can easily reckon her lofty spiritual position and unwavering passion for serving God and Mankind. In fact, not only among the Sufi women but also godly men and Awliya of early times, her persona was a beautiful confluence of Khidmat (social service and humanitarian work) as well as Ibadat (servitude to God), which was difficult to find an example of. She was frequently mentioned not just in the Khankas of Delhi. Rather, her fame spread far and wide from Ajodahan to Gulbarga—where Sufi saints used to gather. If the life and legacy of Delhi’s Rabia are summed up in two sentences, it goes in her own words as follows: “The saints will cast away both material and spiritual blessings to give a piece of bread or a drink of water to someone in need. This state is something one cannot obtain by one hundred thousand fasts and prayers.” ------ A Regular Columnist with Newageislam.com, Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi is an Indo-Islamic scholar, Sufi poet and English-Arabic-Urdu-Hindi writer with a background in a leading Sufi Islamic seminary in India. He is currently serving as Head of International Affairs at Voice for Peace & Justice, Jammu & Kashmir. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islamic-personalities/rabia-delhi-bibi-fatima-sam-dilli-rabia/d/132757 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism