Riḍā
Definition
Rida is the station beyond patience — whereas sabr involves an inner struggle against grief or resistance, rida is the state in which that struggle has dissolved. The one who has reached rida does not merely bear what God has decreed; they genuinely prefer it, because they have come to trust so completely in divine wisdom that the distinction between what they would have chosen and what God chose has ceased to matter. Al-Ghazali considers rida one of the highest stations on the spiritual path, not easily attained and impossible to fake. It is the crown of sabr — what patience becomes when it has been practiced long enough to transform the heart's very orientation toward difficulty.
As understood in the classical tradition of Imam al-Ghazali and the scholars of his school.
How the scholars use Riḍā.
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"be sent shackled to the court. They gathered at my house, and Aziz accused Shams al-Din of several grievances, one being that Shams' servant Rida al-Multani stayed in the mentioned Aziz's keeper's house, consumed wine, and stole 5,000 dinars. I inquired Rida about this. He said he had not drunk wine since leaving Multan eight years ago. I asked, did you drink there? He said yes, so I ordered him to be flogged 80 lashes and imprisoned based on the charge and evidence against him, and I departed from Amruha. My absence lasted about two months. I would slaughter a cow for my companions each day. I left my men to collect the grain sent to Aziz, load it on 30,000 villagers'"
— Ibn Battuta, Volume Two: From India to the Lands of the West
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"upon him, was carried by a man from Aslam named Aus ibn Hujur on a camel called Ibn al-Rida to Medina, accompanied by a boy named Masud ibn Hunayda. They then set out from Al-Arj, taking the Thaniyat al-A'ir to the right of the road. It is said that they descended into the Valley of Rim and arrived in Kuba, to the tribe of Amr ibn Auf, twelve nights into the month of Rabi al-Awwal on a Monday when the sun was high."
— Ibn Kathir, Volume 3 — The Sīrah: From the First Revelation to Badr
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"Regarding the prohibitions of Hajj and Umrah, they are six: First, wearing garments like a shirt, trousers, shoes, and a turban. Instead, one should wear an izar, a rida, and sandals. If sandals are unavailable, any footwear is acceptable. If an izar is unavailable, trousers may be worn. A belt and taking shade in a tent are permissible, but the head should not be covered, as ihram applies to the head."
— Imam al-Ghazali, Book 7: The Mysteries of Pilgrimage
Appears in
2 books in the library
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