At a glance
- Roles
- mystic
- Era
- The Early Abbasid Caliphate
- Region
- Levant & Iraq
In space
Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph
Place in the story
Sunni (transmitted)
Roles are dated and sourced; the museum describes the act and attributes the judgement.
Summary
Abda, sister of Abu Sulayman al-Darani, is among the women ascetics of Syria in Sifat al-Safwa (no. 822). 1 Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami records that Abu Sulayman had two sisters, Abda and Amina, who both stood very high in intelligence and religion. 1
A bridge over Hell
Ibn al-Jawzi relates from Abu Sulayman that he described to his sister Abda one of the bridges over Hell, and she remained a day and a night in a single cry that did not stop; it then left her, but whenever it was mentioned she cried out. Asked what her cry was, he said she pictured herself on the bridge as it tipped her over. 1
Poverty and contentment
Ahmad ibn Abi al-Hawari relates Abu Sulayman's words: "I heard my sister say: the poor are all dead, except those whom God brings to life with the dignity of contentment and acceptance of their poverty." 1
For young visitors
Abda was the sister of the ascetic scholar Abu Sulayman; she used to say that a poor person content with what he has lives an honourable life.
Connections
- Lived in
- Damascus
- Sibling of
- Abu Sulayman al-Darani
People and things also explored
Ahmad ibn Abi al-Hawari· Abu Sulayman al-Darani· Rabi'a bint Isma'il· Umm Harun of Damascus· Damascus· Abd al-Wahid ibn Zayd· Abu Muslim al-Khawlani· Aisha bint Ibrahim ibn Khalil al-Ba'labakkiyya (Ibnat al-Shara'ihi)
Sources
- Sifat al-Safwa — Ibn al-Jawzi (ed. Khalid Mustafa Tartusi, Dar al-Kitab al-Arabi, Beirut 1433/2012) , p.858
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Abda, sister of Abu Sulayman al-Darani”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/person/abda-sister-of-abu-sulayman-al-darani/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-04.
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