The Beloved Other: Recognizing Divinity in Your Child

Central to Rabia's theology was encountering the Beloved in all creation. This concept invites parents to see their newborn not as an extension of themselves or as a project to shape, but as a complete being worthy of reverence. This perspective shifts parenting from controlling to witnessing, from prescriptive to responsive. Infants mirror the gaze they receive; when seen as sacred, they develop a stronger sense of inherent dignity. Rabia's spiritual practice of recognizing divine presence in the other offers protection against the common parental trap of projecting unfulfilled desires onto children. Instead, parents cultivate what Rabia embodied: genuine curiosity about who this person actually is. This recognition fosters authentic bonding and allows children to develop authentic selfhood rather than adapting to parental expectations.