Legacy as Responsibility to Marginalized People

Rabia al-Adawiyya lived as a slave, a woman, and a person from the margins of Islamic society. Yet she became a spiritual teacher revered across centuries. Her life demonstrates that favoritism systematically excludes those already without power. When institutions favor the wealthy, the connected, the men, the born-insiders—as they almost always do—marginalized people bear the accumulated cost. Rabia's legacy is not just her teachings but her presence despite systemic exclusion. This teaches us that addressing favoritism is a justice issue: we must actively examine where our preferences align with existing power structures. Do we favor people who look like us, share our background, or come from privilege? The cost of this favoritism compounds across generations—entire communities denied opportunity, education, belonging, voice. Rabia's existence as a beloved teacher despite marginalization shows us the solution: institutions and communities must deliberately resist the pull of familiarity bias and actively include the excluded. Her legacy calls us to examine not just personal favoritism but systemic preferences that harm vulnerable people over time.