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J:AF

Rabia al-Adawiyya (Rabia al-Basriyya,

Rabia al-Qaysiyya) (ca. 717–801) legendary

female Muslim mystic and saint, considered to be one

of the first Sufis

What is known about Rabia al-Adawiyya is culled

from many different hagiographic sources span-

ning several centuries, and it is not easy to sepa-

rate fact from legend. Indeed, Rabia’s legend has

developed over time, but she is most famous for

her ascetic lifestyle, weeping over her separation

from God, for whom she developed a profound

love.

Born in Basra during the Abbasid era, she was

most likely influenced by her socioreligious milieu.

Basra housed a school for Women ascetics at a time

when an impulse for asceticism was increasing.

Basra was also the home of the renowned ascetic

al-hasan al-basri (642–728), with whom Rabia

was often associated in legend, although the two

probably never met. However, there is no reason

to doubt the accounts of her contemporary al-

Jahiz (d. 868) regarding her association with other

female mystics and her ascetic lifestyle. According

to some sources, Rabia was a slave of the al-Atik

clan until freed by her master when he recognized

her great spiritual attainment. She then dedicated

her life to the continuous worship of God.

It is interesting to note the different ways in

which Rabia’s figure has been constructed and

reinterpreted over the centuries, as those who

told her stories shaped and reshaped her legacy.

For example, al-Jahiz’s stories of Rabia simply

portrayed a self-denying ascetic from his com-

munity, who was known for refusing all worldly

things. Her love was for God alone; she would

not marry, nor let the promise of paradise or

fear of the Fire distract her from him. Approxi-

mately four hundred years later the Persian mystic

Farid al-Din Attar depicted Rabia as possessing

miraculous powers and a biting wit, in addition

to her deep piety. In one story he described her

as capable of flying in the sky on her carpet, and

in another as illuminating the darkness with her

fingers, which one night shone like lanterns.

When she was making a pilgrimage to mecca,

the kaaba miraculously came to her. She was also

often credited for her sarcastic rebukes of male

disciples for being too worldly. A 1963 Egyptian

film portrayed her as a beautiful young slave girl

forced to perform Oriental dances by her master,

but she then discovered God and dedicated her

life to preaching and prayer. The famed Egyptian

vocalist Umm kUlthoUm (d. 1975) recorded the

songs for this movie. More recently, the Egyptian

R