Rābiʼa al-ʼAdawiyya al-Qaysiyya | |
|---|---|
 Depiction of Rabiʼagrinding grain from aPersian dictionary | |
| Born | between 714 and 718 CE |
| Died | 801 CE |
| Academic background | |
| Influences | Hasan of Basra |
| Academic work | |
| Era | |
| Main interests | Asceticism,divine love |
| Notable ideas | Divine love |
| Part ofa series on theYazidi religion |
| Yazidism |
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Main topics |
Rābiʼa al-ʼAdawiyya al-Qaysiyya (Arabic:رابعة العدوية القيسية;c. 716 – 801 CE)[1] orRabia Basri was apoet, one of the earliestSufi mystics and an influential religious figure from Iraq.[2] She is regarded as one of the three preeminentQalandars of the world.[3]
Very little is known about the life of Rabi‘a, notes Rkia Elaroui Cornell.
What historical information can be ascertained from the earliest sources on Rabi‘a? As stated above, there is very little except to confirm that a Muslim woman ascetic and teacher named Rabi‘a al-‘Adawiyya or Rabi‘a al-Qaysiyya (the name ‘Adawiyya refers to her clan and the nameQaysiyya refers to her tribe) lived in or around the city ofBasra insouthern Iraq in the eighth century CE. [...] The commonly accepted birth date of 717 CE and death date of 801 CE come from a much later period and the ultimate source of these dates is unclear.[4]
Cornell further notes that she was mentioned by two early Basran authors.[4] "Because of this, they were familiar with her reputation. This local reputation is the best empirical evidence we have that Rabi‘a actually existed."[4] She also writes, "To date, no written body of work has been linked conclusively to Rabi‘a al-‘Adawiyya."[4]
Despite this, narratives about Rabiʿa grew over the centuries, and a considerablehagiography developed.Attar of Nishapur, aSufi saint and poet who lived some four centuries later, recounted a now-famous story of her early life.[5] Many of her hagiographies depict her usingliterary or philosophical tropes where she, like her Christian counterparts, embodied idealized religious individuals.[4]
Often noted as having been the single most famous woman inIslam, Rabiʿa was renowned for her high virtue and piety. A devoted ascetic, when asked why she performed a thousand ritual prostrations both during the day and at night, she is said to have answered, "I desire no reward for it; I do it so that the Messenger of God, may God bless him and give him peace, will delight in it on the day of Resurrection and say to the prophets, 'Take note of what a woman of mycommunity has accomplished.'"[5]
Rabiʿa was described as being intense in her self-denial and devotion to God.[6] Explaining her refusal to lift her head toward the heavens (towards God) as an act of modesty, she's noted as having said: "Were the world the possession of a single man, it would not make him rich ... because it is passing away."[5]
According to Sufi accounts, she was the first to set forth the doctrine ofdivine love known asIshq[7] and is widely considered as being the most important of the early renunciants, a form of piety that would eventually be labelledSufism.[3]
Much of thepoetry attributed to her is of unknown origin.[4] There is no evidence in the historical archive that Rabia ever metHasan al-Basri; however, the following stories, which first appeared in Attar of Nishapur'sTazkirat al-Awliya, is a common trope in the modern period:[8] After a life of hardship, she spontaneously achieved a state ofself-realization. When asked by Hasan al-Basri how she discovered the secret, she responded by stating "you know of the how, but I know of the how-less."[9]
One of the manystories that surround her life is that she was freed fromslavery because her master saw her praying while surrounded by light, realized that she was a saint and feared for his life if he continued to keep her as aslave.[6]
Biographer Rkia Elaroui Cornell discovered four main characterizations of Rabia: Rabia the Teacher, Rabia the Ascetic, Rabia the Lover, and Rabia the Sufi.[10]
Rabia is often described as being anascetic, where "the ascetic attains the otherworldly not by rejecting the world but by treating it as unimportant. The ascetic avoids the World not because it is evil per se but because it is a distraction from God."[11]
In a Sufi narrative, Sufi leaderHasan al-Basri explained, "I passed one whole night and day with Rabi'a ... it never passed through my mind that I was a man nor did it occur to her that she was a woman... when I saw her I saw myself as bankrupt and Rabi'a as truly sincere."[12]
She decided to stay celibate in order to live life unlike other Muslim women of her time, and devote herself completely to God.[6] Among her most notable qualities besides her devotion to God were her humility and celibacy.[6] Living alone with divine love, she is adored by many for her religious passion and the example she set for the growing Muslim population.[6] However, her importance and legacy remain prominent through tales of her life, modern references, and her standing in Muslim culture, while no physical evidence was found of her, Rabia's story and poetry remain an inspiration to women and Muslim people today.[13][14]
The life of Rabia has been the subject of several motion pictures ofTurkish cinema. One of these films,Rabia, released in 1973, was directed byOsman F. Seden, andFatma Girik played the leading role of Rabia.[15]
Rabia, İlk Kadın Evliya (Rabia, The First Woman Saint) is another Turkish film on Rabia. It was also released in 1973 and was directed by Süreyya Duru, starringHülya Koçyiğit.[15]
The Indonesian song "Jika Surga dan Neraka Tak Pernah Ada" (transl. "If Heaven and Hell Never Existed") sung byAhmad Dhnani andChrisye on their 2004 albumSenyawa, is based on Rabia's quotes[16] about worshipping God out of love, not out of fear of punishment or desire for a reward.[17]
Rabia appears in 2025'sCivilization VII as a Great Person for the Abbasid civilization. When used on a building, +10% happiness is added to the settlement.[18]
Spanish musicianRosalía included the phrase "Ninguna mujer pretendió ser Dios" (transl. "No woman ever claimed to be God"), attributed to Rabia Basri, inside the physical release of her 2025 albumLux.[19] The full quote she refers to reads: "(...) women have never been so infatuated with themselves as men, nor have they ever claimed divinity."[20] In the album's 11th track "La Yugular" she references Rabia with Arabic lyrics that refer to Rabia's wish to burn down heaven and quench the fires of hell, saying she'd do that for the divine love she has for God, for no promises or threats. The song is a deeply personal tribute to Rabia and Rosalía's journey to finding the God that's "as close to her as her jugular vein", a reference to a passage in the Quran that says the same.
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Quotations related toRabia Basri at Wikiquote| Sheikh Adi lineage |
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