Rābia al-Adawiyya al-Qaysiyya (; 801 CE)
or Rabia Basri was a
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...
, one of the earliest
Sufi mystics and an influential religious figure from Iraq.
She is regarded as one of the three preeminent
Qalandars of the world.
Biography
Very little is known about the life of Rabiʿa, notes Rkia Elaroui Cornell.
Cornell further notes that she was mentioned by two early Basran authors.
[ "Because of this, they were familiar with her reputation. This local reputation is the best empirical evidence we have that Rabi‘a actually existed."][ She also writes, "To date, no written body of work has been linked conclusively to Rabi‘a al-‘Adawiyya."][
Despite this, narratives about Rabiʿa grew over the centuries, and a considerable ]hagiography
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...
developed. Attar of Nishapur
Faridoddin Abu Hamed Mohammad Attar Nishapuri ( – c. 1221; ), better known by his pen-names Faridoddin () and ʿAttar of Nishapur (, Attar means apothecary), was a poet, theoretician of Sufism, and hagiographer from Nishapur who had an immense ...
, a Sufi
Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism.
Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
saint and poet who lived some four centuries later, recounted a now-famous story of her early life. Many of her hagiographies depict her using literary or philosophical tropes where she, like her Christian counterparts, embodied idealized religious individuals.[
]
Philosophy and religious contributions
Often noted as having been the single most famous women in Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, 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 my community
A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
has accomplished.'"
Rabiʿa was described as being intense in her self-denial and devotion to God. 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."
According to Sufi accounts, she was the first to set forth the doctrine of divine love
Love of God can mean either love for God or love by God. Love for God (''philotheia'') is associated with the concepts of worship, and devotions towards God.
The Greek term ''theophilia'' means the love or favour of God, and ''theophilos'' me ...
known as ''Ishq
''Ishq'' () is an Arabic word meaning 'love' or 'passion', also widely used in other languages of the Muslim world and the Indian subcontinent.
The word ''ishq'' does not appear in the central religious text of Islam, the Quran, which instead u ...
'' and is widely considered as being the most important of the early renunciants, a form of piety that would eventually be labelled Sufism
Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism.
Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
.
Poetry and stories
Much of the poetry
Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...
attributed to her is of unknown origin. There is no evidence in the historical archive that Rabia ever met Hasan al-Basri
Abi Sa'id al-Hasan ibn Yasar al-Basri, often referred to as al-Hasan al-Basri, was an ancient Muslim preacher, ascetic, theologian, exegete, scholar, and judge.
Born in Medina in 642,Mourad, Suleiman A., “al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī”, in: ''Encyc ...
; however, the following stories, which first appeared in Attar of Nishapur's '' Tazkirat al-Awliya'', is a common trope in the modern period: After a life of hardship, she spontaneously achieved a state of self-realization
Self-realization is a term used in Western philosophy, psychology, and spirituality; and in Indian religions. In the Western understanding, it is the "fulfillment by oneself of the possibilities of one's character or personality" (see also ...
. 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."
One of the many stories that surround her life is that she was freed from slavery
Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
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 a slave
Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
.[Barbara Lois Helms, ''Rabi'a as Mystic, Muslim and Woman'']
Biographer Rkia Elaroui Cornell discovered four main characterizations of Rabia: Rabia the Teacher, Rabia the Ascetic, Rabia the Lover, and Rabia the Sufi.
Asceticism
Rabia is often described as being an ascetic
Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their pra ...
, 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."
Legacy
In a Sufi narrative, Sufi leader Hasan al-Basri
Abi Sa'id al-Hasan ibn Yasar al-Basri, often referred to as al-Hasan al-Basri, was an ancient Muslim preacher, ascetic, theologian, exegete, scholar, and judge.
Born in Medina in 642,Mourad, Suleiman A., “al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī”, in: ''Encyc ...
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."
She decided to stay celibate in order to live life unlike other Muslim women of her time, and devote herself completely to God. Among her most notable qualities besides her devotion to God were her humility and celibacy. Living alone with divine love, she is adored by many for her religious passion and the example she set for the growing Muslim population. 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.
In popular culture
The life of Rabia has been the subject of several motion pictures of Turkish cinema
Cinema of Turkey or Turkish cinema (also formerly known as ''Yeşilçam'', which literally means ''Green Pine'' in Turkish language, Turkish), () or Türk sineması refers to the Turkish film industry, film art and industry. It is an importa ...
. One of these films, ''Rabia'', released in 1973, was directed by Osman F. Seden, and Fatma Girik played the leading role of Rabia.
''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, starring Hülya Koçyiğit
Hülya Koçyiğit (born 12 December 1947) is a Turkish actress. A prominent female lead in the Turkish cinema, she received numerous awards at international film festivals, including the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival. Altogether, she ha ...
.
The Indonesian song "Jika Surga dan Neraka Tak Pernah Ada" sung by Ahmad Dhani and Chrisye
Hajji Chrismansyah Rahadi (; born Christian Rahadi ; 16 September 1949 – 30 March 2007), better known by his stage name Chrisye (), was an Indonesian progressive pop singer and songwriter. In 2011, ''Rolling Stone Indonesia'' declared him the ...
on their 2004 album ''Senyawa'', is based on Rabia's quotes about worshipping God out of love, not out of fear of punishment or desire for a reward.
Further reading
* Kayaalp, Pinar, "Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya", in ''Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God'' (2 vols.), edited by C. Fitzpatrick and A. Walker, Santa Barbara, ABC-CLIO, 2014, Vol. II, pp. 511–512;
* Mohammad, Shababulqadri ''Tazkirah e Hazrat Rabia Basri,'' Mushtaq Book Corner, 2008
* Rkia Elaroui Cornell, ''Rabia From Narrative to Myth The Many Faces of Islam's Most Famous Woman Saint, Rabia al-Adawiyya'' (Oneworld: London, 2019)
See also
* Zawiyat al-'Adawiyya, Jerusalema tomb venerated as Rabia's
* Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque, Cairo
* List of Sufis
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rabia of Basra
710s births
801 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
8th-century Arab people
8th-century women writers
8th-century Arabic-language writers
Muslim female saints
Sunni Sufis
Sufi saints
Muslim ascetics
Iraqi philosophers
8th-century Arabic-language poets
Iraqi women writers
Iraqi writers
Medieval Islamic philosophers
People from Basra
Sufi philosophy
Sufi poets
Philosophers from the Abbasid Caliphate
Iraqi Sufi saints
Women philosophers
Arabic-language women poets
8th-century philosophers
Female Sufi mystics
Sufi mystics
9th-century Arabic-language writers
Women poets from the Umayyad Caliphate
Poets from the Umayyad Caliphate
8th-century women from the Abbasid Caliphate
8th-century people from the Umayyad Caliphate
8th-century people from the Abbasid Caliphate
Yazidi holy figures