Rabia basri husband

Female Sufi scholar and saint (died 801)

For the Pakistani politician, see Rabia Basri (politician).

Rābiʼa al-ʼAdawiyya al-Qaysiyya (Arabic: رابعة العدوية القيسية; c. 716 – 801 CE)^[1] or Rabia Basri was a poet, one of the earliest Sufi mystics and an influential religious figure from Iraq.^[2] She is regarded as one of the three preeminent Qalandars of the world.^[3]

Biography

Very little is known about the life of Rabiʿa, 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 name Qaysiyya refers to her tribe) lived in or around the city of Basra in southern 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

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Al-Adawiyah, Rabi?ah

BORN: c. 713 • Basra, Iraq

DIED: c. 801 • Basra, Iraq

Iraqi religious leader; poet; mystic

Rābiʾah al-Adawiyah was an eighth-century Muslim mystic, or a person concerned with religious mysteries. She is considered a saint of Islam, a virtuous and holy woman who was also able to perform miracles. Rābiʾah, a founding member of the branch of Islam called Sufism, established the principle of mystical love, or the pure love of Allah, as a path to knowing Allah. She rejected the notion that punishment or heavenly reward motivated religious devotion. Rābiʾah was also one of the most prominent early Sufi poets, leaving behind many verses and prayers that became part of the literature and oral tradition of Islam.

A Life of poverty

Rābiʾah was born about in 713 ce to the Al-Atik tribe of Qays clan and died, by most accounts, in 801. Her name means "fourth daughter" in Arabic. Other variations of her name include Rābiʾah al-Qaysiyya and Rābiʾah al Basri (Rābiʾah of Basra), after her hometown.

"If I adore You out of fear of Hell, burn me in Hell! / If I ad

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Rabi’a al-‘Adawiyya from Basra was one of the most important founders of the mystical element of Islam, known as Sufism. The stories about her life and teachings illustrate a woman free from many of the traditional constraints placed on women’s lives. In miracle stories such as this one, we see an essential element of Sufi thought: do not expect anything from God, but rather, recognize the larger greatness of the deity beyond your small existence.

Source: Helminski, Camille Adams. Women of Sufism: A Hidden Treasure. Boston: Shambala, 2003.

 

One day Rabi‘a and her serving-girl were getting ready to break a fast of several days. The serving-girl needed an onion and was about to go next door and borrow one, but Rabi‘a said: “Forty years ago I vowed never to ask for anything from anyone but God—we can do without onions.”

Just then a bird flew over, and dropped an onion into Rabi‘a’s frying pan, peeled and ready to fry.

“Interesting but not convincing,” she said. “Am I supposed to believe that God is an onion-vender? I mean, really.”

That day they fried their bread wit