| Rābia al-Adawiyya al-Qaysiyya | |
| Birth Date: | between 714 and 718 CE |
| Death Date: | 801 CE |
| Main Interests: | Sufism, Asceticism, Divine love |
| Era: | |
| Notable Ideas: | Divine love |
| Influences: | Hasan of Basra |
Rābia al-Adawiyya al-Qaysiyya (Arabic: رابعة العدوية القيسية; 801 CE)[1] was an Arab Muslim saint, one of the earliest Sufi mystics and an influential religious figure.[2] She is known in some parts of the world as Hazrat Rabia Basri, Rabia Al Basri or simply Rabia Basri.
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 developed. Attar of Nishapur, a Sufi saint and poet who lived some four centuries later, recounted a now famous story of her early life.[3] Many of her hagiographies depict her using literary or philosophical tropes where she, like her Christian counterparts, embodied idealised religious individuals.
Often noted as having been the single most famous and influential renunciant women in Islam, 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 has accomplished.'"[3]
Rabiʿa was described intense in her self-denial and devotion to God. As an explanation of her refusal to lift her head toward the heavens (to God) as an act of modesty, she used to say: "Were the world the possession of a single man, it would not make him rich ... because it is passing away."[3]
According to Sufi accounts, she was the first to set forth the doctrine of divine love known as Ishq[4] and is widely considered being the most important of the early renunciants, a form of piety that would eventually be labelled Sufism.[5]
Much of the poetry that is attributed to her is of unknown origin. There is no evidence in the historical archive that Rabia ever met Hasan al-Basri; however, the following stories, which first appeared in Attar of Nishapur's Tazkirat al-Awliya, is a common trope in the modern period:[6] After a life of hardship, she spontaneously achieved a state of self-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."[7]
One of the many stories that surround her life is that she was freed from slavery 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.[8]
Biographer Rkia Elaroui Cornell discovered for main characterizations of Rabia: Rabia the Teacher, Rabia the Ascetic, Rabia the Lover, and Rabia the Sufi.[9]
Rabia is often described as being an ascetic, 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."[10]
In a Sufi narrative, Sufi leader Hasan 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."[11]
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.[12]
Dilras Banu Begum (1622 - 1657) was the first wife and chief consort of Emperor Aurangzeb, the sixth Mughal emperor. She was given the posthumous title Rabia-ud-Daurani ("Rabia of the Age") in her honour.[13] [14]
The life of Rabia has been the subject of several motion pictures of Turkish cinema. 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.[15]
The Indonesian song "Jika Surga dan Neraka Tak Pernah Ada" sung by Ahmad Dhani and Chrisye on their 2004 album Senyawa, 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]