Rābiʿa al-ʿAdawiyya was a Muslim mystic and poet of the 8th century, born in Basra around 717. A freed slave, she devoted her life to God and became one of the founding figures of Sufism. She introduced the concept of disinterested divine love — loving God not out of fear or hope of reward, but for His own sake.
Rābiʿa al-ʿAdawiyya(vers 717 — 801)
Rābiʿa al-ʿAdawiyya
Califat abbasside
8 min read
Frequently asked questions
Famous Quotes
« O my God, if I worship You out of fear of Hell, burn me in Hell; if I worship You in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise; but if I worship You for Your own sake, do not withhold Your eternal beauty from me.»
Key Facts
- Born around 717 in Basra (present-day Iraq) into a poor family; sold into slavery as a child before being freed.
- Renounced marriage and all material possessions to devote herself entirely to a contemplative life and the love of God.
- Introduced into Sufi thought the concept of maḥabba — pure and disinterested love of God, with no expectation of reward or fear of punishment.
- Attracted many disciples and became a recognized spiritual guide in her own lifetime, an exceptional achievement for a woman of her era.
- Died around 801 in Jerusalem or Basra; her tomb is a place of pilgrimage. She remains a major reference throughout the later Sufi tradition.
Works & Achievements
Her most celebrated prayer, transmitted orally: 'O God, if I worship You out of fear of Hell, burn me in Hell. If I worship You in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise. But if I worship You for Your own sake, do not withhold from me Your eternal beauty.' This text is the foundation of Sufi theology of love.
A body of Arabic poems is attributed to her, expressing the longing for divine union, yearning for God, and the burning ache of spiritual love. These verses profoundly influenced all subsequent mystical poetry, from Rūmī to Ibn ʿArabī.
Maxims and dialogues attributed to Rābiʿa were compiled by her disciples and handed down through the great Sufi anthologies. These sayings are an essential source for understanding the spirituality of early Islam.
Her intimate nighttime prayers addressed to God, as reported by her disciples, form a literary genre in their own right within Islamic mysticism. They bear witness to a personal and ardent relationship with the divine, without intermediary.
Anecdotes
One day, passersby saw Rābiʿa running through the streets of Basra, carrying a lit torch in one hand and a bucket of water in the other. When asked what she was doing, she replied that she wanted to set Paradise on fire and extinguish Hell, so that people would stop worshipping God out of self-interest and learn to love Him for His own sake — with no hope of reward and no fear of punishment.
Several prominent men of Basra sought Rābiʿa's hand in marriage, including the city's governor. She refused them all, explaining that she belonged entirely to God, and that marriage would only make sense if a husband could promise to live with her forever. She devoted her entire life to prayer and contemplation, renouncing all worldly attachments.
At night, Rābiʿa would keep vigil until dawn in prayer and tears. It is said that she implored God in these words: 'O my Lord, if I worship You out of fear of Hell, cast me into Hell. If I worship You in hope of Paradise, deny me Paradise. But if I worship You for Your own sake, do not deny me Your eternal beauty.' This prayer is regarded as the purest expression of Islamic mysticism.
The great scholar and mystic Hasan al-Basrī, a contemporary of Rābiʿa, would regularly seek her counsel and publicly acknowledged her spiritual superiority. He said that a single day spent in Rābiʿa's company had taught him more about the knowledge of God than years of study. Such a tribute from a celebrated male scholar to a woman mystic was extraordinary for the time.
Rābiʿa was born into a very poor family and was sold into slavery as a child. Her master, awakened one night by a supernatural light, found her deep in prayer, surrounded by an inexplicable radiance. Shaken by the vision, he freed her the very next morning. Once liberated, she withdrew into the desert on the outskirts of Basra to devote herself entirely to God.
Primary Sources
She spent every night in prayer and tears, saying: 'O my God, the heart that loves You and the tongue that praises You are two gifts You have granted me — what then could I offer You that truly comes from me?'
Among the women who reached the heights of spirituality and divine knowledge, Rābiʿa al-ʿAdawiyya held the foremost rank. She was renowned for her prayers, her mystical states, and her sincere love of God, free from any self-interest.
It is reported that Rābiʿa used to say: 'I am ashamed to ask God for the things of this world — and how could I not be ashamed to ask for them from anyone other than Him?'
Rābiʿa al-ʿAdawiyya, the great mystic of Basra, died in the year 185 of the Hijra. She was known for her devotional poems and her inspired words on divine love.
Key Places
The city where Rābiʿa was born and spent her life — a major commercial and intellectual crossroads of the medieval Islamic world. It was here that she lived, prayed, and taught, drawing disciples and scholars from across the region.
A place of spiritual retreat where Rābiʿa withdrew after being freed from slavery. For Islamic mystics, the desert was a space of self-emptying and encounter with the divine.
Some sources indicate that Rābiʿa spent the last years of her life in Jerusalem, a holy city for all three Abrahamic faiths. Her tomb is venerated locally on the Mount of Olives.
Rābiʿa undertook the pilgrimage (hajj) and is said, according to legend, to have experienced mystical visions on the road to Mecca. The hajj is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, symbolizing total surrender to God.
Typical Objects
A small woven rug that Rābiʿa spread out each evening for her long nightly vigils. It is said she spent every night prostrating herself and weeping upon it, pleading for the divine presence.
The only source of light in her austere dwelling, the oil lamp illuminated her nightly prayers. It also symbolizes the divine presence which, according to her contemporaries, shone around her during her devotions.
The early Islamic mystics wore coarse wool as a sign of asceticism and renunciation of the world. It is from this garment that the word 'Sufism' (taṣawwuf) derives — the spiritual movement of which Rābiʿa is one of the founding figures.
A string of beads used to recite the names of God (dhikr) and count invocations. Rābiʿa practiced the constant repetition of the divine attributes as a path toward union with God.
A simple clay vessel for drinking water, a symbol of the stripped-down life that Rābiʿa led. Her voluntary poverty was legendary in Basra — it is said she refused gifts from the wealthy.
The object from the famous anecdote in which Rābiʿa ran with a torch to 'burn down Paradise.' This object has become the symbol of her pure love of God, free from any self-interest or calculation.
School Curriculum
Vocabulary & Tags
Key Vocabulary
Tags
Lieu
Daily Life
Morning
Rābiʿa began her day after spending much of the night in prayer. At sunrise, she performed the dawn prayer (ṣalāt al-fajr) and then remained in silent meditation, reciting the Quran in a low voice. She often refused to eat before noon, dedicating the early hours of the day to the remembrance of God (dhikr).
Afternoon
In the afternoons, Rābiʿa received disciples, scholars, and mystics who came seeking her teaching. She spoke with them about the nature of divine love and the inner path. She would also sometimes withdraw alone into the nearby desert to meditate, far from the noise of the city.
Evening
Evening was the most precious time for Rābiʿa: after the sunset prayer, she would shut herself in her room and pray until dawn, weeping and imploring God for His presence. It is said that a mysterious light would sometimes illuminate her dwelling during these nightly vigils.
Food
Rābiʿa ate very little, by deliberate asceticism. Her diet consisted of barley bread, dates, and water — the staple food of the poorest inhabitants of Basra. She refused the meals offered by her wealthy admirers, believing that attachment to food drew one away from God.
Clothing
In every season, she wore a simple garment of coarse wool (ṣūf), a symbol of renunciation and detachment from the material world. This choice of clothing was shared by the earliest Muslim ascetics and gave its name to the Sufi movement. She wore no jewelry or adornment of any kind.
Housing
Rābiʿa lived in a modest mud-brick dwelling in Basra, almost entirely bare of furniture. It contained a prayer rug, an oil lamp, a clay water jug, and nothing more. She had refused all material gifts, preferring a life of complete poverty that she regarded as a divine grace.
Historical Timeline
Period Vocabulary
Visual Style
Style visuel sobre et contemplatif : teintes ambre et indigo, architecture en terre cuite de Bassorah, lumière de lampe à huile, évoquant l'austérité sacrée du mysticisme islamique primitif.
Sound Ambience
Ambiance sonore de Bassorah au VIIIe siècle : appels à la prière, vent du désert, murmures nocturnes d'une mystique en oraison dans une pièce dépouillée.
Liens externes & ressources
Références
Œuvres
Prière de l'amour pur
VIIIe siècle
Poèmes mystiques (dīwān attribué)
VIIIe siècle
Lettres et paroles transmises (aqwāl)
VIIIe-IXe siècle
Invocations nocturnes (munājāt)
VIIIe siècle
