Origins & Early Life

Rābiʼa al-ʼAdawiyya al-Qaysiyya (Arabic: رابعة العدوية القيسية; c. 716 – 801 CE) or Rabia Basri was a poet, one of the earliest Sufi mystics and an influential religious figure from Basra. Her full name is said to be Rābiʿa bint Ismāʿīl; her kunya was Umm ʿAmr (or Umm al-Khayr), her wilāya was al-ʿAtakiyyah, and her nisba was al-ʿAdawiyya or al-Qaysīyya because she was a freed slave of the tribe of Qays ibn ʿAdī. She is regarded as one of the three preeminent Qalandars of the world.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

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 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. Cornell further notes that she was mentioned by two early Basran authors.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

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