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Rabia The female mystic Rabi'a (717-801 C.E.) became one of the most celebrated Muslim teachers, and is considered one of the first true Sufis. She was born free, but sold into slavery at her parents' death. Later, she was freed "by a miracle," and took up residence in a small cell outside of Basra. Except for pilgrimages to Mecca, Rabi'a lived all of her life in Basra as a celibate ascetic, who debated with and taught the major religious figures of her time. Her biographer, the great medieval Sufi poet Attar, tells us that she was "on fire with love and longing" and that men accepted her "as a second spotless Mary." She was, he continues, "an unquestioned authority to her contemporaries." She was one of the first of the Sufis to teach that Love alone was the guide on the mystic path. She expounded other mystical ideals, as well, not the least of which was a true humility. These two tales, one told about Rabi'a and one told about the Jewish mystic Baal Shem Tov, who lived about a millennium after the Sufi saint, show just how proximate were the Jewish and Muslim mystical paths. The story told about the Sufi went like this:
The Baal Shem Tov expressed a similar sentiment about "sinners" in the following teaching tale:
These two tales are so closely linked that it almost appears as if the Baal
Shem Tov is offering an explication of Rabi'a's slightly more cryptic
utterance. All images on this site are copyright ©2008 by Tom Block Arts. Please contact the artist for use of these images. |
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