rabiya

Rabiya-al-Adabiya

notes by disciples
of Rabiya

c. 717-801

aka: Rabia-al-Adawiyya al-Qaysiyya; Rabia al-Basri.

A female Sufi saint, a mystic--born in Basra, Iraq. She
was from a poor, but respected family, the fourth
daughter--Rabia means "fourth" in Arabic.

She was really a ferocious mystic; with a hammer in her
hand she could have broken anybody's skull. She actually
broke many many skulls and brought out the hidden
essence...
--Osho
Books I Have Loved

I swear that ever since the first day You
brought me back to life, the day You
became my Friend, I have not slept -- And
even if You drive me from your door, I
swear again that we will never be
separated-- Because You are alive in my
heart. --Rabia al-Adawiyya

The book in English that is considered the most
comprehensive on this Sufi saint is:
Rabi'a the Mystic, & Her Fellow-Saints in Islam, by
Margaret Smith, p. 1928.