Poetry Chaikhana
Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Poetry Chaikhana Home

New | Music | Teahouse | About | Contact | Links
Poets by: Name| Tradition | Century | Timeline Poetry by: Theme | Commentary


Forum | eCard Gallery | Poetry Chaikhana Radio

www.Poetry-Chaikhana.com

 

Sufi / Muslim
8th Century

 

About Rabi'a Al-'Adawiyya

Timeline (717 - 801)

 

 

| View All Poems by Rabi'a Al-'Adawiyya | Next Poem >>

English version by
Andrew Harvey
Brothers, my peace is in my aloneness.

Themes
  Death
  Lover and Beloved
 
 
 

 

Recommended Books

Doorkeeper of the Heart: Versions of Rabia, Translated by Charles Upton
First Among Sufis: The Life and Thought of Rabia Al-Adawiyya, the Woman Saint of Basra, by Widad El Sakkakini
Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West, Translated by Daniel Ladinsky
Muslim Women Mystics: The Life and Work of Rabi'a and Other Women Mystics in Islam, by Margaret Smith
Perfume of the Desert: Inspirations from the Sufi Wisdom, by Andrew Harvey / Eryk Hanut

More >>

Brothers, my peace is in my aloneness.
My Beloved is alone with me there, always.
I have found nothing in all the worlds
That could match His love,
This love that harrows the sands of my desert.
If I come to die of desire
And my Beloved is still not satisfied,
I would live in eternal despair.

To abandon all that He has fashioned
And hold in the palm of my hand
Certain proof that He loves me---
That is the name and the goal of my search.

 

 

-- from Perfume of the Desert: Inspirations from the Sufi Wisdom, by Andrew Harvey / Eryk Hanut

 

 

| View All Poems by Rabi'a Al-'Adawiyya | Next Poem >>

 

 

Poetry Chaikhana Home

New | Music | Teahouse | About | Contact | Links
Poets by: Name| Tradition | Century | Timeline Poetry by: Theme | Commentary


Forum | eCard Gallery | Poetry Chaikhana Radio

www.Poetry-Chaikhana.com
Please support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this site. Thank you!

Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2005 by Ivan M. Granger.
All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.