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Sufi / Muslim
8th Century

 

About Rabi'a Al-'Adawiyya

Timeline (717 - 801)

 

 

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English version by
Charles Upton
I carry a torch in one hand

Themes
  Fire
  Water
 
 
 

 

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 >>

I carry a torch in one hand
And a bucket of water in the other:
With these things I am going to set fire to Heaven
And put out the flames of Hell
So that voyagers to God can rip the veils
And see the real goal.

 

 

-- from Women in Sufism: A Hidden Treasure - Writings and Stories of Mystics Poets, Scholars & Saints, Edited by Camille Adams Helminski

 

 

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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.