Poetry Chaikhana
Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Muslim / Sufi

8th Century

About Rabia (Rabi'a Al-'Adawiyya)

Timeline (717 - 801)

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English version by
Charles Upton

Original Language
Persian/Farsi

I carry a torch in one hand

Themes

Fire

Water

Recommended Books

	Doorkeeper of the Heart: Versions of Rabia, Translated by Charles Upton
	Early Islamic Mysticism: Sufi, Quran, Miraj, Poetic and Theological Writings (Classics of Western Spirituality), by Michael A. Sells
	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

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

Amazon.com

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Poetry Chaikhana Sacred Poetry from Around the World

About Rabia (Rabi'a Al-'Adawiyya)

Poetry Chaikhana
Sacred Poetry from Around the World