Rabi'a From Narrative to Myth

Rkia Elaroui Cornell is Professor of Pedagogy and Coordinator of the Arabic program at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. She has given numerous lectures and conference presentations on the subjects of Qur’anic exegesis, women in Islam, and language pedagogy.

Introduction: RABI‘A, “THE WOMAN WHO NEVER DIES”



I. The Myth Of Rabi‘a al-‘Adawiyya As A Master Narrative



II. Key Premodern Sources and Modern Works on Rabi‘a al-‘Adawiyya



III. What Is a Myth?



IV. The Plan of this Work



 



Chapter 1 RABI‘A THE TEACHER



I. Who Was the “Real” Rabi‘a?



a. Early Sources for the Historical Rabi‘a



b. Alleged Students and Associates of Rabi‘a al-‘Adawiyya



II. Rabi‘a in the Earliest Sources



a. Rabi‘a the Arab



b. Rabi‘a the Leader



c. Rabi‘a the Sunni Muslim



d. Rabi‘a the Eloquent 



III. Rabi‘a the Teacher and the Culture of Adab in Early Islam



a. Rabi‘a and Sufyan al-Thawri



b. Ta’dib: The Art of Character Formation



c. Taʼdib and the “Manly” Virtues: Muruwwa and Hilm



d. Rabi‘a’s Way of Ta’dib 



 



Chapter 2 RABI‘A THE ASCETIC



I. Conceptualizing Asceticism in Early Islam



a. The World/Nonworld Dichotomy



b. The Problem of Asceticism as a Theoretical Category



II. Terms of Early Islamic Asceticism



a. Zuhd (Renunciation)



b. Wara‘ (Ethical Precaution)



c. Nusk (Ascetic Ritualism)



d. Faqr (Poverty)



III. Traditions of Women’s Asceticism in Basra



a. The Legacy of ‘A’isha



b. The School of Mu‘adha al-‘Adawiyya and Instrumental Asceticism



c. The Weeping Women (al-Bakiyat) of Basra



IV. The Asceticism of Rabi‘a and Her Circle



a. Rabi‘a’s Alleged Students and Associates



b. From Instrumental Asceticism to Essential Asceticism



 



Chapter 3 RABI‘A THE LOVER



I. From Historical Representation to Cultural Icon



II. Asceticism and Love Mysticism in Early Islamic Basra



a. From Asceticism to Love Mysticism



b. Love of God in the Qur’an and Hadith



c. The Ascetic Lovers of Basra



d. The Question of Rabi‘a’s Celibacy



III. Rabi‘a the “Muslim Diotima?”



a. The “Incognito Presence” of Plato’s Symposium



b. Rabi‘a the Lover in Abu Talib al-Makki’s Qut al-Qulub



IV. Rabi‘a the Love Poet



a. The Poem of the Two Loves



b. The Poem of the Intimate Gift



 



Chapter 4 RABI‘A THE SUFI



I. The Lady Reconsidered: Can We See the Real “Rabi‘a the Sufi”?



II. Locating Rabi‘a the Sufi: What Was A “Sufi” in Eighth-Century Islam?



III. The Heart as a Metaphor in Early Islamic Mysticism



a. Scriptural Antecedents



b. Possible Paths of Transmission



c. The Metaphor of the Heart for Rabi‘a al-‘Adawiyya and Her Contemporaries



IV. Rabi‘a the “Knower of God”



 



Chapter 5 RABI‘A THE ICON (I): THE SUFI IMAGE



I. Rabi‘a As A Literary Figure: Myth, Icon, and the “Reality Effect”



II. From Visage to Vita: ‘Attar’s Outline of the Rabi‘a Myth



a. Composing the Background: ‘Attar’s Hagiographic Predecessors



b. ‘Attar’s Portrayal of Rabi‘a al-‘Adawiyya in Tadhkirat al-Awliya’



III. Every Picture Tells a Story: ‘Attar’s Emplotment of Rabi‘a’s Vita



IV. Postscript: Where is Rabi‘a Buried?



 



Chapter 6 RABI‘A THE ICON (II): THE SECULAR IMAGE



I. From Religious to Secular Narratives



II. Rabi‘a the Existentialist



III. Rabi‘a the Film Icon



IV. Postscript: Rabi‘a, The Phantom of the Television Series



 



Epilogue RABI‘A, THE MYTH AND THE NARRATIVE



 



Bibliography



I. Sources in Arabic and Persian



II. Sources in European Languages



 



Index