Cairo
Rabia al-Adawiyya, known as Umm al-Khayr, lived in the second Islamic century and is the most famous woman of the early Sufi tradition. She is remembered for…
Rabia al-Adawiyya, known as Umm al-Khayr, lived in the second Islamic century and is the most famous woman of the early Sufi tradition. She is remembered for her teaching that Allah should be worshipped out of love for Him alone, not from fear of the Fire or hope of Paradise, and she passed away around 180 AH. Her tomb stands among the crowded graves of the Qarafa al-Sughra beside the mosque of Uqba ibn Amir, a few metres from the tomb of Amr ibn al-As and near the grave of Dhul-Nun al-Misri, and Cairo honours it as her grave. Her grave is also honoured in Basra, and her place of seclusion is remembered on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.