RABI‘A AL-‘ADAWIYYA AND THE KA’BAH

Abstract

This paper focuses on the understanding of the Kaaba by R?bi‘a al-‘Adawiyya (d: 801), R?bi‘a was an exceptional woman due to her relationship with God and her mystical knowledge (ma‘arifa). She leaded the passage from asceticism to mysticism in the Basra of 8th century, making a difference with the ascetic of her time: she made a journey to the interior of herself, practicing a continuous introspection in order to pursue the deepest desire of her heart, and to purify it. The accounts of her pilgrimage to the Kaaba —the House or the Dwelling of God— are compared with the degrees of prayer described by Saint Teresa of Ávila in the Libro de la Vida.