This is a painting of Rābiʻa al-ʻAdawiyya al-Qaysiyya (717-801 A.D.), a Muslim saint and Sufi mystic. The saint kneels in a remote landscape on a woven rush mat (one of her attributes) on which a prayer book lies open. Her hands joined in prayer and her eyes gazing upwards. She wears a white robe, a simple necklace and earrings. There is a gilt-edged green halo encircled her head, symbolizing her sainthood. Rābiʻa was born in great poverty in Basra, Iraq and spent her life traveling, praying, and fasting. It is said that her only possessions were a broken jug, a rush mat and a brick she used for pillow. Nonetheless, she is considered as one of the most important of the early Sufi poets and is credited with establishing the belief in the doctrine of Divine Love, the basis of later Sufi teaching. She died in Jerusalem, where she is said to have buried in the Chapel of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives.
