First among Sufis

Ms Sakkakini, a major contemporary novelist and scholar, here provides an impressionistic account of the life and work of Rabia, the extraordinary Sufi woman saint. Born into eighth century Basra, Rabia became an ascetic, before passing beyond this stage to that of a Sufi and reputed miracle worker. She was one of the first to point out that religion, correctly understood, is not to be confused with emotionality.