Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


xavier1274714058.pdf (241.68 KB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Divine presence, gender, and the Sufi spiritual path: An analysis of Rabi’ah the Mystic’s identity and poetry

Prus, Erin S.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=xavier1274714058

Abstract Details

2009, Master of Arts (M.A.), Xavier University, English.
In light of the theoretical debate surrounding Qur’anic exegesis and the question of gender egalitarianism, my contribution calls for the (re)interpretation of Rabi’ah the Mystic’s poetry in relation to Qur’anic exegesis on gender relations. I to bring to light the intertextuality of Rabi’ah’s spiritual poetry and its relationship to Qur’anic interpretation—as her language is infused (either consciously or unconsciously) with the Qur’an’s prescriptive and marginalizing teachings toward women of her time. By examining her language through a Bakhtinian lens, I investigate how Rabi’ah evokes the heteroglot voices of eighth to ninth-century Basra (or present-day Baghdad, Iraq). I explore three interrelated questions surrounding the construction of her identity: 1) the question of her language as “gendered” or feminine; 2) how scholars have related her identity based on her language and the knowledge of her life passed on through centuries; and 3) how readers may (re)interpret her identity based on the language of her poetry today. Through a textual analysis of the sacred language found within her four poems, I make the following arguments about the inherent multivocality of Rabi’ah’s language: first, Rabi’ah communicates a feminine perspective in much of her poetic language; second, Rabi’ah exhibits normative “masculine” behaviors as her language and lived experience, at times, take on a critical tone typically reserved for the men of her society; and third, Rabi’ah demonstrates an androgynous identity, at various times, through her critique of both the feminized and masculinized paths associated with the Muslim faith tradition and Sufism. Thus, Rabi’ah’s discourse and the construction of her identity through the centuries (as portrayed by scholars) produce various discursive effects—both linguistic and cultural. Rabi’ah’s language and experiences, in particular, reveal social mores in the context of eighth-century Muslim society, work to resurrect female voices (as her voice speaks to the female Muslim experience), and illustrate the subjugation of women.
Carol Winkelmann, Ph.D. (Advisor)
Graley Herren, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
74 p.
Middle Eastern Literature; Religion; Theology
R&257; bi&8216; ah al-&8216; Adaw&299; yah, d. 801?; Sufism; women saints in Islam

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Prus, E. S. (2009). Divine presence, gender, and the Sufi spiritual path: An analysis of Rabi’ah the Mystic’s identity and poetry [Master's thesis, Xavier University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=xavier1274714058

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Prus, Erin. Divine presence, gender, and the Sufi spiritual path: An analysis of Rabi’ah the Mystic’s identity and poetry. 2009. Xavier University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=xavier1274714058.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Prus, Erin. "Divine presence, gender, and the Sufi spiritual path: An analysis of Rabi’ah the Mystic’s identity and poetry." Master's thesis, Xavier University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=xavier1274714058

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

xavier1274714058
1,187
© 2009, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Xavier University and OhioLINK.