The Epistle of Forgiveness

Abū l-ʿAlāʾ al-Maʿarrī

Published by New York University Press 2014

The Epistle of Forgiveness

Volume Two: Hypocrites, Heretics, and Other Sinners

Abū l-ʿAlāʾ al-Maʿarrī

Edited by: Geert Jan van Gelder and Gregor Schoeler

Volume 36 in the series Library of Arabic Literature

https://doi.org/10.18574/9780814768969

Overview
Contents

About this book

One of the
most unusual books in classical Arabic literature, The Epistle of Forgiveness is the lengthy reply by the prolific
Syrian poet and prose writer, Abu l-?Ala? al-Ma?arri (d. 449 H/1057 AD), to a
letter by an obscure grammarian, Ibn al-Qarih. With biting irony, The Epistle of Forgiveness mocks Ibn
al-Qarih’s hypocrisy and sycophancy by imagining he has died and arrived with
some difficulty in Heaven, where he meets famous poets and philologists from
the past. He also glimpses Hell, and converses with the Devil and various
heretics. Al-Ma?arri—a maverick, a vegan, and often branded a heretic
himself—seems to mock popular ideas about the Hereafter.

This second volume is a point-by-point reply to Ibn
al-Qarih’s letter using al-Ma?arri’s characteristic mixture of erudition,
irony, and admonition, enlivened with anecdotes and poems. Among other things,
he writes about hypocrites; heretical poets, princes, rebels, and mystics;
apostates; piety; superstition; the plight of men of letters; collaborative
authorship; wine-drinking; old age; repentance; pre-Islamic pilgrimage customs;
and money. This remarkable book is the first complete translation in any
language, all the more impressive because of al-Ma?arri’s highly ornate and
difficult style, his use of rhymed prose, and numerous obscure words and
expressions.

Author information

al-Ma'arri Abu l-'Ala :

Abu l-'Ala al-Ma'arri (363-449 H/973-1058 AD) was a major poet and prose writer of the late Abbasid period. Born near Aleppo, Syria, he lost his eyesight in childhood and was renowned for his asceticism.Gelder Geert Jan van :

Geert Jan van Gelder was Laudian Professor of Arabic at the University of Oxford from 1998 to 2012. He is the author of several books on classical Arabic literature, including Beyond the Line: Classical Arabic Literary Critics on the Coherence and Unity of the Poem and Of Dishes and Discourse: Classical Arabic Literary Representations of Food.Schoeler Gregor :

Gregor Schoeler was the chair of Islamic Studies at the University of Basel from 1982 to 2009. His books in the fields of Islamic Studies and classical Arabic literature include The Oral and the Written in Early Islam, and Paradies und Holle, a partial German translation of The Epistle of Forgiveness.

Reviews

Van Gelder and Schoeler present one of the most complex and unusual texts in Arabic literature, by al-Ma'arri (d. 1057 AD), maverick, poet and vegetarian.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Letter from the General Editor Publicly Available Download PDF	iii
Table of Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	viii
Abbreviations used in the Introduction and Translation Publicly Available Download PDF	x
Introduction Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
Notes to the Introduction Publicly Available Download PDF	xiv
The Epistle of Forgiveness
On Hypocrisy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
The Sheikh’s Return to Aleppo Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	17
Heretics, Apostates, and Impious Poets Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	37
Old Age, Grave Sins, Pilgrimages, and Sincere Repentence Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	123
The Stolen Dinars and the Number Eighty Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	189
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	217
Glossary Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	272
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	293
Concordance with Risālat al-Ghufrān, 9th edition, edited by Bint al-Shāṭiʾ Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	305
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	330
About the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	344
About the Typefaces Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	345
About the Editor-Translators Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	346

Language: English
Publisher: New York University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;

eBook

Published: January 3, 2014
ISBN: 9780814768969