The Epistle of Forgiveness: Volume Two: Hypocrites, Heretics, and Other Sinners

Description

One of themost unusual books in classical Arabic literature, The Epistle of Forgiveness is the lengthy reply by the prolificSyrian poet and prose writer, Abu l-?Ala? al-Ma?arri (d. 449 H/1057 AD), to aletter by an obscure grammarian, Ibn al-Qarih. With biting irony, The Epistle of Forgiveness mocks Ibnal-Qarih’s hypocrisy and sycophancy by imagining he has died and arrived withsome difficulty in Heaven, where he meets famous poets and philologists fromthe past. He also glimpses Hell, and converses with the Devil and variousheretics. Al-Ma?arri—a maverick, a vegan, and often branded a heretichimself—seems to mock popular ideas about the Hereafter. This second volume is a point-by-point reply to Ibnal-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; collaborativeauthorship; wine-drinking; old age; repentance; pre-Islamic pilgrimage customs;and money. This remarkable book is the first complete translation in anylanguage, all the more impressive because of al-Ma?arri’s highly ornate anddifficult style, his use of rhymed prose, and numerous obscure words andexpressions.