The epistle of forgiveness, or : a pardon to enter the garden / by Abu l-ʻAlāʼ al-Maʻarri ; preceded by Ibn al-Qari's Epistle ; translated by Geert Jan Van Gelder and Gregor Schoeler ; foreword by Matthew Reynolds.

Bilingual English and Arabic edition.

Includes bibliographical references, glossary, and indexes.

Print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

Cover; Contents; Letter from the General Editor; About this Paperback; Foreword; Abbreviations used in the Introduction and Translation; Acknowledgments; Introduction; A Note on the Text; Notes to the Introduction; THE EPISTLE OF IBN AL-QĀRIḤ ; Ibn al-Qāriḥ's hopes for a meeting with al-Ma'arrī ; Criticism of heresy and heretics; On fate; Ibn al-Qāriḥ's complaints of old age; The Prophet at the beginning of his mission; Ibn al-Qāriḥ's weaknesses and self-reproach; The Sheikh exculpates himself; Praise of al-Ma' arrī; On memorizing and forgetting; Ibn al-Qāriḥ complains again.

THE EPISTLE OF FORGIVENESS Preamble; Al-Ma'arrī's description of Ibn al-Qāriḥ's letter; Paradise (I); Description of Paradise; drinking scene; The Sheikh's excursion; The conversation with al-A'shā Maymūn; The conversation with Zuhayr; The conversation with 'Abī d ibn al-Abraṣ ; The conversation with ' Adī ibn Zayd; The conversation with Abū Dhu'ayb al-Hudhalī; The conversation with the two Nābighahs, al-Dhubyānī and al-Ja'dī; The geese of Paradise; The first conversation with Labīd; The singing of the damsels; An altercation in Paradise; The conversation with Ḥassān ibn Thābit.

The five one-eyed men of QaysThe story of Tamīm ibn Ubayy ibn Muqbil; The Sheikh's Story of his Resurrection, the Day of Judgement, and his Entry into Paradise; The Sheikh's conversation with Riḍwān and Zufar, guards of the Garden; The conversation with 'Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib; The conversation with Fāṭimah, the Prophet's daughter; The Prophet's intercession; The crossing of the Bridging Path; The second conversation with Riḍwān; the entry into Paradise; Paradise (II); The conversation with "the Camel-herd" and Ḥumayd ibn Thawr; The second conversation with Labīd; A banquet in Paradise.

The conversation with the two "Locusts"The conversation with Jirān al-'Awd; The dance of the damsels; Beer, marinated peacock, and roast goose; The conversation with the two damsels; The tree of damsels; Between Paradise and Hell; The Paradise of the demons; The poetry of the demons; Abū Hadrash al-Khayta'ūr's heroic deeds; Animals in Paradise; In the furthest reaches of Paradise; a conversation with al-Ḥuṭay'ah; The conversation with al-Khansā' ; Hell; The conversation with Satan; The conversation with Bashshār ibn Burd; The conversation with Imru' al-Qays; The conversation with 'Antarah.

The conversation with 'AlqamahThe conversation with 'Amr ibn Kulthūm; Al-Ḥārith ibn Ḥillizah; The conversation with Ṭarafah; The conversation with Aws ibn Ḥajar; The conversations with the Hudhalī poets Abū Kabīr and Ṣakhr al-Ghayy; The conversation with al-Akhṭal; The conversation with Muhalhil; The conversation with the two poets called Muraqqish; The conversation with the two brigand poets, al-Shanfarā and Ta'abbaṭa Sharrā; Return to Paradise; A meeting with Adam; The snakes of Paradise; The Sheikh's return to his paradisical damsel; In the Paradise of the rajaz poets.

Known as "one of the most complex and unusual texts in Arabic literature" (Banipal Magazine), 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-Qari. With biting irony, The Epistle of Forgiveness mocks Ibn al-Qari'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. In al-Maarri's imaginative telling, Ibn al-Qari 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. Among other things, he introduces us to hypocrites, poets, princes, rebels, mystics, and apostates, with asides on piety, superstition, wine-drinking, old age, and other topics. This remarkable book is the first complete translation of this masterpiece into any language, all the more impressive because of Al-Ma'arri's highly ornate and difficult style, his use of rhymed prose, and his numerous obscure words and expressions. Replete with erudite commentary, amusing anecdotes, and sardonic wit, The Epistle of Forgiveness is an imaginative tour-de-force by one of the most pre-eminent figures in classical Arabic literature.

eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - Worldwide