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Book Synopsis

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. 449/1057), 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''arria maverick, a vegan, and often branded a heretic himselfseems 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

Trade Review
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. * Banipal Magazine *

The Epistle of Forgiveness

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    A Hardback by Abū l-ʿAlāʾ al-Maʿarrī, Geert Jan van Gelder, Gregor Schoeler

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      Publisher: New York University Press
      Publication Date: Publication Date: 03/01/2014
      ISBN13: 9780814771945, 978-0814771945
      ISBN10: 0814771947
      Also in:
      Middle Eastern history

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      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. 449/1057), 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''arria maverick, a vegan, and often branded a heretic himselfseems 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

      Trade Review
      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. * Banipal Magazine *

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