Limit this search to....

The Epistle of Forgiveness: Volume One: A Vision of Heaven and Hell
Contributor(s): Al-Maʿarrī, Abū L-ʿa (Author), Gelder, Geert Jan Van (Editor), Gelder, Geert Jan Van (Translator)
ISBN: 0814763782     ISBN-13: 9780814763780
Publisher: New York University Press
OUR PRICE:   $42.75  
Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats
Published: August 2013
Qty:
Additional Information
BISAC Categories:
- History | Middle East - General
- Literary Criticism | African
- Foreign Language Study | Arabic
Dewey: FIC
LCCN: 2013007519
Series: Library of Arabic Literature
Physical Information: 1.5" H x 6.2" W x 9.1" (1.70 lbs) 464 pages
Themes:
- Cultural Region - Middle East
- Chronological Period - Medieval (500-1453)
 
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc.
Publisher Description:

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 written 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 book, the first of two volumes, includes Ibn al-Qarih's initial letter to al-Ma'arri, as well as the first half of The Epistle of Forgiveness.

This translation is the first complete translation in any language and retains the many digressions, difficult passages, and convoluted grammatical discussions of the original typically omitted in other translations. It is accompanied by a comprehensive introduction and detailed annotation. 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.

A bilingual Arabic-English edition.

Contributor Bio(s): Al-Ma'arri, Abu L.: - 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.