| The Epistle of Forgiveness, Volume Two: Or, a Pardon to Enter the Garden: Hypocrites, Heretics, and Other Sinners Contributor(s): Al-Maʿarrī, Abū L-ʿa (Author), Gelder, Geert Jan Van (Editor), Gelder, Geert Jan Van (Translator) |
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ISBN: 0814771947 ISBN-13: 9780814771945 Publisher: New York University Press OUR PRICE: $42.75 Product Type: Hardcover Published: January 2014 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Middle East - General - Literary Criticism | African - Foreign Language Study | Arabic |
| Dewey: 892.713 |
| LCCN: 2013007519 |
| Series: Library of Arabic Literature |
| Physical Information: 1.3" H x 6.1" W x 9.1" (1.40 lbs) 360 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - Middle East |
| 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 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 andexpressions. 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. |