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-'Alaa al-Ma'arri (d. 449 H/1057 AD) 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 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 extensive annotation and a comprehensive introduction. Geert Jan van Gelder studied Semitic Languages in Amsterdam and Leiden. He was Lecturer in Arabic at the University of Groningen (1975-1998) and Laudian Professor of Arabic at the University of Oxford (1998-2012). He has published numerous articles and several books on classical Arabic literature. Gregor Schoeler studied Arabic and Islamic Studies in Frankfurt am Main and Giessen (Germany). He was the chair of Islamic Studies at the University of Basel (1982-2009). He has published numerous articles and several books in the fields of Islamic Studies and classical Arabic literature.
Author
Abul ʿAla Al-Maʿarri (Arabic أبو العلاء المعري Abū al-ʿAlāʾ al-Maʿarrī, full name أبو العلاء أحمد بن عبد الله بن سليمان التنوخي المعري Abū al-ʿAlāʾ Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sulaimān al-Tanūẖī al-Maʿarrī, born 973 CE / AH 363, died 1058 CE/ AH 449) was a blind Syrian philosopher, poet, and writer. He was a controversial rationalist of his time, attacking the dogmas of religion rejecting the claim that Islam or any other religion possessed the truths they claim and considered the speech of prophets as a lie (literally, "forge") and "impossible" to be true. He was equally sarcastic towards the religions of Muslims, Jews, and Christians. He was also a vegan who argued for animal rights. In 2013, almost a thousand years after his death, a Jihadist group beheaded the statue of Al Ma'arri during the conflict in Syria. Al Ma'arri remains widely cited among modern Arab atheists. Al-Maʿarri was a skeptic in his beliefs and denounced superstition and dogmatism in religion. Thus, he has been described as a pessimistic freethinker. One of the recurring themes of his philosophy was the rights of reason against the claims of custom, tradition, and authority. Al-Maʿarri taught that religion was a "fable invented by the ancients", worthless except for those who exploit the credulous masses. Do not suppose the statements of the prophets to be true; they are all fabrications. Men lived comfortably till they came and spoiled life. The sacred books are only such a set of idle tales as any age could have and indeed did actually produce. Al-Maʿarri criticized many of the dogmas of Islam, such as the Hajj, which he called, "a heathen's journey." He rejected claims of any divine revelation. His creed was that of a philosopher and ascetic, for whom reason provides a moral guide, and virtue is its own reward. His religious skepticism and positively anti-religious views are expressed in a poem which states, "The inhabitants of the earth are of two sorts: those with brains, but no religion, and those with religion, but no brains." He was equally sarcastic towards the religion of Islam as he was towards Judaism and Christianity. Al-Ma'arri remarked that monks in their cloisters or devotees in their mosques were blindly following the beliefs of their locality: if they were born among Magians or Sabians they would have become Magians or Sabians. More: http://www.humanistictexts.org/al\_ma&... http://www.centerforinquiry.net/isis/... http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/t... http://futiledemocracy.wordpress.com/...
