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The Epistle of Forgiveness: Volume One: A Vision of Heaven and Hell

by Abū L-ʿa Al-Maʿarrī , Geert Jan Van Gelder , Geert Jan Van Gelder
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Current price ₹5,243.00
Original price ₹6,292.00
Original price ₹6,292.00
Original price ₹6,292.00
(-17%)
₹5,243.00
Current price ₹5,243.00

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Book cover type: Hardcover
  • ISBN13: 9780814763780
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • Subject: N/A
  • Publisher: New York University Press
  • Publisher Imprint: New York University Press
  • Publication Date:
  • Pages: 464
  • Original Price: GBP 36.0
  • Language: English
  • Edition: Bilingual
  • Item Weight: 772 grams
  • BISAC Subject(s): Middle East / General

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.

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