The Luzumiyat
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About this book
Blind from childhood and famously skeptical, the eleventh-century Syrian poet al-Maarri wrote these poems under a rule he set himself, a demanding double rhyme he was not obliged to use and kept anyway. The title roughly means committing to what is not required. Across hundreds of short, terse pieces he turns over the questions that occupied him for a lifetime: death, doubt, the silence of the heavens, and the failures of organized religion and human cruelty. There is little comfort here and no easy piety, only a clear, bitter honesty rare in any age. Ameen Rihani's English selection brought this freethinking voice to Western readers.
Contents
About the author
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Public domain book This work is in the public domain and free of copyright. Anyone may read, download and share it.
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Book facts
- Author
- Abu al-ʻAlaʼ al-Maʻarri
- Reading time
- About 45 minutes
- Pages
- 152
- Language
- English
- Genre
- Classical Poetry
- Formats
- PDF, EPUB, Read online