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

465 Pages·2013·4.46 MB·English

by  Abul ’Ala’ Al-Ma’arri, Geert Jan Van Gelder, Gregor Schoeler

The Epistle of Forgiveness
Volume One
Library of Arabic Literature
Editorial Board
General Editor
Philip F. Kennedy, New York University
Executive Editors
James E. Montgomery, University of Cambridge
Shawkat M. Toorawa, Cornell University
Editors
Julia Bray, University of Oxford
Michael Cooperson, University of California, Los Angeles
Joseph E. Lowry, University of Pennsylvania
Tahera Qutbuddin, University of Chicago
Devin J. Stewart, Emory University
Managing Editor
Chip Rossetti
Volume Editor
James E. Montgomery
Letter from the General Editor
The Library of Arabic Literature is a new series offering Arabic editions and
English translations of key works of classical and premodern Arabic literature,
as well as anthologies and thematic readers. Books in the series are edited and
translated by distinguished scholars of Arabic and Islamic studies, and are
published in parallel-text format with Arabic and English on facing pages. The
Library of Arabic Literature includes texts from the pre-Islamic era to the cusp of
the modern period, and will encompass a wide range of genres, including poetry,
poetics, fiction, religion, philosophy, law, science, history, and historiography.
Supported by a grant from the New York University Abu Dhabi Institute, and
established in partnership with NYU Press, the Library of Arabic Literature will
produce authoritative Arabic editions and modern, lucid English translations,
with the goal of introducing the Arabic literary heritage to scholars and students,
as well as to a general audience of readers.
Philip F. Kennedy
General Editor, Library of Arabic Literature
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The Epistle of Forgiveness
or
A Pardon to Enter the Garden
by
Abū l-ʿAlāʾ al-Maʿarrī
edited and translated by
Geert Jan van Gelder
and
Gregor Schoeler
Volume One:
A Vision of Heaven and Hell
preceded by
Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s Epistle
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York and London
Copyright © 2013 by New York University
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Abu al-’Ala’ al-Ma’arri, 973-1057.
The epistle of forgiveness or, A pardon to enter the garden / by Abu l’Ala
al’Ma’arri ; edited and translated by Geert Jan van Gelder and Gregor
Schoeler.
volumes cm
Bilingual English and Arabic edition.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
ISBN 978-0-8147-6378-0 (cl : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-0-8147-6899-0
(e-book) -- ISBN 978-0-8147-7197-6 (e-book) -- ISBN 978-0-8147-7194-5 (cl :
v. 2) -- ISBN 978-0-8147-6896-9 (e-book : v. 2) -- ISBN 978-0-8147-6970-6
(e-book : v. 2)
I. Gelder, G. J. H. van, translator editor. II. Schoeler, Gregor,
translator editor. III. Abu al-’Ala’ al-Ma’arri, 973-1057. Risalat
al-ghufran. IV. Abu al-’Ala’ al-Ma’arri, 973-1057. Risalat al-ghufran.
English. V. Ibn al-Qarih, ‘Ali ibn Mansur, b. 962. Risalat Ibn al-Qarih. VI.
Ibn al-Qarih, ‘Ali ibn Mansur, b. 962. Risalat Ibn al-Qarih. English. VII.
Title. VIII. Title: Pardon to enter the garden.
PJ7750.A25R513 2013
892.7’134--dc23
2013007519
CIP
New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper,
and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability.
Series design by Titus Nemeth.
Typeset in Tasmeem, using DecoType Naskh and Emiri.
Typesetting and digitization by Stuart Brown.
Manufactured in the United States of America
c10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To our spouses, Sheila and Christa, asking their Forgiveness for
spending so many hours in al-Maʿarrī’s company instead of theirs.
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Table of Contents
Letter from the General Editor iii
Acknowledgments xiii
Abbreviations used in the Introduction and Translation xiv
Introduction xv
A Note on the Text xxix
A Note on the Edition xxxii
Notes to the Introduction xxxv
The Epistle of Ibn al-Qāriḥ 1
Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s hopes for a meeting with al-Maʿarrī 2
Criticism of heresy and heretics 8
On fate 30
Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s complaints of old age 30
The Prophet at the beginning of his mission 32
Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s weaknesses and self-reproach 38
The Sheikh exculpates himself 46
Praise of al-Maʿarrī 52
On memorizing and forgetting; Ibn al-Qāriḥ complains again 54
The Epistle of Forgiveness 65
Preamble 66
al-Maʿarrī’s description of Ibn al-Qāriḥ’s letter 74
Paradise (I) 76
Description of Paradise 76
A drinking scene 98
The Sheikh’s excursion 102
The conversation with al-Aʿshā Maymūn 102
The conversation with Zuhayr 108
The conversation with ʿAbīd ibn al-Abraṣ 112
The conversation with ʿAdī ibn Zayd 112
The conversation with Abū Dhuʾayb al-Hudhalī 126
ix