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The Luzumiyat of Abu’l-Ala, CXI

^{translated from the Arabic by Ameen Rihani}

Whence come, O firmament, thy myriad lights?
Whence comes thy sap, O vineyard of the heights?
Whence comes the perfume of the rose, and whence
The spirit-larva which the body blights?

Abū al-‘Alā’ al-Ma‘arrī, often called al-Ma‘arrī after the town of his birth, was born in December 973 AD (363 AH), in the village of Ma‘arrat al-Nu‘mān. His birth name was Ahmad ibn Abdallah ibn Sulaiman ut-Tanhukhi (of the tribe of Tanukh). Later in life, he acquired the patronymic of distinction, Abū‘l-Alā (“the father of the sublime”). Al–Ma‘arrī came from a cultured family known for their liberal opinions, which may have included the more relaxed attitude toward religion for which al-Ma‘arrī became known.

Themes

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The Luzumiyat of Abu’l-Ala, CXXI

^{translated from the Arabic by Ameen Rihani}

Howbeit, my inner vision heir shall be
To the increasing flames of mystery
Which may illumine yet my prisons all,
And crown the ever living hope of me.

Al-Ma‘arri

1920

The Luzumiyat of Abu’l-Ala, CXX

^{translated from the Arabic by Ameen Rihani}

But I, the thrice-imprisoned, try to troll
Strains of the song of night, which fill with dole
My blindness, my confinement, and my flesh—
The sordid habitation of my soul.

Al-Ma‘arri

1920