The Luzumiyat of Abu’l-Ala, XXX
translated from the Arabic by Ameen Rihani
Or wilt thou commerce have with those who make
Rugs of the rainbow, rainbows of the snake,
Snakes of a staff, and other wondrous things?—
The burning thirst a mirage can not slake.
The Luzumiyat of Abu’l-Ala (James T. White & Co., 1920) by Abū al-‘Alā’ al-Ma‘arrī. Translated from the Arabic by Ameen Rihani. Copyright © 1920 by Ameen Rihani. This poem is in the public domain.
Al-Ma‘arri
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.