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

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...