The Epistle of Forgiveness. Abu l-'Ala al-Ma'arri

us.” One says ahl, ahlah, and ahalāt in the plural. A poet says:¹³¹

      They are people (ahalāt) standing around Qays ibn ʿĀṣim

      when they set out at night, calling “O abundant giver!”

      A certain grammarian¹³² said about the diminutive form of āl (“the clan, family”) of a man that it may be uwayl or uhayl. It seems that he believes that the h in ahl was replaced by a glottal stop, and that when two glottal stops came together the second was turned into an alif.¹³³ Something like this cannot be ascertained. The most likely thing is that the āl (“the clan”) of a man is derived from the verb āla – yaʾūlu (“he went back – he goes back”), i.e., “he returned,” as if to say that his clan returns to him, or that he returns to them.

      Al-Mutanabbī, the Would-be Prophet?

      26.2

      وأمّا ما ذكره من حكاية القُطْرَبُّليّ وابن أبي الأزهر، فقد يجوز مثله، وما وضح أن ذلك الرجل حُبس بالعراق، فأما بالشام فحبْسه مشهور.

      وحُدّثتُ أنه كان إذا سئل عن حقيقة هذا اللقب قال: هو من النَّبْوة، أي المرتفع من الأرض. وكان قد طمِع في شيء قد طمع فيه مَن هو دونه. وإنما هي مقادير، يديرها في العلوّ مُدير، يظفر بها من وُفّق، ولا يُراع بالمجتهد أن ُيخْفِق.

      وقد دلّت أشياءُ في ديوانه أنه كان متألها، ومثلَ غيره من الناس متدلها، فمن ذلك قوله:

      ولا قابلًا إلا لخالقه حُكما

      وقوله:

ما أقدرَ اللهَ أن يُخْزي بريّتَه

ولا يصدِّق قومًا في الذي زعموا

      وإذا رُجع إلى الحقائق، فنُطقُ اللسان لا ينبئ عن اعتقاد الإنسان، لأن العالَم مجبول على الكذب والنِفاق، ويُحتمل أن يُظهر الرجل بالقول تديّنا، وإنما يجعل ذلك تزيّنا، يريد أن يصل به إلى ثناء، أو غرض من أغراض الخالبة أُمّ الفَناء، ولعله قد ذهب جماعة هم في الظاهر متعبدون، وفيما بطن مُلْحِدون.

      As regards the story told by al-Quṭrabbulī and Ibn Abī l-Azhar, which the Sheikh mentions, such things happen.¹³⁴ It is not evident that the fellow was imprisoned in Iraq, whereas everyone knows that he was imprisoned in Syria. I was told that when he was asked about the true origin of this nickname¹³⁵ he said, “It is from nabwah,” i.e., an elevated piece of land. He had aspired to something that lesser men than he had also aspired to. These things are divinely decreed, directed by a Director on high. Those favored with success will attain them, and those who strive earnestly should not be dismayed if they fail. Various things in his collected verse show that he was (generally) devout and (at times, however) bereft of reason,¹³⁶ like other people. Thus he says:

      . . . Not accepting any judgment except from his Creator.¹³⁷

      And:

      How all-powerful is God, to shame His creatures

      and not to prove the truth of what some people maintain!¹³⁸

      When one reverts to the facts, then what the tongue utters says nothing about a person’s firm belief, for the world is formed with a natural disposition toward lying and hypocrisy. It is possible for a man to proclaim something openly, showing his religiousness, while he does this merely in order to adorn himself with a fine appearance, wishing to gain praise or some other intention of the deceptive world, “mother of extinction.” Perhaps a number of people have come and gone who were outwardly devout but heretics inside.

      Other Poets: Diʿbil and Abū Nuwās

      26.3

      وما يلحقني الشكّ في أن دِعْبِل بن علي لم يكن له دين، وكان يتظاهر بالتشيّع، وإنما غرضُه التكسّب، وكم أثبت نَسَبًا بتنسُّب ولا أرتاب أن دعبلًا كان على رأي الحَكَمي وطبقته، والزندقة فيهم فاشية، ومن ديارهم ناشية.

      وقد اختُلِف في أبي نواس: ادُّعي له التألهُ وأنه كان يقضي صلواتِ نهاره في ليله، والصحيح أنه كان على مذهب غيره من أهل زمانه، وذلك أن العرب جاءها النبيّ صلى الله عليه، وهي ترغب إلى القصيد، وتقصُر هِمَمها عن الفصيد، فاتّبعه منها متّبعون، ﴿وَٱللهُ أَعْلَمُ بِما يُوعُونَ﴾.

      I am not beset by any doubt that Diʿbil ibn ʿAlī had no religion. He made a show of being a Shi’ite but his only motive was mercenary. How many a lineage he established to lay claim to a false genealogy!¹³⁹ I do not doubt that Diʿbil held the same views as al-Ḥakamī and his sort. Heresy became widespread amongst them and sprang up in their country.

      People differ of opinion about Abū Nuwās. It has been alleged that he was pious and performed his missed daily ritual prayers at night. The truth is that he believed what other people of his time believed. The Prophet (God bless and preserve him) came to the Arabs while they were desirous of thick marrow and their concerns fell short of black pudding.¹⁴⁰ Some of them followed in his stride; «God knows well what they hide!»¹⁴¹

      Heretics in Islam: Quraysh

      26.4

      فلما ضرب الإسلام بجِرانه، واتّسق مُلكه على أركانه، مازَج العربُ غيرَهم من الطوائف، وسمعوا كلام الأطبّاء وأصحاب الهيئة وأهل المنطق، فمالت منهم طائفة كثيرة.

      ولم يزل الإلحاد في بني آدم على ممرّ الدهور، حتى إن أصحاب السِّيَر يزعُمون أن آدم صلّى الله عليه بَعث إلى أولاده فأنذرهم بالآخرة وخوّفهم من العذاب فكذّبوه وردّوا قوله، ثم على ذلك المنهاج إلى اليوم.

      وبعض العلماء يقول إنّ سادات قُريش كانوا زنادقةً. وما أجدرَهم بذلك! وقال شاعرهم يرثي قتلى بَدْر، وتُروى لشدّاد بن الأَسْود اللَّيثي:

ألمّتْ بالتحيّة أمُّ بكْرِ	فحيُّوا أمَّ بكرٍ بالسلامِ
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