Al-Ma'arri

“Al-Maʿarri's poems (in English)”

“{{Gutenberg author | id=Abu+al-Ala+al-Maarri | name=Al-Maʿarri}}”

“Profile in Encyclopædia Britannica”

“Philosophical pessimism”

“History shows that many freethinkers, not daring to express their thoughts freely, have sheltered themselves behind a religion in which they disbelieved. Such was Euripides, and such was Ma'arri. In the works of both we find three elements:”

“His asceticism, his deep sense of right and wrong, his powerful intellect, his prodigious memory, and his wide range of learning, are alike acknowledged by both friend and foe.”

“If I had but a garden for a bowerWherein the roses of Damascus flower,How happy, with the Luzumiyat in hand,To pass the afternoon and sunset hour!”

“His poems generally known as the Luzumiyat arrest attention by their boldness and originality as well as by the sombre and earnest tone which pervades them.”

“Abu'l-Ala is a poet many centuries ahead of his time.”

“A little doubt is better than total credulity.”

“They recite their sacred books, although the fact informs me that these are a fiction from first to last. O Reason, thou (alone) speakest the truth. Then perish the fools who forged the (religious) traditions or interpreted them!”

“How sad that I returned, how sad,Instead of dying at Baghdad!I say, whene'er things fall amiss,"My coming home hath brought me this."”

“This world is such an abode that if those present hereHave their wits entire, they will never weep for the absent ones.”

“اِثْنَانِ أَهْلُ الْأَرْضِ ذُو عَقْلٍ بِلَا     دِينٍ وَآخَرُ دَيِّنٌ لَا عَقْلَ لَهُ”

“ولو أنّي حُبِيتُ الخُلْدَ فَرْداً     لمَا أحبَبْتُ بالخُلْدِ انفِرادافلا هَطَلَتْ عَلَيّ ولا بأرْضي     سَحائبُ ليسَ تنْتَظِمُ البِلادا”

“{{lang|ar|ألا في سبيلِ المَجْدِ ما أنا فاعل     عَفافٌ وإقْدامٌ وحَزْمٌ ونائِل}}”

“Fear of death pushed Seven Sleepers into a cave,Made Noah and his son build a ship;Nor did Moses and Adam think it pleasant to dieThough they were promised paradise.”

“And I, albeit I come in Time's late hour,Achieve what lay not in the ancients' power.”

“They know me well.How could they conceal a resplendent sun?”

“The holy fights by Moslem heroes fought,The saintly works by Christian hermits wroughtAnd those of Jewry or of Sabian creed—Their valour reaches not the Indian's deedWhom zeal and awe religiously inspire To cast his body on the flaming pyre.”