"The Epistle of Forgiveness" and its Implications for the Qur’an

Jamie Ferrell

Professor Gretchen Head

UC Berkeley Comparative Literature R1B

17 February 2015

Diagnostic Essay: The Epistle of Forgiveness and its Implications for the Qur’an

Abu L-Ala’ al-Ma‘arri’s eleventh-century text The Epistle of Forgiveness offers several viewpoints that appear heretical when viewed through the lens of a skeptic. Specifically, in the chapter titled “Hell,” many of the criticisms that al-Ma’arri brings up regarding the work of various poets can be applied to the structure of the Qur’an. Not only that, but several more definitive concepts are addressed in this work that serve to reemphasize the idea that al-Ma’arri is subtly inserting critiques of the Qur’an that were, to say the least, unconventional for the time.

This highly controversial, albeit fortitudinous concept is more substantive when one first reads the excerpt “Hell” from The Epistle of Forgiveness, and then considers the implications for the Qur’an. The heretical nature of the reading is first introduced in “Hell” by Satan. The protagonist, referred to as the Sheikh, is traveling through Hell under the protection of God. Upon entering, he encounters Satan, who questions the policy of alcohol being forbidden on Earth, but permitted in Paradise. As a rule, the Qur’an repudiates all mind-altering substances, even specifically mentioning alcohol by name; however, once in Paradise, wine is spoken of freely as a newly permitted substance. Satan questions the implications of this policy by asking, “now, do the people in Paradise do with the immortal youths what the people of Sodom and Gomorra did?” In other words, the logical continuities of the alcohol policy--its forbiddance on Earth but permittance in Paradise--suggest that sodomy, which too is forbidden on Earth, may also experience policy changes in Heaven. This implies that the Qur’an has some gray areas, creating room for varying interpretations.

This instance of heretical speculation is very specific; however, in the same chapter al-Ma’arri offers more logistical speculation with regards to the general nature of poetry. The Sheikh continues to travel through Hell, examining the works of various poets he meets during his journey. In every instance, he scrutinizes the grammatical nuances and inflections in their poetry, and critiques their use of certain expressions due to the fact that they may be interpreted differently by different readers. For example, when speaking with one such poet named ‘Alqamah ibn’Abadah, the Sheikh brings up the homonym “well” and how it has varying meanings depending on the context. He asks, “By ‘well’ did you mean a well one goes to for water, or is it a grave? Both interpretations make good sense.” And it is true--the verse is made much more ominous by the second interpretation, but there is no real way of knowing whether or not ibn’Abadah intended it to be so.

In another instance, the Sheikh mentions the unpredictable and unreliable nature of the oral tradition of poetry. In the same conversation with ibn’Abadah, regarding another verse, he asks, “Did you really pronounce it as khabatta, with doubled t? Or did some other Arab say it like that? After all, it is possible for a poet to say one thing in a poem after which the transmitters change it.” In other words, the inflections, emphases, and intonations proffered by different readers of poetry can change the original meaning of a work--and if there is any work that has gone through numerous transmitters, it is the Qur’an.

Thus, the Shiekh’s speculations about verses by different poets have implications for the retention of the Qur’an’s original meaning. The verses that were originally revealed to Muhammad were preserved for years by way of oral tradition, and passed down through generations before they were officially documented and organized into the text that is utilized today. The verses passed through thousands of people before even reaching the editors, who had to take certain leaps of faith when documenting the Qur’an so as to maintain a rhyme scheme and relative logicality. And even then, it is no secret that it is still a very disjointed text. The jumbled nature of the Qur’an, coupled with the multitude of editors that pieced it together, the long oral tradition of the text, and various interpretations of the millions of people that have read it suggest some margin of error, if you will, and variance in meaning due to its extensive history.