The Luzumiyat · Chapter
CV explained
The speaker reflects on standing at the end of Adam's line, holding the curse of his father's life, and expresses a wish that his father had been barren, thus breaking the cycle of wrongdoing.
What happens
The speaker reflects on standing at the end of Adam's line, holding the curse of his father's life, and expresses a wish that his father had been barren, thus breaking the cycle of wrongdoing.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Themes in this chapter
- Mortality and Transience
The poem contemplates the end of a lineage and the curse passed through generations.
- Suffering and Resilience
The speaker bears the life-curse of his father, enduring the legacy of wrongdoing.
Characters to notice
- Abu al-ʻAlaʼ al-Maʻarri
The speaker, reflecting on lineage and inherited curse.
Key passages
“Now, at this end of Adam’s line I stand Holding my father’s life-curse in my hand, Doing no one the wrong that he did me:— Ah, would that he were barren as the sand!”
I am the last descendant of Adam, burdened with the curse my father passed to me. I do not harm others as he harmed me, but I wish he had never had children, like the barren sand.
The speaker laments the inherited curse and wishes for an end to the line.
