The Luzumiyat · Chapter
XC explained
A brief but potent quatrain urging the reader to refrain from violence against innocent creatures, emphasizing the shared mortality of hunter and hunted.
What happens
A brief but potent quatrain urging the reader to refrain from violence against innocent creatures, emphasizing the shared mortality of hunter and hunted.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Themes in this chapter
- Mortality and Transience
The quatrain underscores the fleeting nature of life for both hunter and hunted, reminding that neither endures long.
- Suffering and Resilience
The warning against staining life with guiltless blood highlights the suffering inflicted on innocent creatures and the futility of violence.
Key passages
“Thy life with guiltless life-blood do not stain— Hunt not the children of the woods; in vain Thou’lt try one day to wash thy bloody hand: Nor hunter here nor hunted long remain.”
Do not taint your life by shedding innocent blood—do not hunt the creatures of the forest; you will find it futile to cleanse your bloodstained hand, for both the hunter and the hunted are equally transient.
A moral admonition against killing, rooted in the shared impermanence of all living beings.
