The Luzumiyat · Chapter
XCVII explained
The speaker reflects on a failed attempt to find spiritual truth within organized religion, likening creeds to caverns where pearls are sought but not found.
What happens
The speaker reflects on a failed attempt to find spiritual truth within organized religion, likening creeds to caverns where pearls are sought but not found.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Themes in this chapter
- Spiritual Search and Agnosticism
The speaker's vain search for pearls in the caverns of creeds underscores a spiritual quest that ends in doubt and unfulfillment.
- Illusion and Reality
The metaphor of stringing pearl-seeds on a rosary suggests the illusion of finding genuine spiritual value in hollow religious forms.
Characters to notice
- Abu al-ʻAlaʼ al-Maʻarri
The speaker of the quatrain, expressing personal disillusionment in the search for truth within religious doctrines.
Key passages
“Once I have tried to string a few Pearl-seeds Upon my Rosary of wooden beads; But I have searched, and I have searched in vain For pearls in all the caverns of the creeds”
I once attempted to adorn my simple prayer beads with precious pearls, but after searching every hidden corner of religious doctrines, I found none.
The speaker conveys the futility of seeking profound spiritual truth within established religious systems.
