The Luzumiyat · Character

Fate

The personified hand that spins graves around cradles and reaps while it sows, the adversary al-Maʻarri never stops arguing with.

supporting

First appearance: i

As a supporting figure in The Luzumiyat, Fate is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Mentioned as the force that closed the portals of his dwelling, leading to inward light.

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Fate moves through the Luzumiyat as an almost physical antagonist — the moving hand that raises dunes from ancestors, the loom on which Zaqqum's fibre is woven into the tapestry of dreams. Al-Maʻarri does not submit to it; he indicts it, mocking the cycles that make joy and mourning one sound beneath a moaning sky. This quarrel with destiny is the engine of the middle cantos, where the poet's skepticism hardens into something like defiance, and where the reader first feels the full weight of his argument.

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The fuller portrait of Fate sits in Reading Lens — open the free preview to keep reading with notes on the page.

See Fate in i

Character Web

2 connections

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Relationship types

Psychological

Character groups

Scholars and Translators
Protagonist

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Relationships

The Sultan
psychological · negative
Fate is personified as a force that overrules or challenges the Sultan's power,… How this plays out →
Abu al-ʻAlaʼ al-Maʻarri
psychological · negative

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Fate in i

In the story

Fate appears across 16 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

To Abu al-ʻAlaʼ
Mentioned as the force that closed the portals of his dwelling, leading to inward light.
XIX
Depicted as the inscrutable force that reaps the consequences of human actions.
XLIX
Depicted as the spender of the coins, using them to cheat Iblis.
LII
Implied as the Potter who shapes existence.
LVIII
Implied through the 'fatal coils' that entangle humans in sin without intent.
LX
Addressed as 'Destiny' in the rhyme, representing the force that interacts with the poet's words.
LXVIII
Fate is depicted as the force that spins the wheel of fortune, alternately confounding and consoling the powerful.
LXXV
Implied as the mystic Hand that seals the saint's devotion and the sinner's weal.
LXXXII
Fate is personified as a force that casts shadows of evil and virtue.
LXXXV
Fate is personified as carrying both December snows and May flowers, symbolizing the duality of life's experiences.
LXXXVII
Destiny is personified as a player in a game of 'Give and Go,' manipulating the speaker's fortunes.
LXXXVIII
Addressed as 'grim Destiny' in the contest of life's game.
XCII
Implied as the force that tears the veil and exposes secrets.
XCIV
The speaker appeals to the Fates, wishing they would decree the casting aside of the physical body.
CVI
Addressed as 'thee' who casts children into life's dark labyrinth.
CXVII
Fate is depicted as the force that reduces a former wielder of the sword of state to a mere cup, subject to the tavern-floor.

Chapter companion notes

Spoil-light check-ins for Fate unlock in the free preview.

See Fate in i

See Fate in To Abu al-ʻAlaʼ