# Fate — The Luzumiyat character guide

> Fate in The Luzumiyat by Abu al-ʻAlaʼ al-Maʻarri.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0004-i

## Snapshot

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

## Who they are

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.

## Relationships

### [The Sultan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/characters/the_sultan)

_psychological_

Fate is personified as a force that overrules or challenges the Sultan's power, reflecting al-Ma'arri's deterministic worldview.

### [Abu al-ʻAlaʼ al-Maʻarri](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/characters/abu_al_ala_al_maarri)

_psychological_

Al-Ma'arri has a philosophical obsession with fate, often personifying it as a cruel or indifferent force in his poetry.

## In the story

### [To Abu al-ʻAlaʼ](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/chapters/to-abu-al-ala)

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

### [XIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/chapters/xix)

Depicted as the inscrutable force that reaps the consequences of human actions.

### [XLIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/chapters/xlix)

Depicted as the spender of the coins, using them to cheat Iblis.

### [LII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/chapters/lii)

Implied as the Potter who shapes existence.

### [LVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/chapters/lviii)

Implied through the 'fatal coils' that entangle humans in sin without intent.

### [LX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/chapters/lx)

Addressed as 'Destiny' in the rhyme, representing the force that interacts with the poet's words.

### [LXVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/chapters/lxviii)

Fate is depicted as the force that spins the wheel of fortune, alternately confounding and consoling the powerful.

### [LXXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/chapters/lxxv)

Implied as the mystic Hand that seals the saint's devotion and the sinner's weal.

### [LXXXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/chapters/lxxxii)

Fate is personified as a force that casts shadows of evil and virtue.

### [LXXXV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/chapters/lxxxv)

Fate is personified as carrying both December snows and May flowers, symbolizing the duality of life's experiences.

### [LXXXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/chapters/lxxxvii)

Destiny is personified as a player in a game of 'Give and Go,' manipulating the speaker's fortunes.

### [LXXXVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/chapters/lxxxviii)

Addressed as 'grim Destiny' in the contest of life's game.

### [XCII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/chapters/xcii)

Implied as the force that tears the veil and exposes secrets.

### [XCIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/chapters/xciv)

The speaker appeals to the Fates, wishing they would decree the casting aside of the physical body.

### [CVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/chapters/cvi)

Addressed as 'thee' who casts children into life's dark labyrinth.

### [CXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/chapters/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.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/characters/fate
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_luzumiyat_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/characters