Abu 'alaa' al-Ma'arri
A blind Syrian poet and writer,
Abul-'Ala lost his sight at the age of five.
His collections of poetry are The Tinder Spark (Saqt az-zand; Arabic سقط الزند)
and Unnecessary Necessity (Luzum ma la yalzam; Arabic لزوم ما لا يلزم أو
اللزوميات), also called the Luzumiyat. He hailed from the city of Ma'arra
(Arabic المعرة) in Syria (Arabic سورية), from which his name derives. He was
notable for his atheist views, which were extremely rare in the 11th century.
Abul-'Ala is also well known also for his famous book Resalatu Alghufran ( رسالة
الغفران ) which is one of the most effective books in the Arabic heritage and
which left a notable influence on the next generations of writers. It is a book
of divine comedy that concentrates on the Arabic poetical civilization but in a
way the touches all aspects of life. The most interesting characteristics of
Resalat Alghufran are its genius digression, deep philosophy, and brilliant
language. Alighieri Dante's Divine Comedy is clearly influenced (or even
inspired) by Abul-'Ala's Resalatu Alghufran.