“With Abū al-ʿAlāʾ in His Prison” by Ṭāhā Ḥusayn
The Book and Its Significance
Context of Composition:
Ṭāhā Ḥusayn wrote this book in 1935 as part of his trilogy on the medieval Arab poet and philosopher Abū al-ʿAlāʾ al-Maʿarrī, following Renewing the Memory of Abū al-ʿAlāʾ and The Voice of Abū al-ʿAlāʾ. Rather than offering a conventional biography, Ḥusayn presents an intimate and critical meditation on al-Maʿarrī’s life and philosophy, with a special focus on the striking parallels between them—most notably their shared blindness and existential struggles.
Methodology:
The work is not a traditional life story but rather an imagined dialogue. Ḥusayn treats al-Maʿarrī less as a historical figure and more as a “loyal friend” whose secrets are to be respected. This fusion of psychological analysis and emotional affinity shapes the book’s unique approach.
The Three Prisons of al-Maʿarrī: The Book’s Central Framework
Ḥusayn structures his interpretation around the “three prisons” that al-Maʿarrī himself famously described:
“I find myself confined within three prisons:
the loss of my sight, the seclusion of my home,
and the entrapment of the soul within this wretched body.”
1. The Prison of Blindness
Al-Maʿarrī lost his sight at the age of four, a loss that imposed both physical and psychological isolation early in life.
Ḥusayn draws direct parallels with his own childhood blindness, showing how deprivation became, paradoxically, a source of heightened perception and deep reflection for both men.
2. The Prison of Self-Imposed Seclusion
After returning from Baghdad, al-Maʿarrī withdrew into his home in Maʿarrat al-Nuʿmān for nearly fifty years, asking the townspeople not to visit him.
He imposed strict discipline on himself: refusing marriage, abstaining from meat, avoiding luxurious clothing, and rejecting comfortable bedding.
For Ḥusayn, this isolation was not escapism but an effort to free the mind from the distractions of material life.
3. The Prison of the Body and Philosophy
Here the focus shifts to al-Maʿarrī’s metaphysical struggles: the tension between faith and doubt, questions of free will, and the destiny of the soul.
Ḥusayn highlights al-Maʿarrī’s contradictions—his belief in God coupled with skepticism toward divine wisdom, his pessimism about human existence alongside a profound commitment to social justice.
Al-Luzūmiyyāt: Poetry as a Weapon Against Emptiness
Artistic Innovation:
Al-Maʿarrī’s most celebrated collection, Al-Luzūmiyyāt, showcases his mastery of “compulsory constraints”: elaborate rhyme schemes, doubled rhymes, and the exhaustive use of the Arabic alphabet in all its vocalic variations.
Psychological Motivation:
Ḥusayn interprets this stylistic rigor as both a way to fill the endless hours of seclusion and a demonstration of his total command over language—“to play with words even in moments of utmost seriousness.”
Critical Appraisal:
Though deeply impressed, Ḥusayn critiques al-Maʿarrī for sometimes allowing the pursuit of formal difficulty to compromise poetic quality.
Between Doubt and Social Justice: Ḥusayn’s Analysis of al-Maʿarrī
Religious Debate:
Ḥusayn defends al-Maʿarrī against accusations of atheism, framing his contradictions as part of an honest philosophical inquiry. He points to the poet’s later years, which reveal a turn toward piety, as in the verse:
“Fast in Ramadan willingly and devoutly,
for weary feet are blistered by the summer heat.”
A Socialist Vision:
Ḥusayn also uncovers a social dimension in al-Maʿarrī’s thought, especially in lines like:
“The wealth of Zayd is the poverty of ʿAmr,
for fate does not divide events with justice.”
Yet he stresses that this “socialism” was not political in the Marxist sense but philosophical—rooted in asceticism and voluntary redistribution of wealth.
The Parallels Between Ḥusayn and al-Maʿarrī: The Core of the Book
Shared Fate:
Ḥusayn emphasizes the uncanny overlap in their lives:
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Both lost their sight in childhood.
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Both lived to the age of 84.
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Both rebelled against tradition—al-Maʿarrī in philosophy, Ḥusayn in the reform of education.
Emotional Dialogue:
The book unfolds as a kind of “visit” to al-Maʿarrī’s prison, with Ḥusayn imagining a heartfelt conversation:
“I pictured Abū al-ʿAlāʾ meeting me after death, turning away as I tried to offer my apology.”
Reception and Criticism
Unique Contribution:
The book stands as a pioneering example of literary-psychological criticism, breaking with the stereotype of al-Maʿarrī as a heretic and instead portraying him as a “tormented genius.”
Critiques:
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The book offers too few direct examples from al-Maʿarrī’s poetry.
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Ḥusayn’s own voice dominates, leaving less space for readers to reach independent conclusions.
Legacy
With Abū al-ʿAlāʾ in His Prison endures as a moving testimony to an intellectual encounter across centuries, where two extraordinary minds transcended the confines of time and body. In Ḥusayn’s words, it is “a sharing of emotions between two human beings whose lives bore striking resemblances, though they lived in different ages.”
The book remains freely available today through the Hindawi Foundation and continues to serve as a vital reference for understanding both the genius and humanity of al-Maʿarrī.
For the original summary in Arabic
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