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The Luzumiyat · Chapter

LXXIII explained

The speaker responds to inquiries about faith and lineage by declaring themselves a child of Time, belonging to all of mankind, and viewing the world as a temporary resting place.

What happens

The speaker responds to inquiries about faith and lineage by declaring themselves a child of Time, belonging to all of mankind, and viewing the world as a temporary resting place.

Themes in this chapter

  • Mortality and Transience

    The world is described as a 'caravanseri,' a temporary inn, emphasizing life's fleeting nature.

  • Spiritual Search and Agnosticism

    The speaker rejects conventional faith and creed, instead identifying with universal human existence and time.

Key passages

  • What is thy faith and creed,” they ask of me, “And who art thou? Unseal thy pedigree.”⁠— I am the child of Time, my tribe, mankind, And now this world’s my caravanseri.

    When asked about my religion and ancestry, I reply that I am a product of time, my people are all of humanity, and this world is merely a temporary inn.

    The speaker rejects sectarian identity in favor of a universal, temporal belonging.