The Luzumiyat · Chapter
XCV explained
The speaker addresses God, acknowledging the commandment 'Thou shalt not kill' while pointing out the irony that God's angels (presumably the angels of death) feed on human life, and that the promise of an afterlife is based on this life.
What happens
The speaker addresses God, acknowledging the commandment 'Thou shalt not kill' while pointing out the irony that God's angels (presumably the angels of death) feed on human life, and that the promise of an afterlife is based on this life. The speaker wishes that God had spared humans from both life and death altogether.
Themes in this chapter
Doubt and Skepticism
The speaker questions the consistency of divine commandments with the reality of death and the afterlife.
Mortality and Transience
The poem focuses on the inevitability of death and the cycle of life, with the angels of death 'soul-devouring' humans.
Characters to notice
- Allah
Addressed directly in the quatrain as the source of the commandment and the promise of an afterlife.
Key passages
“Thou shalt not kill!—Thy words, O God, we heed, Though thy two Soul-devouring Angels feed Thy Promise of another life on this— To have spared us both, it were a boon indeed.”
We obey your commandment not to kill, God, but your angels of death consume our souls. Your promise of an afterlife depends on this life; it would have been a true gift if you had spared us from both living and dying.
The speaker points out the paradox of a God who forbids killing yet allows death, and suggests that non-existence would be preferable.