# XII explained — The Luzumiyat

> Chapter companion for The Luzumiyat by Abu al-ʻAlaʼ al-Maʻarri.

## What happens

The chapter questions the purpose of human emotions—joy and sorrow—in the face of inevitable decay, using the imagery of doves calling to a rose and the rose bleeding on a thorn to illustrate the transience of life.

## Themes in this chapter

### Mortality and Transience

The dying rose bleeding on the thorn symbolizes the fleeting nature of life and the inevitability of death.

### Doubt and Skepticism

The rhetorical question 'what avails it then that Man be born to joy or sorrow?' expresses doubt about the value of human experience.

## Key lines

> And what avails it then that Man be born To joy or sorrow?⁠—why rejoice or mourn? The doling doves are calling to the rose; The dying rose is bleeding o’er the thorn.

What is the point of being born to experience happiness or sadness? Why celebrate or grieve? The mourning doves call out to the rose, but the rose is already dying, its blood spilling on the thorn.

_The passage emphasizes the futility of emotional investment in a world defined by decay and loss._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/chapters/xii
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_luzumiyat_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/chapters