# The Luzumiyat — Character guide

> Key figures in The Luzumiyat by Abu al-ʻAlaʼ al-Maʻarri.

- [Abu al-ʻAlaʼ al-Maʻarri](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/characters/abu_al_ala_al_maarri.md): The blind Syrian poet and philosopher, author of the Luzumiyat, whose skeptical and contemplative voice dominates the work.
- [Professor D. S. Margoliouth](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/characters/professor_margoliouth.md): A prominent scholar and translator who provides commentary and analysis on al-Maʻarri's life and works.
- [Omar Khayyam](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/characters/omar_khayyam.md): The Persian mathematician and poet, often compared to al-Maʻarri for their shared philosophical themes.
- [Professor Reynold A. Nicholson](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/characters/professor_nicholson.md): A noted orientalist and translator whose works on Arabic poetry are referenced in the commentary.
- [Adh-Dhahabi](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/characters/adh_dhahabi.md): A medieval historian and biographer cited for his accounts of al-Maʻarri's life.
- [Ahmad ibn Abdallah ibn Sulaiman ut-Tanukhi](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/characters/ahmad_ibn_abdallah.md): A contemporary and correspondent of al-Maʻarri, mentioned in biographical notes.
- [Von Kremer](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/characters/von_kremer.md): A 19th-century scholar whose studies on Arabic literature are referenced in the introduction.
- [Heron-Allen](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/characters/heron_allen.md): A translator and scholar of Persian poetry, cited in comparative discussions.
- [Edward Fitzgerald](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/characters/fitzgerald.md): The English translator of Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat, frequently compared to al-Maʻarri's work.
- [Allah](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/characters/allah.md): The Islamic conception of God, frequently addressed in al-Maʻarri's philosophical poems.
- [Fate](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/characters/fate.md): A personified force of destiny that al-Maʻarri often contemplates and challenges in his verses.
- [The Sultan](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/characters/the_sultan.md): A symbolic figure of worldly authority and power critiqued in the poems.
- [Rabbi](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/characters/rabbi.md): A religious figure mentioned in al-Maʻarri's critiques of organized religion.
- [Jannat](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/characters/jannat.md): A poetic personification of paradise or a beautiful woman in al-Maʻarri's allegories.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_luzumiyat_se/characters