Anashid al-Ithm wa-l-Bara'a

Summary

Anashid al-Ithm wa-l-Bara'a ("Hymns of Sin and Innocence") is a book of prose pieces by the Egyptian writer Mostafa Mahmoud; the copy used here is the second edition from Dar al-Ma'arif, deposit number 1984/3115 ⁴ ³.

The chapters

By the contents: What Is Love?; Hymns of Sin and Innocence; With No One Betraying; Upheaval; Suffering Has No Class; On Suicide; And the Harvest Is Zero; He Wanted to Have Mercy on Her; The People of the Fire; The Tree; The Puppet Theatre; Nothing Equals Freedom; Prayer of the Erring Servant ³.

Love and sin

The first chapter answers "What is love?" by saying its signs are ease and closeness, finding yourself "with no need to lie", and that love "in one word is fitness: the fitness of souls" ¹ ². In the second chapter the love hymn turns into supplication: "Woe to us, we have wronged ourselves", and "do we love anything but Your light?" ⁵. Other chapters are in the voices of women who write to the author about divorce and betrayal ⁶ ⁷.

On suicide

The author notes that suicide has risen with progress and luxury, and holds that its causes come down to one: a person "whose expectations were disappointed", whose patience and resolve ran out, so that despair turned into enmity against the self ⁸ ⁹.

Prayer of the erring servant

The book closes with a long intimate prayer in which the speaker says "I am nothingness and You are being, so do not let me be lost", and asks for help to pass beyond his commanding self to the self that longs for God's nearness and mercy ¹⁰ ¹¹.

For young visitors

Mostafa Mahmoud asked: what is love? He answered that it is being with someone you love and never needing to lie, and feeling at ease the way you feel warm on a cold day ¹.

Notes for researchers

Citations use PDF page numbers; the scan has two printed pages on each PDF page.
The year of the first edition is not given in this file.

Sources

Mostafa Mahmoud, Anashid al-Ithm wa-l-Bara'a, 2nd ed. (Dar al-Ma'arif, Cairo, c. 1984) , p. 3

Mostafa Mahmoud, Anashid al-Ithm wa-l-Bara'a, 2nd ed. (Dar al-Ma'arif, Cairo, c. 1984) , p. 5

Mostafa Mahmoud, Anashid al-Ithm wa-l-Bara'a, 2nd ed. (Dar al-Ma'arif, Cairo, c. 1984) , p. 51

Mostafa Mahmoud, Anashid al-Ithm wa-l-Bara'a, 2nd ed. (Dar al-Ma'arif, Cairo, c. 1984) , p. 2

Mostafa Mahmoud, Anashid al-Ithm wa-l-Bara'a, 2nd ed. (Dar al-Ma'arif, Cairo, c. 1984) , p. 8

Mostafa Mahmoud, Anashid al-Ithm wa-l-Bara'a, 2nd ed. (Dar al-Ma'arif, Cairo, c. 1984) , p. 12

Mostafa Mahmoud, Anashid al-Ithm wa-l-Bara'a, 2nd ed. (Dar al-Ma'arif, Cairo, c. 1984) , p. 15

Mostafa Mahmoud, Anashid al-Ithm wa-l-Bara'a, 2nd ed. (Dar al-Ma'arif, Cairo, c. 1984) , p. 24

Mostafa Mahmoud, Anashid al-Ithm wa-l-Bara'a, 2nd ed. (Dar al-Ma'arif, Cairo, c. 1984) , p. 25

Mostafa Mahmoud, Anashid al-Ithm wa-l-Bara'a, 2nd ed. (Dar al-Ma'arif, Cairo, c. 1984) , p. 48

Mostafa Mahmoud, Anashid al-Ithm wa-l-Bara'a, 2nd ed. (Dar al-Ma'arif, Cairo, c. 1984) , p. 49

Anashid al-Ithm wa-l-Bara'a

At a glance

Summary

The chapters

Love and sin

On suicide

Prayer of the erring servant

Notes for researchers

Connections

People and things also explored

Sources

Words

al-Insan wa-l-Zill