"The Luzumiyat" of Abu'l-Ala, as rendered into English by Mr. Ameen Rihani, is more than a mere translation—it is excellent poetry. Aside from its interest as a literary curiosity, it possesses intrinsic value as literature of a high quality. The historical matter contained in the preface of the book, as well as the notes following the preface, will appeal to the scholar who makes a study of the best expressions of Oriental thought.—James B. Kenyon.
The first English rendition of the Luzumiyat of Abu'l-Ala, comes from Ameen Rihani, the author of the Book of Khaled, who has selected the quatrains from three volumes of the works of the Syrian poet. For those who cling to a childish haze concerning Assyrians and Syrians, we would add that while the Assyrian comes down like a wolf on the fold, the Syrian, at least this particular one, has a tread like Omar Khayyam. Therein lies the chief interest of the Luzumiyat, unfair as it may be, in view of the fact that Abu'l-Ala died at about the time Omar was born. So marked and far-reaching is the resemblance, that we might almost bring ourselves to the belief that in Omar Khayyam was recreated the soul of Abu'l-Ala, with subtle changes, notable among them the casting off of the tenets of prohibition, and a substitution of fatalism for stoicism.—The Sun (New York).
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