رسالة الغفران (Risalat al-Ghufran, "The Epistle of Forgiveness") is a celebrated work by the Abbasid-era poet and literary figure أبو العلاء المعري (Abu al-'Ala' al-Ma'arri), written in the 11th century CE.
The work is classified as a رسالة خيالية (imaginative/fictional epistle). It takes the form of a letter in which al-Ma'arri imagines a journey through the afterlife - Paradise and Hell - where the narrator meets famous poets and literary figures. The work blends literary criticism, satire, and imaginative narrative within the epistolary format.
It is not a scientific article (مقالة علمية), as its content is literary and imaginative rather than factual or research-based. It is not epic poetry (شعر ملحمي), as it is written in prose, not verse. It is not a biography (سيرة), as it does not chronicle anyone's life story - it is a fictional imaginative journey framed as a letter.
