In the name of Allah most
gracious most merciful
Assalaamu alaykum wa
rahmatuallahi wa barakatuhu
36:69 We have not instructed the (Prophet) in Poetry nor is it meet for
Him: this is no less than a Message and a Qur'an making things clear:
*Note:Ibn kathir says:This is not poetry, as some of the ignorant disbelievers of the Quraysh claimed; neither is it sorcery, a fabrication or a magic spell, as the misguided and ignorant people variously suggested. The Prophet was naturally disinclined to compose verse, and was forbidden to do so by Divine Law.
52:30 Or do they say "A Poet! we await for him some calamity
(hatched) by Time!"
69:40 That this is verily the word of an honored apostle;
41 It is not the word of a poet: little it is ye believe!
*Note:Its Not merely an imaginary tale presented by a poet
21:5 "Nay" they say "(these are) medleys of dreams!
nay he forged it!--nay he is (but) a poet! Let him then bring us a Sign like
the ones that were sent to (prophets) of old!"
37:36 And say: "What! shall we give up our gods for the sake of a
Poet possessed?"
37 Nay! He has come with the (very) Truth and he confirms (the
Message of) the apostles (before Him)
The Believer Strives With His
Sword And His Tongue
Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 4795 Narrated byKa'b ibn Malik
Ka'b said to the Prophet
(peace be upon him), "Allah has sent down concerning poetry what He has
sent down." The Prophet (peace be
upon him) replied, "The believer strives with his sword and his tongue. By
Him in Whose hand my soul is, it is as though you are shooting at them with it
like the spraying of arrows."
It is transmitted in Sharh
as-Sunnah. In al-Isti'ab by Ibn AbdulBarr Ka'b said, "Messenger of Allah,
what is your opinion about poetry?" and he replied, "The believer
strives with his sword and his tongue."
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith
8.166 Narrated byUbai bin Kab
Allah's Apostle said,
"Some poetry contains wisdom."
Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 4807 Narrated
byAisha
When the subject of poetry was
mentioned to Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) he said, "It is speech,
and what is good in it is good and what is bad is bad."
Transmitted by Daraqutni.
Shafi'i transmitted on Urwah's authority in Mursal form.
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith 5.181 Narrated byAbu Huraira
The Prophet said, "The
most true words said by a poet was the words of Labid." He said, -Verily,
everything except Allah is perishable and Umaiya bin As-Salt was about to be a
Muslim (but he did not embrace Islam).
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith 5.509 Narrated bySalama bin Al Akwa
We went out to Khaibar in the
company of the Prophet. While we were proceeding at night, a man from the group
said to 'Amir, "O 'Amir! Won't you let us hear your poetry?" 'Amir
was a poet, so he got down and started reciting for the people poetry that kept
pace with the camels' footsteps, saying:
"O Allah! Without You we Would not have been guided On the right
path Neither would be have given In charity, nor would We have prayed. So
please forgive us, what we have committed (i.e. our defects); let all of us Be
sacrificed for Your Cause And send Sakina (i.e. calmness) Upon us to make our
feet firm When we meet our enemy, and If they will call us towards An unjust
thing, We will refuse. The infidels have made a hue and Cry to ask others' help
Against us." The Prophet on that, asked, "Who is that (camel) driver
(reciting poetry)?" The people said, "He is 'Amir bin
Al-Akwa'."
Then the Prophet said, "May Allah bestow His Mercy on him." A man amongst the people said, "O Allah's Prophet! has (martyrdom) been granted to him. Would that you let us enjoy his company longer." Then we reached and besieged Khaibar till we were afflicted with severe hunger. Then Allah helped the Muslims conquer it (i.e. Khaibar). In the evening of the day of the Conquest of the city, the Muslims made huge fires. The Prophet said, "What are these fires? For cooking what, are you making the fire?" The people replied, "(For cooking) meat." He asked, "What kind of meat?" They (i.e. people) said, "The meat of donkeys." The Prophet said, "Throw away the meat and break the pots!" Some man said, "O Allah's Apostle! Shall we throw away the meat and wash the pots instead?" He said, "(Yes, you can do) that too." So when the army files were arranged in rows (for the clash), 'Amir's sword was short and he aimed at the leg of a Jew to strike it, but the sharp blade of the sword returned to him and injured his own knee, and that Caused him to die. When they returned from the battle, Allah's Apostle saw me (in a sad mood). He took my hand and said, "What is bothering you?" I replied, "Let my father and mother be sacrificed for you! The people say that the deeds of 'Amir are lost." The Prophet said, "Whoever says so, is mistaken, for 'Amir has got a double reward." The Prophet raised two fingers and added, "He (i.e. Amir) was a persevering struggler in the Cause of Allah and there are few 'Arabs who achieved the like of (good deeds) 'Amir had done."
Sunan of Abu-DawoodHadith 4994 Narrated
byBuraydah ibn al-Hasib
I heard the Apostle of Allah
(peace be upon him) say: In eloquence there is magic, in knowledge ignorance, in
poetry wisdom, and in speech heaviness.
Sa'sa'ah ibn Suhan said: The Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) spoke
the truth. His statement "In eloquence there is magic" means: (For
example), there is a right due from a man who is more eloquent in reasoning
than the man who is demanding his right. He (the defendant) charms the people
by his speech and takes away his right. His statement "In knowledge there
is ignorance" means: A scholar brings to his knowledge what he does not
know, and thus he becomes ignorant of that. His statement "In poetry there
is wisdom" means: These are the sermons and examples by which people
receive admonition. His statement "In speech there is heaviness"
means: That you present your speech and your talk to a man who is not capable
of understanding it, and who does not want it.
Sahih Muslim HadithHadith 5602 Narrated
byAsh-Sharid
One day when I rode behind
Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him), he said (to me): Do you remember any
poetry of Umayyah ibn AbusSalt. I said: Yes. He said: Then go on. I recited a couplet
and he said: Go on. Then I again recited a couplet and he said: Go on, I
recited one hundred couplets (of his poetry). This hadith has been reported on
the authority of Sharid through another chain of transmitters but with a slight
variation of wording.
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith 5.467 Narrated byMasruq
We went to 'Aisha while Hassan
bin Thabit was with her reciting poetry to her from some of his poetic Verses,
saying "A chaste wise lady about whom nobody can have suspicion. She gets
up with an empty stomach because she never eats the flesh of indiscreet (ladies)."
'Aisha said to him, "But you are not like that." I said to her,
"Why do you grant him admittance, though Allah said:-- 'and as for him
among them, who had the greater share therein, his will be a severe torment.'
" (24.11)
On that, 'Aisha said,
"And what punishment is more than blinding?" She, added, "Hassan
used to defend or say poetry on behalf of Allah's Apostle (against the infidels)."
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith 4.731 Narrated byAisha
Once Hassan bin Thabit asked the permission of the Prophet to lampoon (i.e. compose satirical poetry defaming) the infidels. The Prophet said, "What about the fact that I have common descent with them?" Hassan replied, "I shall take you out of them as a hair is taken out of dough."
Narrated 'Urwa: I started
abusing Hassan in front of 'Aisha, whereupon she said, "Don't abuse
him, for he used to defend the Prophet (with his poetry)."
Poetry In Mosque
Al-Muwatta Hadith
Hadith 9.96
Prayer in General
Yahya related to me from Malik
that he had heard that Umar ibn al-Khattab set aside an area near the mosque
called al-Butayha and said, "Whoever wishes to talk nonsense or recite
poetry or raise his voice should go to that area."
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith 4.434 Narrated bySaid bin Al Musaiyab
'Umar came to the Mosque while
Hassan was reciting a poem. ('Umar disapproved of that). On that Hassan said,
"I used to recite poetry in this very mosque in the presence of one (i.e.
the Prophet ) who was better than you." Then he turned towards Abu Huraira
and said (to him), "I ask you by Allah, did you hear Allah's Apostle
saying (to me), "Retort on my behalf. O Allah! Support him (i.e. Hassan)
with the Holy Spirit?" Abu Huraira said, "Yes."
Forbidden Poetry Such As
Untruth Exageration & Imagination
Sunan of Abu-DawoodHadith 763 Narrated byJubayr ibn Mut'im
Jabir saw the Apostle of Allah
(peace be upon him) observing prayer. (The narrator Amr said: I do not know which
prayer he was offering.) He (the Prophet) said: Allah is altogether great;
Allah is altogether great; Allah is altogether great; and praise be to Allah in
abundance; and praise be to Allah is abundance; and praise be to Allah in
abundance. Glory be to Allah in the morning and after (saying it three times).
I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed devil, from his puffing up (nafkh),
his spitting (nafth) and his evil suggestion (hamz). He (Amr) said: His nafth
is poetry, his nafkh is pride, and his hamz is madness.
Al-Tirmidhi HadithHadith 2207 Narrated
byHudhayfah
Allah's Messenger (peace be
upon him) said, "Recite the Qur'an with the modulations and tones of the
Arabs, but avoid the modulations of those who recite love poetry and the
modulations of the people of the two Books. After my death people will come who
will trill when they recite the Qur'an as is done in singing and wailing, but
it will go no farther than their throats, and they and those who are charmed by
their performance will be let into error."
Bayhaqi in Shu'ab al-Iman and
Razin in his book transmitted it.
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith 8.176 Narrated byAbu Huraira
Allah's Apostle; said,
"It is better for anyone of you that the inside of his body be filled with
pus which may consume his body, than it be filled with poetry."
Sahih Muslim HadithHadith 5610 Narrated
bySa'd ibn AbuWaqqas
Allah's Apostle (peace be upon
him) said: It is better for the belly of any one of you to be stuffed with pus
rather than to stuff (one's mind) with poetry.
Sunan of Abu-DawoodHadith 3860 Narrated
byAbdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As
I heard the Apostle of Allah
(peace be upon him) say: If I drink an antidote, or tie an amulet, or compose
poetry, I am the type who does not care what he does.
Sahih Muslim HadithHadith 5611 Narrated
byAbuSa'id al-Khudri
We were going with Allah's
Messenger (peace be upon him). As we reached the place (known as) Arj there met
(us) a poet who had been reciting a poem. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (peace be
upon him) said: Catch the satan or detain the satan, for filling the belly of a
person with pus is better than stuffing his brain with poetry.
Sahih Al-Bukhari HadithHadith
5.258 Narrated byAisha
Abu Bakr married a woman from
the tribe of Bani Kalb, called Um Bakr. When Abu Bakr migrated to Medina, he
divorced her and she was married by her cousin, the poet who said the following
poem lamenting the infidels of Quraish:
"What is there kept in
the well, The well of Badr, (The owners of) the trays of Roasted camel humps?
What is there kept in the well, The well of Badr, (The owners of) lady singers
And friends of the honorable companions; who used to drink (wine) together, Um
Bakr greets us With the greeting of peace, But can I find peace After my people
have gone? The Apostle tells us that We shall live again, But what sort of life
will owls and skulls live?"
Allah knows best