It is often suggested that Islam does not approve of poetry. This is due to two Qur’anic verses, the first of which censures poets, and the other mentions that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was not the type of person who composed poetry. Moreover, the Prophet himself rarely, if ever, quoted a line of poetry and never recited a poem. But if we look at the two relevant Qur’anic verses we find a different picture. The first goes as follows: “As for the poets, only those who are lost in error follow them. Are you not aware that they roam confusedly through all valleys, and that they say what they do not do? Excepted are those who believe, and do righteous deeds, and remember God often, and strive to be triumphant after they have been wronged.” (26: 224-227) It is clear that the description does not apply to all poets, but to those who resort to exaggeration, speaking in superlative terms about their own, or other people’s abilities and position. Thus they make all sorts of false claims. Given their talent of fine expression, they often paint pictures that are a far cry from reality, particularly when they want to curry favor with a ruler or a wealthy person from whom they hope to receive financial benefit. The surah makes a clear exception of poets who are restrained by their faith and fear of God. Thus, it is not all poetry that is condemned here, but the sort of poetry that is far removed from the truth.
The second verse speaks of the Prophet: “We have not taught him poetry, nor does it become him to be a poet. This is a message and a Qur’an that makes things clear.” (36: 69) This verse speaks of a special case that applies to the Prophet only, who delivers God’s message to mankind, contained in the Qur’an. Needless to say, the Qur’an has a unique style, which captivated the Prophet’s Arab contemporaries, who were highly appreciative of fine style. They attached great importance to poetry, and the tribe that had several excellent poets was able to gain high repute. We can compare poetry in Arabia at the time to the media in our times and the influence they have on society. If we describe poetry as a discriminating use of words, constructions and images which charges them with intense meaning, adding a clear element of beauty and finesse, then the Qur’an takes all these elements to much higher levels that are beyond the reach of the most excellent and refined of poets. Hence, the Arabs at the time felt that the Qur’anic style set much higher standards of excellence.
The Prophet’s style, as it is clear in his statements, is superb. It is indeed at the highest level of human styles: Uniquely expressive, full of imagery, concise and precise. But it is all in prose. Had the Prophet used poetry, there might have been confusion in some people’s minds as to the Qur’an being a different form of poetry. Hence, the Prophet never used poetry, and in the above verse God clearly states that He has not taught Muhammad, His final messenger, how to write poetry. He remained free of the sort of exaggeration poets resort to. The verse concludes with a description of the Qur’an as a clear message from God.
But this is no condemnation of poets or poetry. The first verse makes a clear exception of poets who are true believers, do good works and often remember God. There were some very fine poets among the Prophet’s companions, the most famous of whom were Hassan ibn Thabit and Abdullah ibn Rawahah. He encouraged them to use their talent to refute the unbelievers’ accusations leveled at him, his companions and Islam. They were more than a match to the idolater poets who resorted to lies, abuse and false accusations.
But the Prophet also appreciated poetry that often expressed human wisdom, even when such poetry was by a non-Muslim poet. Amr ibn Al-Sharid mentions a report by his father who says: “I was riding behind the Prophet on the same mount when the Prophet asked me: ‘Do you memorize any poetry by Umayyah ibn Abi Al-Salt?’ When I answered in the affirmative, he asked me to recite. I quoted one line, and he asked for more. He kept asking for more until I had recited one hundred lines.” (Related by Muslim, Ahmad, Al-Tirmidhi and Al-Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad.)
It should be mentioned that Umayyah ibn Abi Al-Salt was a pre-Islamic poet who included much wisdom in his poetry. Much of what he said is universally acceptable as he extolled moral values and enshrined ideals of justice, freedom, courage and truth.
When the Prophet’s companions were doing together something of importance, or facing danger, they might chant some poetry to express their unity of purpose. This is something common to all people, as we see the fans chanting support to their team during a match. One of the more difficult times the Prophet’s companions went through was when the Arab unbelievers colluded with the Jews and marched toward Madinah, pledged to annihilate Islam altogether. The Prophet ordered a moat to be dug outside Madinah, to deny the attacking army easy entry. The Prophet shared in digging it like everyone else, because the digging had to be completed within a short period of time. As they were engaged in this great effort, the Prophet’s companions chanted a rhyme saying: “Had it not been for God’s grace, we would not have known His guidance, and we would have neither given charity nor prayed. Our Lord! Grant us serenity in this difficult time, and steady our footsteps should we engage our enemy in battle. It is the other party that is the aggressor; but we will never yield to their persecution.” As they repeated this rhyme, the Prophet would raise his voice twice repeating its last word, abayna, which means “we will never yield.”
But this was not the only rhyme the Prophet’s companions chanted as they were digging the moat. Another one repeated particularly by the Ansar may be translated as follows: “We are the ones who have given firm pledges to Muhammad that we will strive for God’s cause as long as we live.” The Prophet answered them with rhyming phrases, but not in prose, saying: “The only true life is that of the hereafter. My Lord, grant your bounty to the Ansar and the Muhajireen.” (Related by Al-Bukhari, Muslim and Ahmad.)
