Khalid ibn Kaysan said, "I was with Ibn 'Umar when Iyyas ibn Khaythama
got up and said to him, 'Shall I recite some poetry, Ibn al-Faruq?' 'Yes,'
he replied, 'but only recite good poetry to me.'" He recited until he came
to something which Ibn 'Umar disliked whereupon he told him to stop.
Mutarrif said, "I accompanied 'Imran ibn Husayn from Kufa to Basra.
Very rarely did he arrive at my house without reciting some poetry to me.
He said, 'Indirect speech accords great scope in avoiding lies.'"
Al-Aswad ibn Suray' said, "Messenger of Allah, I have praised my
Lord, the Almighty and Exalted, in some words of praise." He said, "Your
Lord loves praise," and did not say anything more.
Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless
him and grant him peace, said, "It is better for a man to fill his belly
with oozing pus than to fill it with poetry."
Al-Aswad ibn Suray' said, "I was a poet and went to the Prophet,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and asked, 'Shall I recite some
praises I have written for my Lord?' He said, 'Your Lord loves praise,'
and did not say anything more."
حَدَّثَنَا سَعِيدُ بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا مُبَارَكٌ، عَنِ الْحَسَنِ، عَنِ الأَسْوَدِ بْنِ سَرِيعٍ قَالَ: كُنْتُ شَاعِرًا، فَأَتَيْتُ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَقُلْتُ: أَلاَ أُنْشِدُكَ مَحَامِدَ حَمِدْتُ بِهَا رَبِّي؟ قَالَ: إِنَّ رَبَّكَ يُحِبُّ الْمَحَامِدَ، وَلَمْ يَزِدْنِي عَلَيْهِ.
'A'isha said, "Hassan ibn Thabit asked the Messenger of Allah,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, for permission to satirise the
idolaters. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
said, 'And what about my lineage?' He said, 'I will extract you from them
as a hair is taken from dough.'"
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سَلامٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدَةُ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا هِشَامُ بْنُ عُرْوَةَ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهَا قَالَتِ: اسْتَأْذَنَ حَسَّانُ بْنُ ثَابِتٍ رَسُولَ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي هِجَاءِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: فَكَيْفَ بِنِسْبَتِي؟ فَقَالَ: لَأَسُلَّنَّكَ مِنْهُمْ كَمَا تُسَلُّ الشَّعْرَةُ مِنَ الْعَجِينِ.
Hisham reported that his father said, "I began to abuse Hassan
in the presence of 'A'isha and she said, 'Do not abuse him.
He used to defend the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace.'"
وَعَنْ هِشَامٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ قَالَ: ذَهَبْتُ أَسُبُّ حَسَّانَ عِنْدَ عَائِشَةَ، فَقَالَتْ: لاَ تَسُبَّهُ، فَإِنَّهُ كَانَ يُنَافِحُ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم.
'Abdullah ibn 'Amr reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, said, "Poetry is in the same position as
speech. The good of it is like good words and its bad part is like bad
words."
'A'isha said, "Poetry is both good and bad. Take the good and leave
the bad. I have related some of the poetry of Ka'b ibn Malik. That included
an ode of forty verses and some less than that."
Shurayh said, "I ask 'A'isha, may Allah be pleased her with, 'Did
the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, recite
any poetry?' She said, 'He used to recite some of the poetry of 'Abdullah
ibn Rawaha:
Ash-Sharid said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, asked me to recite the poetry of Umayya ibn Abi's-Salt and I recited
it. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, began
to say, 'Go on, go on!' until I had recited a hundred lines.' The Prophet
said, 'If only he had become Muslim.'"
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو نُعَيْمٍ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللهِ بْنُ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ يَعْلَى قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ عَمْرَو بْنَ الشَّرِيدِ، عَنِ الشَّرِيدِ قَالَ: اسْتَنْشَدَنِي النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم شِعْرَ أُمَيَّةَ بْنِ أَبِي الصَّلْتِ، وَأَنْشَدْتُهُ، فَأَخَذَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ: هِيهِ، هِيهِ حَتَّى أَنْشَدْتُهُ مِئَةَ قَافِيَةٍ، فَقَالَ: إِنْ كَادَ لَيُسْلِمُ.
Ibn 'Umar reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, said, "It is better for one of you to fill his belly with pus
than to fill it with poetry."
حَدَّثَنَا عُبَيْدُ اللهِ بْنُ مُوسَى، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا حَنْظَلَةُ، عَنْ سَالِمٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ: لأَنْ يَمْتَلِئَ جَوْفُ أَحَدِكُمْ قَيْحًا خَيْرٌ لَهُ مِنْ أَنْ يَمْتَلِئَ شِعْرًا.
In respect of "And as for the poets, is the misled who follow
them. Do you not see how they ramble on in every style and that they say
things which they do not do?" (26:223-225), Ibn 'Abbas said that it
was abrogated and that an exception was made in His words, "except for
those who believe and do right actions the kind of reversal they
will receive." (26:226)
Ibn 'Abbas said that a man - or a bedouin - came to the
Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and spoke some eloquent
words. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "There
is some magic eloquence and some wisdom in poetry."
حَدَّثَنَا عَارِمٌ، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو عَوَانَةَ، عَنْ سِمَاكٍ، عَنْ عِكْرِمَةَ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، أَنَّ رَجُلاً، أَوْ أَعْرَابِيًّا، أَتَى النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم فَتَكَلَّمَ بِكَلاَمٍ بَيِّنٍ، فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم: إِنَّ مِنَ الْبَيَانِ سِحْرًا، وَإِنَّ مِنَ الشِّعْرِ حِكْمَةً.
'Abdu'l-Malik ibn Marwan entrusted the teaching of his children
to ash-Sha'bi and said, "Teach them poetry so that they will possess dignity
and vigor. Feed them meat so that their hearts will be strong. Cut off
their hair so that their necks will be strong. Make them sit with men of
distinction who will contradict them in words."
'A'isha reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant
him peace, said, "The greatest of criminals is the poet who satirises the
entire tribe and a man who disclaims his father."
