Is it appropriate to write or recite poetry?
- Is it a sin to write or recite poetry, or to be interested in poetry, or to what extent is it appropriate?
Dear Brother / Sister,
Decree on writing and reciting poetry and singing songs
Writing and reciting poetry and singing songs are like speaking. In other words, just as there are good and bad words, there are also good and bad poems and songs. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“It, that is, poetry, is a word; the beautiful of it is beautiful and the ugly of it is ugly.” (Daraqutni, Hakim and Bayhaqi)
The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) had poets like Hassan and Abdullah bin Rawaha. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) used to listen to those poets in the mosque. Ka’b, another famous poet, recited his ode “Banat Suadu”, which was as famous as he was, in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) listened to it silently. Although the poem in question contained many metaphors and similes, and even likened the spittle in the mouth of the lover he mentioned in the poem to wine, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) did not prevent him from reciting it. Ruya writes the following in his book “Bahr”:
“Suad, who is mentioned in the ode, was the wife of Ka’b and the daughter of his paternal uncle. When bad things were told to the Prophet (pbuh) about Suad, she ran away because she was afraid of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh); thus, Ka’b was separated from Suad for a long time; and this separation caused him to write the poem in question.”
There was hardly anyone among the Companions and the great Islamic scholars who did not write poems and odes.
Therefore, there is nothing wrong with writing and reciting poetry and singing songs as long as they are within the boundaries of Islam. Any action that goes beyond those boundaries and does not take them into account is haram.
For example, Islam has forbidden drinking, cruelty and immorality. Therefore, poems and songs that praise those things and advise people to do those bad deeds are forbidden by religion. Similarly, poems and songs that describe a particular woman or praise an oppressor are also prohibited.
(Halil GÜNENÇ, Günümüz Meselelerine Fetvalar II, 204)
Questions on Islam
- Is it a sin or how appropriate is it to write or read poetry, to be interested in poems?
- Ka’b bin Zuhayr (r.a.)
- How did Ka'b bin Zuhayr, the poet, become a Muslim?
- Hassan bin Thabit (r.a.)
- Ka’b b. Zuhayr, The Poet, Becomes a Muslim
- Did Labid become a Muslim because he was impressed by the Quran?
- Which of the Mu’allaqat as-Sab’a poets became Muslim, how and in what way?
- Will you explain the hadith: “It is better for one of you to be filled with pus that will spoil him than to be filled with poetry”?
- Ka’b bin Malik (r.a.)
- What is the source of Islamic chants and Madih Nabawi? It is claimed that chants and Madih performed in chorus were originated from Christianity. Is it so?
