Did Labid become a Muslim because he was impressed by the Quran?

The Details of the Question

- Did Labid b. Rebia become a Muslim because he was enchanted by the eloquence of the Quran?

The Answer

Dear Brother / Sister,

It is narrated that Labid, one of the most important figures of Jahiliyyah poetry and one of the poets of the muallaqas (seven poems chosen to be hung on the wall of the Kaaba and regarded as holy), became a Muslim after being impressed by the literary style of the Quran, and that he stopped writing poetry, saying, “Having heard the Quran, it does not fit me to write poems again.”(1)

It is certain that the prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh) and the Quranic verses he listened to caused a tremor in him, turning his ego upside down. He was attracted to the new religion by the following verses, full of eloquent subtleties:(2)

“These are they who have bartered Guidance for error: But their traffic is profitless, and they have lost true direction,

Their similitude is that of a man who kindled a fire; when it lighted all around him, Allah took away their light and left them in utter darkness. So they could not see.

Deaf, dumb, and blind, they will not return (to the path).

Or (another similitude) is that of a rain-laden cloud from the sky: In it are zones of darkness, and thunder and lightning: They press their fingers in their ears to keep out the stunning thunder-clap, the while they are in terror of death. But Allah is ever round the rejecters of Faith!

The lightning all but snatches away their sight; every time the light (Helps) them, they walk therein, and when the darkness grows on them, they stand still. And if Allah willed, He could take away their faculty of hearing and seeing; for Allah hath power over all things.

O ye people! Adore your Guardian-Lord, who created you and those who came before you, that ye may have the chance to learn righteousness;

Who has made the earth your couch, and the heavens your canopy; and sent down rain from the heavens; and brought forth therewith Fruits for your sustenance; then set not up rivals unto Allah when ye know (the truth).”  (al-Baqara, 2/16-22)

Labid, the only poet of the Muallaqa to convert to Islam, returned to his tribe after his arrival in Madinah, declared that he became a Muslim and began to recite the Quran to them. He spent his time reminding the people around him about the resurrection after death, Paradise, Hell, and the happy or horrible things to be encountered in the afterlife. Eventually, when the Caliph Umar (r.a.) founded the city of Kufa, Labid settled there with his sons.(3)

After becoming a Muslim, Labid turned to the Holy Quran and admired its eloquence, rhetoric and miraculousness because he could not find its unique style in any other poet or poem.(4)

According to a narration, Umar (r.a) wrote a letter to al-Mughira b. Shuba, the governor of Kufa at the time of his caliphate, and asked him to send him the poems that the poets in Kufa had written after their conversion to Islam. The governor gathered the poets in Kufa and asked them to fulfill the caliph’s request; and when it was Labid’s turn, he said that he could write one of his poems from the Era of Jahiliyya if they wished.

When Labid’s request was not accepted, he returned home and wrote some verses from the chapter of al-Baqarah on a sheet of paper. When he was asked what it was, he said, “After I became a Muslim, Allah gave me this instead of poetry.”(5)

In another narration, Umar (r.a.) himself asked Labid to recite to him a poem he wrote after he embraced Islam; he responded by reciting the chapter of al-Baqarah and said:

“It does not fit me to recite poetry after Allah taught me the chapters of al-Baqarah and Aal-i Imran.”

Umar (ra) liked this answer very much and added 500 units to his salary, increasing it from 2,000 dinars or dirhams to 2,500.(6)

Although ancient authors such as Ibn Sad, Ibn Qutayba and Ibn Khallikan recorded that Labid did not recite poetry after his conversion to Islam, Brockelmann, Omar Farrukh and some other contemporary scholars argue, acting upon the Islamic motifs in his poems, that he recited some poems, though very few, after his conversion to Islam.

Therefore, there are narrations stating that Labid did not write poetry after he became a Muslim but there are few poems from that period.(7)

When Muslim poets went to the Prophet (pbuh) after the verse about poets was revealed and they expressed their concern and sorrow, the Prophet (pbuh) said to them:

“A believer wages jihad with his body, his sword and his tongue. I swear by Allah that what you say about them is like shooting an arrow; it is so effective.”(8)

References:

1) Ibn Qutayba, ash-Shi’r wash-Shuara, p. 172; Tülücü, “Büyük Bir İslam Şairi: Lebid, AÜİFD, 178.
2) Clement Huart, Arab ve İslam Edebiyatı (Transl: Cemal Sezgin), Ankara, 1971, pp. 52-3; C. Brockelmann, İA (Lebid item.), VII, 48.
3) Ibn Qutayba, p. 176.
4) Ghalayini, Rijalu’l-Muallaqatil-Ashr, 170.
5) Ghalayini, Rijalu’l-Muallaqatil-Ashr, 169.
6) Ibn Qutayba, p. 267; al-Juburi, Labid b Rabia al-Amiri, 380-381.
7) İsmail Hakkı Sezer, Lebid Bin Rabi’a Ve Mu’allakası’nda Tasvir, Konya 1995, pp. 27-38.
8) Ahmad b. Hanbal, Musnad, 6/387; 3/456.

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