the poets is a lack of religion, lying, slandering chaste women, and satirizing the innocent, especially those who were present at the beginning of Islam, such as those who satirized the Muslims, satirized the Prophet (peace and blessings of God be upon him), and defamed Islam and its people (108), or those who praised the disbelievers. Thus, the condemnation applied to the majority, while He exempted from them those who do not commit these blameworthy qualities. Therefore, the verse is evidence for its permissibility and the praise of those among its people who are characterized by beautiful qualities. As for the report, Abu 'Ubayd stated: "Its meaning is that poetry overwhelms a person to the extent that it distracts him from the Qur'an and jurisprudence (Fiqh)." It has also been said: "The intended meaning is that which constitutes satire and obscenity." Thus, whatever poetry contains the satire of Muslims, attacking their honor, or flirting (tashbib) (109) with a specific woman by excessively (110) describing her, our companions have mentioned that it is forbidden. If this is intended to mean that it is forbidden for the one reciting it, then it is correct. However, for the one narrating it, this is not correct; for the accounts of the battles (Maghazi) contain the poems of the disbelievers who used them to satirize (111) the Companions of the Messenger of God (peace and blessings of God be upon him), and no one denies this. It is reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of God be upon him) permitted the poetry that the poets composed on the day of Badr, Uhud, and others, except for the Ha'iyyah ode of Umayyah ibn Abi al-Salt (112). Likewise, the poetry of Qays ibn al-Khatim (113) is narrated regarding his flirting with 'Amrah bint Rawahah, the sister of 'Abd Allah ibn Rawahah and the mother of al-Nu'man ibn Bashir. The Prophet (peace and blessings of God be upon him) heard the poem of Ka'b ibn Zuhayr, which contains flirting with Su'ad. People have continued to narrate such things without objection. We have narrated that al-Nu'man ibn Bashir entered a gathering where a man was singing to them the poem of Qays ibn al-Khatim. When al-Nu'man entered, they silenced him because it contained a mention of his mother. Al-Nu'man said: "Leave him, for he has said nothing wrong; he only said:
'And 'Amrah is among the noblewomen, her sleeves wafting with musk' (114).
'Imran ibn Talhah was in a gathering when a man sang to them poetry that mentioned his mother, and they silenced him for..."
(108) Omitted from: the original, B, M. (109) In A, B, M: "al-tashabbub". (110) In M: "wa-al-ifrat". (111) Omitted from: the original. (112) The poem is in: al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah 2/30-32, and it begins: 'Will you not weep for the noble... sons of the noble, those of great praises?' (113) Qays ibn al-Khatim was from the Banu Aws. He lived in the Pre-Islamic era (Jahiliyyah), reached the time of Islam but did not embrace it, and was killed before the Migration (Hijrah). See the introduction to the edition of his Diwan, 7, 8. (114) The story and the verse are in his Diwan 24.
