Al-Adab Al-Mufrad

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."

'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.'"

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.'"

See hadith 858.

'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."

See hadith 859.

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.'"

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."

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."

'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."

Ibn 'Umar said, "Two men came from the east as orators in the time of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. They stood up, spoke and then sat down. Thabit ibn Qays, the orator of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, stood up and spoke and the people liked what he said. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, stood up and said, 'O people, say what you have to say. seeking to present words is the best manner is from Shaytan.' Then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'There is some magic in eloquence.'"

Anas said, "A man gave a speech in the presence of 'Umar and said a lot. 'Umar said, 'Too many words in orations comes from the skills of shaytan.'"

Abu Yazid or Ma'n ibn Yazid reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Gather in your mosques. When the people are gathered, come and tell me.' The first of those to whom he came was us and he sat down. One of the speakers spoke and said, 'Praise be to Allah. No praise can be directed to anyone except Him nor is there any escape without Him.' The Prophet got angry, stood up and we blamed one another. Then he went to another mosque and sat in it. We sent to him and spoke to him. He came with us and sat where he had been sitting or near to it. Then he said, 'Praise be to Allah who puts whatever He wishes before Him and whatever He wishes behind Him. There is some magic in eloquence.' Then he commanded us and taught us."

'A'isha said, "The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was sleepless one night and said, 'Would that a man of righteous action among my Companions would come and guard me tonight!' Then he heard the sound of weapons. He asked, 'Who is it?' 'Sa'd,' came the answer. Sa'd said, 'Messenger of Allah, I have come to guard you.' The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, slept and we heard him snore."