Surah Ash-Shu'araa (26) — Ayah 227

(Ayah 227) ➊ {اِلَّا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا وَ عَمِلُوا الصّٰلِحٰتِ …:} After the condemnation of poets, those among them who possess four qualities are exempted. The first quality is that they are believers. The second is that they perform righteous deeds, and are not sinful, wicked, or immoral. The third is that they remember Allah abundantly, both in their daily lives and in their poetry. It should not be that there is much emphasis on verbal glorification and remembrance, but in their poetry, instead of remembering Allah, there is mention of love, lust, and frivolous matters. The fourth quality is that they use their speech to support the truth against the oppressors and give a crushing response to the insults that the disbelievers and polytheists utter about Islam, Muslims, and the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). On such occasions, they use their tongues in the same way that a warrior uses arrows and swords on the battlefield. For this purpose, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) himself used to encourage the poets of Islam. Thus, Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: [ اُهْجُوْا قُرَيْشًا فَإِنَّهُ أَشَدُّ عَلَيْهَا مِنْ رَشْقٍ بِالنَّبْلِ ] [ مسلم، فضائل الصحابۃ، باب فضائل حسان بن ثابت رضی اللہ عنہ : ۲۴۹۰ ] "Satirize the Quraysh, for it is more severe for them than piercing with arrows." And at the end of this hadith, Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that she heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) saying to Hassan (may Allah be pleased with him): [ إِنَّ رُوْحَ الْقُدُسِ لَا يَزَالُ يُؤَيِّدُكَ مَا نَافَحْتَ عَنِ اللّٰهِ وَ رَسُوْلِهِ ] "The Holy Spirit will continue to support you as long as you defend Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him)." And she says that she heard the Prophet (peace be upon him) say: [ هَجَاهُمْ حَسَّانُ فَشَفٰی وَ اشْتَفٰی] [ مسلم، فضائل الصحابۃ، باب فضائل حسان بن ثابت رضی اللہ عنہ : ۲۴۹۰ ] "Hassan satirized them and healed, and was healed." Ka'b bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "O Messenger of Allah! What is your opinion about poetry?" The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: [إِنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَ يُجَاهِدُ بِسَيْفِهِ وَلِسَانِهِ وَالَّذِيْ نَفْسِيْ بِيَدِهِ لَكَأَنَّمَا تَنْضَحُوْنَهُمْ بِالنَّبْلِ ] [صحیح ابن حبان : ۴۷۰۷، قال المحقق إسنادہ علی شرط الشیخین ] "A believer strives with his sword and his tongue. By Him in Whose hand is my soul! It is as if you are piercing them with arrows." It is clear from the verse that poetry has two states: one that is condemned, and the other that is permitted. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: [ إِنَّ مِنَ الشِّعْرِ حِكْمَةً ] [ ابن ماجہ، الأدب، باب الشعر : ۳۷۵۵ ، و قال الألباني صحیح ] "Some poetry is full of wisdom." Abdullah bin Amr bin al-As (may Allah be pleased with them both) says that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: [ الشِّعْرُ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْكَلَامِ حَسَنُهُ كَحَسَنِ الْكَلَامِ وَ قَبِيْحُهُ كَقَبِيْحِ الْكَلَامِ ] [ سنن الدار قطني : 274/5، ح : ۴۳۰۸ ] "Poetry is like speech, so what is good in it is like good speech, and what is bad in it is like bad speech."

➋ { وَ سَيَعْلَمُ الَّذِيْنَ ظَلَمُوْۤا …:} By the wrongdoers are meant those disbelievers and polytheists who, by not accepting faith, wronged their own souls and, out of stubbornness and obstinacy, belied the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and tried to disgrace Islam by calling the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) a sorcerer, soothsayer, and poet. It is said that soon they will know what their end will be, both in the Hereafter and in this world. In these words, there is a very severe warning for the disbelievers. [ اَللّٰھُمَّ أَحْسِنْ عَاقِبَتَنَا فِي الْأُمُوْرِ کُلِّھَا وَأَجِرْنَا مِنْ خِزْيِ الدُّنْیَا وَ عَذَابِ الْآخِرَۃِ ]