Singing Rhymes and Poems
Adil Salahi, Arab News
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=5§ion=0&article=67338&d=22&m=7&y=2005&pix=islam.jpg&category=Islam
The Prophet (peace be upon him) appreciated poetry, and admired fine poetry
that steered away from exaggeration and self- indulgence. It is only to be
expected that someone like the Prophet, who had a fine style that fully
expressed the intended meaning in a short statement, should appreciate poetry
and be moved by fine expression. However, the message of Islam, with its full
and coherent system of values, was inseparably blended with the Prophets
character. Hence, his reactions to events and statements always reflected
Islamic values and endorsed Islamic principles.
An example of this is the authentic Hadith that quotes the Prophet as saying:
The most truthful word said by a poet is Labeeds: Indeed everything other
than God is false. (Related by Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad and Al-Tirmidhi.)
Labeed was a fine poet who achieved wide fame in pre-Islamic days, with one
of his better poems being posted inside the Kaabah. Only poems of the best
order earned this honor. Indeed, only ten poems were so posted. That Labeeds
poem earned that privilege was testimony of his excellence. Labeed was still
alive at the advent of Islam and he soon embraced the new faith and was a good
Muslim. Indeed Umar ibn Al-Khattab sent him to Kufah in Iraq to educate people
there about Islam.
Apparently someone was reciting one of Labeeds poems at a short distance
from the Prophet. When the reciter said the first half of the line quoted
above, the Prophet said: The poet speaks the truth. But then the reciter said
the second half of the same line, which read: And every type of enjoyment will
one day be over. The Prophet said in comment: The poet is saying a lie; for
the enjoyment in heaven will never be over. This is a clear case of how the
Prophet reacted. Because the poets two statements are at opposite ends of the
Islamic value system, the Prophet gave two different reactions.
Very rarely, if at all, did the Prophet quote a full line of poetry. He might
quote a portion of a line, if it formed a full sentence. This is a
manifestation of the Quranic verse that says in reference to him: We have not
taught him poetry, nor does it become him to be a poet. This is a message and a
Quran that makes things clear. (36: 69)
We explained this verse fully in a previous article, but we may say here that
as he delivered Gods message embodied in the Quran, it did not become of him
to compose poetry in order to remove any confusion that might creep into some
peoples minds associating the Quran with poetry. If the Prophet quoted any
statement made in poetry, it must be something either particularly relevant to
a situation he was looking at, or something of general nature that is
absolutely true. One sentence forming one half of a line of poetry the Prophet
often quoted goes as follows: News will come to you through people you have
not commissioned for the purpose. This sentence occurs in the penultimate line
of a poem by Tarafah ibn Al-Abd that formed one of the famous poems, posted in
the Kaabah in pre-Islamic days. Needless to say, the Prophet might have quoted
this sentence when he heard something that was totally unexpected.
But the Prophet did not allow poetry that indulged in superlatives to be
recited in his presence, particularly if it conflicted with Islamic values.
Al-Rubayyi bint Muawwidh reports: The Prophet visited me on the night of my
wedding, sitting not far from me. We had a number of maids playing the
tambourine and singing poems in praise of my people who were killed in the
Battle of Badr. One of them said in her singing: Among us is a Prophet who
knows what will happen in future. The Prophet said to her: Do not repeat
this, but continue with what you were saying earlier. (Related by Al-Bukhari,
Ahmad and Abu Dawood.)
The Prophet objected to what was said about him, but he did not object to the
music or the singing, as the fact that he told the girl to continue with what
she was saying in her song before she spoke about him. It should be noted that
he did not correct the girl concerning the substance of what she said about
him, because in his position as Gods Messenger, he could be informed by God
about future events and developments.
He informed his companions and Muslims generally about many future things,
and he also gave a number of hints and references to what was going to happen
in certain areas. All this relied on accurate information given to him by God.
This means that what the girl said was not false, and the Prophet did not stop
her from saying it on that basis. He only did so because he did not like to be
personally praised in front of an audience. The occasion was a wedding, when
many people are present with girls singing and people enjoying themselves. He
felt it inappropriate that he should be personally praised on such an occasion.
He was very modest indeed.
Some people may be surprised to read this Hadith, particularly when they are
often told that singing and music are forbidden, but the Prophet is reported to
have listened to such music or singing on other occasions. Aishah, his wife,
reports this incident concerning her own father: Abu Bakr came into my
compartment when I had two girls from the Ansar singing some poetry of what the
Ansar said about the Battle of Buath. They were not good singers. However, Abu
Bakr rebuked them, saying: How can you play Satans instruments in the
Prophets own home? This was on the day of the Eid. The Prophet said to him:
Abu Bakr! Every community has days of celebration, and today is our Eid when
we celebrate. (Related by Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad and Al-Nassaie.)
Abu Bakr found it strange that singing should take place in the Prophets
home and he was quick to rebuke the girls, describing their action as playing
Satans music. This is indicative of the serious approach to life that Islam
instills in the Muslim community. However, such seriousness should not stop
people from celebrating an occasion like the Eid. The celebration could include
anything that is lawful and decent.
The girls were singing poetry of the kind that is composed after a great
event such as the Battle of Buath that took place a few years before the first
group of people from Madinah met the Prophet and accepted Islam. This was a
fierce battle between the two Madinah tribes, the Aws and the Khazraj, leading
to much killing among them and weakening them in comparison with the Jews who
lived in the same city. Such poetry normally speaks of the bravery of fighters
and the determination of communities. The Prophet did not sanction Abu Bakrs
objection and allowed the girls to continue with their singing.
AB
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"For to us
will be their return; then it will be for us to call them to account." (Holy
Quran 88:25-26)
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