Al-Adab Al-Mufrad
Poetry
كتاب الشِّعْرِ
Chapter 381
بَابُ مِنَ الشِّعْرِ حِكْمَةٌ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
‘Abdullah ibn Muhammad related to us, saying: Abu ‘Amir related to us, saying: Ayyub ibn Thabit related to us, from Khalid—Ibn Kaysan—who said: I was with Ibn ‘Umar when Iyas ibn Khaythama stopped by him and said: “Shall I recite some of my poetry to you, Ibn al-Faruq?” He said: “Yes, but recite only what is good.” He recited until he reached something Ibn ‘Umar disliked, and Ibn ‘Umar said to him: “Stop.”
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
‘Amr ibn Marzuq related to us, saying: Shu‘ba informed us, from Qatada, who heard Mutarrif say: I accompanied ‘Imran ibn Husayn from Kufa to Basra. At hardly any stopping place where he stayed would he fail to recite poetry to me. He said: “In indirect speech there is ample room to avoid lying.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
فَقَلَّ مَنْزِلٌ يَنْزِلُهُ
The Arabic refers to a stopping place or lodging on the journey, not specifically the narrator’s house.
Should this be translated as a stopping place rather than a house?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu al-Yaman related to us, saying: Shu‘ayb informed us, from al-Zuhri, who said: Abu Bakr ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman informed me that Marwan ibn al-Hakam informed him that ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Aswad ibn ‘Abd Yaghuth informed him that Ubayy ibn Ka‘b informed him that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “Some poetry is wisdom.”
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
‘Abdullah ibn Muhammad related to us, saying: Abu Hammam Muhammad ibn al-Zibriqan related to us, saying: Yunus ibn ‘Ubayd related to us, from al-Hasan, from al-Aswad ibn Sari‘, who said: I said: “Messenger of Allah, I have praised my Lord, Mighty and Majestic, with words of praise.” He said: “Indeed, your Lord loves praise,” and said no more to him.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
‘Umar ibn Hafs related to us, saying: My father related to us, saying: al-A‘mash related to us, saying: I heard Abu Salih report from Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “For a man’s belly to be filled with pus until it eats away at him is better than for it to be filled with poetry.”
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Sa‘id ibn Sulayman related to us, saying: Mubarak related to us, from al-Hasan, from al-Aswad ibn Sari‘, who said: I was a poet, and I went to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and said: “Shall I recite to you praises with which I have praised my Lord?” He said: “Your Lord loves praise,” and said no more to me.
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Sallam related to us, saying: ‘Abda related to us, saying: Hisham ibn ‘Urwa informed us, from his father, from ‘A’isha, may Allah be pleased with her, who said: Hassan ibn Thabit asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, for permission to satirize the polytheists. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “But what about my lineage?” He replied: “I will surely extract you from among them as a hair is pulled from dough.”
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
And from Hisham, from his father, who said: I began to speak ill of Hassan in ‘A’isha’s presence, and she said: “Do not speak ill of him, for he used to defend the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.”
Chapter 382
بَابُ الشِّعْرُ حَسَنٌ كَحَسَنِ الْكَلامِ وَمِنْهُ قَبِيحٌ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu ‘Asim related to us, from Ibn Jurayj, from Ziyad, from al-Zuhri, from Abu Bakr, from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Aswad, from Ubayy ibn Ka‘b, from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who said: “Some poetry is wisdom.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
مِنَ الشِّعْرِ حِكْمَةٌ
The English witness gives only a cross-reference and omits the Arabic wording.
Should the hadith wording be supplied directly instead of only a cross-reference?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn Sallam related to us, saying: Isma‘il ibn ‘Ayyash related to us, from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Ziyad ibn An‘um, from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Rafi‘, from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr, who said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “Poetry is like speech: its good is like good speech, and its bad is like bad speech.”
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Sa‘id ibn Talid related to us, saying: Ibn Wahb related to us, saying: Jabir ibn Isma‘il and others informed me, from ‘Uqayl, from Ibn Shihab, from ‘Urwa, from ‘A’isha, may Allah be pleased with her, that she used to say: “Some poetry is good and some is bad. Take what is good and leave what is bad. I have narrated poems from the poetry of Ka‘b ibn Malik, including an ode of forty verses, and others shorter than that.”
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Muhammad ibn al-Sabbah related to us, saying: Sharik related to us, from al-Miqdam ibn Shurayh, from his father, who said: I asked ‘A’isha, may Allah be pleased with her: “Did the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, ever quote any poetry?” She said: “He would quote some of the poetry of ‘Abdullah ibn Rawaha: ‘News comes to you from one whom you did not equip.’”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
وَيَأْتِيكَ بِالأَخْبَارِ مَنْ لَمْ تُزَوِّدِ
The English witness ends after introducing the verse and does not include its Arabic text; the verse is translated here.
Should the quoted verse be supplied in the English text?
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Musa related to us, saying: Mubarak related to us, saying: al-Hasan related to us, that al-Aswad ibn Sari‘ related to him, saying: I was a poet, and I said: “Messenger of Allah, I have praised my Lord.” He said: “Indeed, your Lord loves praise,” and did not invite me to say more.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
إِنَّ رَبَّكَ يُحِبُّ الْحَمْدَ، وَمَا اسْتَزَادَنِي عَلَى ذَلِكَ
The witness provides only a cross-reference and omits the Arabic report.
Should this report be rendered directly rather than represented only by a cross-reference?
Chapter 383
بَابُ مَنِ اسْتَنْشَدَ الشِّعْرَ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Nu‘aym related to us, saying: ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Ya‘la related to us, saying: I heard ‘Amr ibn al-Sharid, from al-Sharid, who said: The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, asked me to recite the poetry of Umayya ibn Abi al-Salt, and I recited it to him. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, kept saying: “Go on, go on,” until I had recited a hundred rhyming lines. Then he said: “He nearly became Muslim.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
إِنْ كَادَ لَيُسْلِمُ
The Arabic says that Umayya nearly became Muslim, rather than expressing a wish that he had.
Should the English preserve the near-completion sense?
Chapter 384
بَابُ مَنْ كَرِهَ الْغَالِبَ عَلَيْهِ الشِّعْرُ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
‘Ubaydullah ibn Musa related to us, saying: Hanzala informed us, from Salim, from Ibn ‘Umar, from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who said: “For one of you to fill his belly with pus is better for him than to fill it with poetry.”
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ishaq related to us, saying: ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn informed us, saying: My father related to me, from Yazid al-Nahwi, from ‘Ikrima, from Ibn ‘Abbas, concerning the words: “And the poets—the deviants follow them,” through His words, “and that they say what they do not do.” He said: Some of that was abrogated and an exception was made: “except those who believe,” through His words, “and defend themselves.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The cited verses are Qur’an 26:224–227.
وَالشُّعَرَاءُ يَتَّبِعُهُمُ الْغَاوُونَ
The English witness gives 26:223–225, but this cited passage begins at 26:224 and continues through 26:227.
Should the verse reference be corrected to 26:224–227?
Chapter 385
بَابُ مَنْ قَالَ: إِنَّ مِنَ الْبَيَانِ سِحْرًا
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
‘Arim related to us, saying: Abu ‘Awana related to us, from Simak, from ‘Ikrima, from Ibn ‘Abbas, that a man—or a Bedouin—came to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and spoke eloquently. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “Some eloquence is magic, and some poetry is wisdom.”
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Ibrahim ibn al-Mundhir related to us, saying: Ma‘n related to me, saying: ‘Umar ibn Sallam related to me that ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan entrusted his sons to al-Sha‘bi to educate them. He said: “Teach them poetry so that they may be renowned and gain support; feed them meat so that their hearts grow strong; cut their hair so that their necks grow strong; and have them sit with distinguished men who will engage them in disputation.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The paired verbs يمجدوا وينجدوا are unusual and can be understood as becoming renowned and receiving aid; the English witness renders them as dignity and vigor.
Chapter 386
بَابُ مَا يُكْرَهُ مِنَ الشِّعْرِ
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Qutayba related to us, saying: Jarir related to us, from al-A‘mash, from ‘Amr ibn Murra, from Yusuf ibn Mahak, from ‘Ubayd ibn ‘Umayr, from ‘A’isha, may Allah be pleased with her, from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who said: “Among the gravest in wrongdoing is a poet who satirizes a tribe مِنْ أَسْرِهَا, and a man who disowns his father.”
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The phrase مِنْ أَسْرِهَا is unclear to me in this context; the English witness interprets it as ‘the entire tribe.’
يَهْجُو الْقَبِيلَةَ مِنْ أَسْرِهَا
The phrase مِنْ أَسْرِهَا is difficult in context; the witness’s ‘entire tribe’ may be interpretive.
Can this phrase be checked against a reliable textual or lexical reference?