Yā-Sīn: (69) And We did not teach him poetry...

Structure and Context

There are two perspectives regarding the ordering [of these verses]. We have previously mentioned that in every instance where God mentions two of the three fundamental principles—Oneness (Tawḥīd), Prophethood (Risālah), and Resurrection (Ba‘th)—He follows them by mentioning the third principle.

Here, God mentions Oneness and Resurrection:

• Oneness is in His saying: {Did I not take a covenant from you, O Children of Adam, *that you should not worship Satan} (36:60) and {and that you should worship Me? This is a straight path} (36:61).
• Resurrection is in His saying: {Enter it today} (36:64) and {Today We set a seal upon their mouths} (36:65), and so on.

After mentioning these two, He then mentions the third principle, which is Prophethood, saying: {And We did not teach him poetry, nor is it suitable for him. It is not but a reminder and a clear Qur'an.}

The phrase {And We did not teach him poetry} indicates that he was taught by God, so God taught him what He willed and did not teach him what He did not will.

Regarding this verse, there are several points of discussion:

First Inquiry: Why was Poetry Specifically Denied?

Why was poetry singled out for the denial of teaching, when the disbelievers attributed other things to the Prophet (peace be upon him), such as magic (siḥr)? He did not say, "And We did not teach him magic." Similarly, they attributed soothsaying (kihānah) to him, yet He did not say, "And We did not teach him soothsaying."

Response:

1. Soothsaying (Kihānah): They attributed this to the Prophet (PBUH) when he informed them of the unseen (al-ghayb) and his reports came true.
2. Magic (Siḥr): They attributed this to him when he performed acts beyond the capability of others, such as the splitting of the moon, the speaking of pebbles, the trunk of the palm tree, and so forth.
3. Poetry (Shi‘r): They attributed this to him when he recited the Qur'an to them. However, the Prophet (PBUH) only challenged them with the Qur'an, as stated in {And if you are in doubt about what We have sent down to Our Servant, then produce a chapter of its like} (Al-Baqarah: 23), and so on. He did not say, "If you doubt my prophethood, then make the tree trunks speak, or feed the great creation, or inform [us] of the unseen."

Since his challenge (taḥaddī) was based on speech, and they attributed that speech to poetry, poetry was specifically singled out for the denial of teaching.

Second Inquiry: What is the Meaning of {nor is it suitable for him}?

Some commentators say it means he was incapable of producing it, while others say it means it was not easy for him. It is narrated that if he attempted to recite a line of poetry, it would come out flawed (muzāḥaf).

However, there is a better interpretation: {nor is it suitable for him} should be understood according to its apparent meaning—that poetry was neither fitting nor appropriate for him.

This is because poetry often requires altering the meaning to accommodate the wording and meter. The Lawgiver (the Prophet) makes the wording subservient to the meaning, whereas the poet makes the meaning subservient to the wording. The poet intends a specific word to satisfy the meter or rhyme, thus requiring artifice to find a meaning that fits that word.

Based on this, poetry is defined as measured speech where the intention to achieve the meter is primary. If someone intends the meaning and the result happens to be measured and rhymed, he is not considered a poet.

Do you not see that His saying, {You will never attain righteousness until you spend of what you love} (Aal 'Imran: 92), is not poetry? If a poet utters words that, when analyzed by prosody (e.g., fā‘ilātun fā‘ilātun), fit a meter, it is called poetry because the primary intention was to produce words with that specific sequence of moving and static letters, and the meaning followed. The Sage (the Prophet), however, intended the meaning, and the words followed that meaning.

This resolves the objection raised by those who claim the Prophet (PBUH) recited verses such as:

I am the Prophet, no falsehood; I am the son of 'Abd al-Muṭṭalib.

We say this is not poetry because the primary intention was not the meter and rhyme. Therefore, even if the Prophet (PBUH) had uttered much measured and rhymed speech, it would not be poetry, due to the lack of primary intention toward the wording.

This interpretation is supported by the fact that if you examine common speech in the markets, you will find measured phrases that fit poetic meters, yet the speaker is not called a poet, nor the speech poetry, because the primary intention toward the wording was absent.

His saying, {And We did not teach him poetry, nor is it suitable for him}, confirms this meaning: the Qur'an is a reminder and admonition intended for the meaning. Poetry is embellished wording with rhyme and meter.

A Subtle Point: The Prophet (PBUH) said, "Indeed, some poetry contains wisdom." This means that sometimes a poet intends the wording and coincidentally achieves a wise meaning, just as a Sage might intend a meaning and coincidentally achieve a poetic meter.

However, the Sage, because of that meter, does not become a poet. And the poet, because of that wisdom, does not become a Sage. God negated the Prophet's status as a poet because the wording is the mold (qālib) and the meaning is its soul (rūḥ). When the soul is present, the mold is disregarded. Thus, the speech of the Sage, even if measured, remains wisdom, and the speech of the poet, even if wise, remains poetry (unless the primary intention shifts).

7 < { that he may warn whoever is alive and that the word may be proved against the disbelievers. } > 7