ﲹ ﲺ ﲻ ﲼ ﲽ ﲾ ﲿ ﳀ ﳁ ﳂ ﳃ ﳄ ﳅ ﳆ ﳇ ﳈ ﳉ ﳊ ﳋ ﳌ
Except those [poets] who believe and do righteous deeds and remember Allah often and defend [the Muslims] after they were wronged. And those who have wronged are going to know to what [kind of] return they will be returned.
Tafsir
Verse range: 26:227
"Except those who believe..." He excludes the righteous, believing poets who frequently remember Allah and recite the Quran. This was more prevalent in them than poetry. If they did compose poetry, they did so regarding the Oneness of Allah, praising Him, wisdom, exhortation, asceticism, good manners, and praising the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), his Companions, and the righteous of the Ummah. They composed poetry containing meanings that are harmless, in which they are not stained by sin, nor clothed in disgrace or deficiency. Their satire was merely a way of defending themselves against those who satirized them.
Allah the Almighty says: "Allah does not like the public mention of evil except by one who has been wronged" (An-Nisa: 148). This is done without aggression or exceeding the bounds, in accordance with His saying: "So whoever has assaulted you, then assault him in the same way that he has assaulted you" (Al-Baqarah: 194).
It is narrated from ‘Amr ibn ‘Ubayd that a man from the Alawites said to him, "My chest surges with poetry." He replied, "What prevents you from composing it in that which is harmless?" The verdict on poetry is that it is a category of speech; its good is like the good of speech, and its evil is like the evil of speech.
It is said that those excluded are: ‘Abdullah ibn Rawahah, Hassan ibn Thabit, and the two Ka‘bs: Ka‘b ibn Malik and Ka‘b ibn Zuhayr—those who defended the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and countered the satirists of Quraysh. It is narrated from Ka‘b ibn Malik that the Prophet (ﷺ) said to him: "Satirize them, for by Him in whose hand is my soul, it is more severe upon them than arrows." And he used to say to Hassan: "Speak, and the Holy Spirit is with you."
"And those who have done wrong will know..." He concludes the Surah with a verse that speaks of nothing more awe-inspiring, terrifying, stinging to the hearts of the contemplative, or shattering to the livers of those who ponder. That is His saying: "And those who have done wrong will know..."—which contains an eloquent threat—and His absolute use of "those who have done wrong," and the ambiguity in His saying: "to what [kind of] return they will return."
Abu Bakr recited this to ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) when he was appointed as his successor. The righteous predecessors used to exhort one another with it and warn each other of its implications. Interpreting "wrong" as "disbelief" is a form of rationalization. It is better to fear and reach safety than to feel safe and reach fear.
Ibn ‘Abbas recited: "to what kind of escape they will escape." Its meaning is: Those who have done wrong hope to escape from the punishment of Allah, but they will soon know that there is no way for them to escape—which is salvation. O Allah, make us among those who keep this verse before their eyes and never neglect it, and who know that whoever commits an evil deed is among "those who have done wrong." And Allah knows best what is correct.
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: "Whoever recites Surah Ash-Shu‘ara’ will have a reward of ten good deeds for every person who believed in Noah, or denied him, and for Hud, Shu‘ayb, Salih, and Abraham, and for the number of those who denied Jesus and believed in Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon them all)."
