وَما عَلَّمناهُ الشِّعرَ وَما يَنبَغي لَهُ ۚ إِن هُوَ إِلّا ذِكرٌ وَقُرآنٌ مُبينٌ

We did not teach him poetry, nor does it behove him. This is just a reminder and a manifest Quran.

EXEGESIS

Mā yanbaghī lahu (nor does it behove him) in which yanbaghī along with the negating particle preceding it, may indicate several meanings: it is not suitable, appropriate, befitting, proper, allowable.

Thus, We did not teach him poetry, nor does it behove him may indicate that God has not given him the ability to compose poetry; or to recite poetry; or that the Quran that we have taught him is not poetry, although he possesses the ability to do so; or that due to his status as the Messenger of God, reciting poetry does not befit him; or although he knows poetry, God has not given him permission to practice it. Whatever the case, it indicates that this Quran is the word of God, not a poem composed by Prophet Muhammad (s) as some deniers used to claim.

EXPOSITION

Qummī mentions that the Quraysh used to say: ‘Verily, what Muhammad (s) says is poetry,’ so God replied to them: We did not teach him poetry, nor does it behove him. This is just a reminder and a manifest Quran, and the Messenger of God never, ever recited poetry.^{‎[1]Qummi, 2/217.} He never learned poetic skills, and God neither directly nor indirectly taught the Holy Prophet poetry. Instead, He taught him a higher level of language and eloquence than poetry, and that is the Quran, which no one, including the best poets, was able to bring the like of.

This verse echoes verse number 5 ([It is a scripture] sent down gradually from the All-Mighty, the All-Merciful). It confirms the truthfulness of the message of the Prophet, and that the Quran is a revelation from God, both of which were mentioned at the beginning of this surah.

Did the Prophet have the skill to compose poetry or not? The answer cannot be deduced from this verse because it may imply that the Prophet did not have the skill, or it may mean that he knew the skill but abstained from saying it due to the prohibition of God, or that he knew the skill but none of the Quran is poetry.

The phrase nor does it behove him is a statement of honour for the Prophet and favour upon him, and not as any type of defect or ascribing any weakness in him. It is to raise his rank and set him free from whatever false images and expressions the poets use to beautify their poetry to impact people. Being the Messenger of God, Prophet Muhammad (s) should not recite poetry that could become mixed with the miraculous words of God in the Quran. Therefore, his inability to compose or recite poetry increases his power of persuasion and influence on the people, indicating that a person who does not recite poetry is capable of presenting the marvellous recitation of the Quran.^{‎[2]Mizan, 17/108.}

A few narrations indicate that Prophet Muhammad (s) could not even recite a line of poetry correctly, and he was corrected by some of the companions when he attempted to do so. However, some exegetes argue whether what he recited and was corrected by the companions was ever a poem. Tabatabai rejects discussing such arguments and prefers rejecting such narrations to be easier than discussing them.^{‎[3]Mizan, 17/117.}

After the polytheists realised that the Quran was above the capacity of usual human literature and linguistic art, they accused Prophet Muhammad (s) of being a sorcerer, insane, and a soothsayer, besides the accusation of being a poet. However, the attraction of the Quran was so great upon the hearts of the polytheists that they would come hooded under cover of the night’s darkness and sneaked beside the house of the Prophet to listen to its beautiful recitation.^{‎[4]Amthal, 14/231.} This verse reminds those who were fascinated as such that He has not taught him except the Quran, which is naught but a reminder and a manifest Quran.^{‎[5]Amthal, 14/232.}

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. Maʾmūn asked Imam al-Riḍā (a) whether he ever narrated poetry, and the Imam said: ‘I have narrated plenty from it.’ Then Maʾmūn requested him to recite, and Imam recited plenty to him. A similar narration mentions that Imam al-Riḍā (a) recited a few lines of poetry.^{‎[6]Wasail, 5/83.}

Note: A similar occurrence has been narrated about Imam al-Hādī (a) reciting poetry when the tyrant Abbasid ruler Mutawakkil requested him to recite poetry. There are narrations indicating that some of our Imams encouraged poets to devise poems about the tragedy of Karbala, the struggle against evil, oppression, and falsehood of tyranny and the tyrant rulers such as the Umayyads, who used to mercilessly murder innocents.

2. Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘Whoever says a line of poetry about us, God will build a house in paradise for him.’^{‎[7]Bihar, 26/231.}
3. Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘No narrator speaks one line of poetry about us except that the Holy Spirit would support him.’^{‎[8]Bihar, 26/231.}
4. Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘It is despised for a fasting person to narrate poetry, or for someone who is in the state of iḥrām, in the sacred area, on Fridays, and to narrate at night.’ The narrator asked: ‘Even if it was a poetry of truth?’ He responded: ‘Even if it was the poetry of truth.’^{‎[9]Wasail, 5/83.}

Note: Sharīf al-Raḍī^{‎[10]He was a great Shia scholar, and the compiler of Nahj al-Balāghah.} has explained that the prohibition mentioned in these narrations is to memorise poetry abundantly, in a way that keeps a person away from memorising the Quran and religious knowledge.^{‎[11]Wasail, 5/85.}

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

The enemies of the Prophet accused him with three types of accusations: when the Prophet would inform them about something unseen, they would accuse him of being a soothsayer. If the Prophet provided them with miracles, such as the splitting of the moon, making pebbles or a tree trunk speak, they would call him a magician. If he challenged them by reciting the Quran, they would accuse him of being a poet. However, he would never challenge them except with the Quran; And if you are in doubt concerning what We have sent down to Our servant, then bring a surah like it, and invoke your helpers besides Allah, should you be truthful (2:23).

Since the structure in poetry is to prioritise the form over content, which may require a change in the meaning to maintain its structure, the meanings may be compromised. Rāzī considers the best probability for the statement nor does it behove him to be that poetry is not befitting the Prophet and not suitable for him, even if he can say it.^{‎[12]Razi, 26/104.} Even the narrations and the non-Quran words of the Prophet focused on prioritising meaning and admonition over form and style.^{‎[13]Razi, 26/105.}

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

Contrary to the Quran, poetry has been abundant in the Bible. Knut Heim says: ‘Poetry makes up a large part of the Bible. In addition to the poetic books themselves—Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Lamentations (these alone amounts to around one-third of the Old Testament)—there are large sections of poetry in other biblical books: well over half of Isaiah, over one third in Jeremiah, and around one-fifth of Ezekiel, as well as more than half of the materials in the so-called Minor Prophets (Hosea to Malachi) and other poetic sections in the narrative books, such as Hannah’s psalm in 1 Samuel 2. Altogether, then, more than half of the Old Testament is poetry. And the Old Testament makes up more than two-thirds of the Christian Bible. There are even some poetic sections in the New Testament (Luke 1:46-55, 68-79; Philippians 2:6-11, etc.). You do the math, but on any count, the poetry of the Bible is important, by sheer numbers alone.’^{‎[14]Dr Knut Heim, ‘How and Why We Should Read the Poetry of the Old Testament for Public Life Today’, < https://comment.org/how-and-why-we-should-read-the-poetry-of-the-old-testament-for-public-life-today/#:~:text=These%20three%20case%20studies%20demonstrate,virtues%20do%20not%20come%20easily >.}

Similarly, all religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and others, have poetry as a critical, influential tool to attract followers. On the contrary, the Quran has a unique structure that differs totally from poetry and does not follow any of its set rules. Moreover, the Quran and hadith have abhorred the use of poetry in matters of religion.

[1] Qummi, 2/217.
[2] Mizan, 17/108.
[3] Mizan, 17/117.
[4] Amthal, 14/231.
[5] Amthal, 14/232.
[6] Wasail, 5/83.
[7] Bihar, 26/231.
[8] Bihar, 26/231.
[9] Wasail, 5/83.
[10] He was a great Shia scholar, and the compiler of Nahj al-Balāghah.
[11] Wasail, 5/85.
[12] Razi, 26/104.
[13] Razi, 26/105.
[14] Dr Knut Heim, ‘How and Why We Should Read the Poetry of the Old Testament for Public Life Today’, < https://comment.org/how-and-why-we-should-read-the-poetry-of-the-old-testament-for-public-life-today/#:~:text=These%20three%20case%20studies%20demonstrate,virtues%20do%20not%20come%20easily >.