Q452 :Is it permissible to read literary works such
as novels, plays, short stories, poems, etc.? The subject matter of
such works may be fictitious. If you say it is permissible, how can we
reconcile this permissibility with the description of poets in the
Qur’an?
A452 : Let me begin by referring to the description
of poets in the Qur’an, because many people tend to think that Islam
discourages poetry and support their view by referring to this
description. Allah says at the end of the surah entitled “Poets” that
poets are normally followed by people who go astray because poets are
given to exaggeration and they profess things that they do not do and
preach what they do not practice. However, an exception is made in the
case of those who “believe and do righteous deeds and remember Allah
frequently and (use their talent) to avenge injustice.” Therefore, we
cannot say that Islam discourages poetry altogether. It discourages the
sort of vain poetry which many Arab poets in pre-Islamic days used to
favor. On the other hand, we find that the Prophet referred
approvingly to certain types of poetry. He listened attentively to
Ka’ab ibn Zuhair, when he recited his poems, before his declaring his
change of attitude towards the Prophet and toward Islam. The poem
begins with a few lines in which the poet mentions his beloved girl and
how he misses her after she departed with her family. This was in line
with all Arabic poetry of the time. Moreover, the Prophet encouraged
Hasan ibn Thabit, a famous poet, to reply to the campaign of abuse
which Quraish poets had launched. Indeed, poetry was an important
weapon in the campaign against polytheism in the early Islamic periods.
Islam indeed encourages literature and the Prophet describes fine style
as particularly attractive. What may classify certain books as
reprehensible or even forbidden to read is their subject matter and the
way it is treated. We can put a rule that any work which is intended to
encourage sinful practices or bring out something foul or evil in the
reader or in society is either reprehensible or forbidden to read,
according to its effect. Otherwise, it is perfectly permissible to read
literary works.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )