And the poets are the subject. And those who follow them are the news: and its meaning is that no one follows them in their falsehood, lies, and excessive words, nor in what they are upon of mocking and tearing down reputations, and the nasyb in the sacred area and flirtation. The saying 'and the nasyb in the sacred area and flirtation' means: nasyb refers to the expression of love, and flirtation is the conversation with women and courting them. And al-ibhtihar is the false claim of something, as mentioned in the Sahih in various places. And it is not praiseworthy for them nor is it pleasing to listen to their words—except for the misguided, the foolish, and the reckless. It is said that the misguided are the narrators. It is said they are the devils, and it is said they are the poets of Quraysh: Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr, Hubayrah ibn Abi Wahb al-Makhzumi, Musafiq ibn Abd Manaf, and Abu Izzah al-Jumahi. Among Thaqif is Umayyah ibn Abi al-Salt. They said: We say like the saying of Muhammad—and they used to mock him, and the Bedouins from their people would gather to listen to their poetry and mockery. And 'Isa ibn Umar read: 'and the poets' in the accusative case, implying a verb that is explained by the apparent. Abu Ubaid said: The predominant reading was the accusative. He read: 'the bearers of firewood,' and 'the thief and the female thief,' and 'a surah We revealed.' And it is read: 'they follow them,' with the lightening of the 'ayn, resembling 'he sold it with his arm.'

The mention of the valley and the hills: in it is a representation of their going into every branch of speech and their excessiveness and lack of concern for clarity in speech and exceeding the limits of intention in it, until they prefer the most cowardly of people over Antarah, and the most miserly over Hatim, and they accuse the righteous and slander the pious. And from al-Farazdaq: that Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik heard his words:

'And they spent the night beside me, in a state of being pressed down... and I spent the night with the best of the closures of virginity.'

They went out to those who were hidden from them while they were not yet assured, meaning no one had taken their virginity before me, and he emphasized that by saying: 'and they are more intact than the eggs of ostriches,' which are usually protected from breaking, so that their beauty does not go away. So they lay beside me, and I spent the night with the best of the closures: I open and remove their virginity, which is similar to the closures of the seals that cover the openings. The closures are the plural of 'ghalaq' meaning locks, similar to 'sabab.' And 'khatam' is what is used to seal the mouth of a bottle and the like, so its addition to it is explanatory. Or it is from the addition of the named to the name like 'the sticks of the miswak.' And it is possible that 'khatam' means the sealed one, which is the opening, and it can be intended by the closures: the sides of virginity intertwined with the opening, and the sides of virginity are likened to closures in a clear manner. And when Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik heard that, he said: 'You have deserved praise,' and he said: 'Allah has averted the punishment from me by His saying: 'And they say what they do not do,' so he released him.