The poets are excepted, the believers who are righteous, who frequently mention Allah and recite the Qur'an. This was more prevalent among them than poetry. When they spoke poetry, they spoke it in the oneness of Allah and in praising Him, in wisdom and admonition, in asceticism and good manners, in praising the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and the companions and the righteous of the nation, and in meanings that do not involve sin or disgrace or deficiency. Their satire was in the manner of defending themselves against those who mocked them. Allah, the Most High, said: 'Indeed, Allah does not like the public mention of evil except by one who has been wronged.' This is without transgression or exceeding what is a response to His saying: 'So whoever transgresses against you, then transgress against him in a manner similar to that in which he has transgressed against you.' And from 'Amr ibn 'Ubaid: A man from the Alawites said to him: 'My chest is swelling with poetry.' He said: 'So what prevents you from it in that which is not harmful?' The saying about it is: Poetry is a form of speech. Its good is like good speech, and its bad is like bad speech. It was said that those who are excepted are: Abdullah ibn Rawahah, Hassan ibn Thabit, and the two Ka’bs: Ka’b ibn Malik and Ka’b ibn Zuhayr, who defended the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and fought against the mockers of Quraysh. And from Ka’b ibn Malik, the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said to him: 'Mock them, for by the One in Whose hand is my soul, it is more severe upon them than arrows.' [Narrated by Abdul Razzaq from Ma'mar from Al-Zuhri from Abdur Rahman ibn Ka'b ibn Malik from his father who said: 'When the verse 'And the poets - only the deviators follow them' was revealed, I came to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, what do you see regarding poetry?' He said: 'The believer fights with his sword and his tongue. By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, it is as if you are shooting them with arrows.' I said: 'And he narrated it from this chain.' Ibn Sa'd in Al-Tabaqat said: 'Abdul Wahhab narrated to us, he narrated from Ibn 'Awf from Ibn Sirin that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said to Ka'b ibn Malik: 'Hey, recite for me.' He said: 'It is more severe upon them than the striking of arrows.' And Muslim narrated from Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, raised: 'Mock Quraysh, for it is more severe upon them than the striking of arrows.' And for Al-Tirmidhi and Al-Nasa'i from the hadith of Thabit from Anas in the midst of a narration: The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: 'Leave them, O Umar, for it is faster upon them than the splashing of arrows.' ] And he would say to Hassan: 'Say, and the Holy Spirit is with you.' [Agreed upon from the hadith of Al-Bazzar. And the wording of Al-Nasa'i: He said to Hassan: 'Mock the polytheists, for the Holy Spirit is with you.' And for Al-Hakim and Ibn Mardawayh from the path of Mujalid from Al-Sha'bi from Jabir that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said on the day of Al-Ahzab: 'Who will defend the honor of the Muslims?' Hassan said: 'I will.' He said: 'Stand and mock them, for the Holy Spirit will assist you.' ] The surah concludes with a verse that speaks of nothing more fearsome and dreadful, nor more piercing to the hearts of the contemplators, nor more striking to the livers of the reflectors, and that is His saying: 'And they will know.' And what is in it of severe warning, and His saying: 'Those who have wronged,' and its generality. And His saying: 'In what place they will turn,' and its ambiguity. Abu Bakr recited it to Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, when he entrusted him. [Narrated by Ibn Abi Hatim from the path of Muhammad ibn Abdur Rahman ibn Al-Muhsir from Hisham from his father from Aisha who said: 'My father wrote a will and mentioned it, and at the end of it: 'And if you transgress and wrong, then I do not know the unseen. And those who have wronged will know - the verse.' And Ibn Sa'd narrated it in Al-Tabaqat in the biography of Abu Bakr from Al-Waqidi with multiple chains in detail. ] The righteous predecessors would admonish one another with it and would mention its severity.

And the interpretation of wrongdoing as disbelief is a reasoning. [The phrase 'And the interpretation of wrongdoing as disbelief is a reasoning' perhaps refers to its reasoning with something, as one reasons with it, just as a child is reasoned with something of food that suffices him from milk, as in the dictionaries. (A)] And to fear and reach safety is better than to be safe and reach fear.

And Ibn Abbas read: 'What place they will escape to.' Its meaning is: Indeed, those who have wronged hope to escape from the punishment of Allah, and they will know that they have no means of escape, which is salvation. O Allah, make us among those who have placed this verse before their eyes and have not neglected it, and know that whoever does a bad deed is among those who have wronged, and Allah knows best what is correct.

The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "Whoever recites Surah Ash-Shu'ara will have the reward of ten good deeds for each person who believed in Nuh and each person who denied him, and for Hud, Shuaib, Salih, and Ibrahim, and for each person who denied 'Isa and believed in Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him." [Narrated by Al-Thalabi and Ibn Mardawayh from the hadith of Ubayy ibn Ka'b.]