The Attitude of the Religious Establishment towards Poets and Poetry in the First Centuries of Islam

A Textual Discussion

Abstract

This article examines the factors which shaped the image of the poet in the Arab society, both in Pre-Islamic days and in the first centuries following the expansion of Islam. The article analyses the attitude of the Prophet Muhammad towards poetry and poet, as   well as the attitude of the Ulama to poetic artists. Furthermore, this article looks into the uniqueness of poetry, which is both a speech style and an ideological degree of influence that certain Islamic norms had on poets, while taking into consideration pre-Islamic conventions that had governed what was considered proper conduct of males (muruwwa) and that of tribesmen (asabiyyah).