Is It Permissible to Compare Islamic Poetry to Revelation?

Answered by Shaykh Yusuf Weltch

Question

What is the ruling on likening Islamic poetry to revelation, where someone says (I see this poetry as if it were revelation)?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

Likening texts to the Quran is not in itself problematic. The issue revolves more on the area of comparison (wajh al-tashbih).

If one is praising the eloquence, profound influence, etc… of a text, this is not an issue. It only becomes a problem legally and theologically speaking, if someone deems another text to be a revelation (wahy).

There have been reputable scholars of Islam who have made statements of comparison to seminal, influential texts to the Quran and this was not objected to by the scholars of the time.

Hope this helps
Allah knows best
[Shaykh] Yusuf Weltch
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Shaykh Yusuf Weltch is a teacher of Arabic, Islamic law, and spirituality. After accepting Islam in 2008, he went on to study at Darul Uloom Seminary in New York and completed his studies at Darul Mustafa in Tarim, Yemen.

There, he completed the memorization of the Quran and his study of Islamic Sciences. Throughout his years of study, he was blessed to learn from many great scholars: Habib Umar bin Hafiz, Habib Kazhim al-Saqqaf, Shaykh ‘Umar bin Husayn al-Khatib, and others.

Upon returning, he joined the SeekersGuidance faculty in the summer of 2019.