Is it correct to say that al-Busiri's poem is the best praise of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) except for some faults attributed to it?
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Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, is it correct to say that al-Busiri's poem is the best praise of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) except for some faults attributed to it?
Answer:
What Allah willed. If it were not for... We are afflicted by this. Al-Busiri's poem is shirk (associating partners with Allah), and may Allah protect us from that. It is shirk and disbelief, and it is not permissible to praise it, nor to praise its author.
As for its being in refined words, and in a refined and attractive style, yes, it is the ornamentation of speech, as Allah the Exalted said:[Al-An'am 6:112] [Al-An'am 6:112] Ibn al-Farid's Taa'iyah, Ibn al-Farid the heretic who was of the group of Ibn Arabi, his Taa'iyah is smooth and his composition is pleasant, it captivates the ears, but it is deviation and disbelief.
So the people of misguidance may be given eloquence and rhetoric and a style that attracts people. The criterion is not the style, nor the words. The criterion is the meaning. The criterion is the meanings. So let us not be deceived by the words and the embellishment of the words. So al-Busiri's poem is invalid and is disbelief and shirk (associating partners with Allah) with Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
As for praising the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with moderate praise, like the praise of Hassan ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him), Ka'b ibn Zuhayr, and Ka'b ibn Malik, and the poets of the Companions, this is truth. Praising the Messenger with what is in this is truth. As for exaggeration and excess, this is invalid, yes.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, is it correct to say that al-Busiri's poem is the best praise of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) except for some faults attributed to it?
Answer:
What Allah willed. If it were not for... We are afflicted by this. Al-Busiri's poem is shirk (associating partners with Allah), and may Allah protect us from that. It is shirk and disbelief, and it is not permissible to praise it, nor to praise its author.
As for its being in refined words, and in a refined and attractive style, yes, it is the ornamentation of speech, as Allah the Exalted said:
devils from mankind and jinn, inspiring to one another decorative speech in delusion
شَيَاطِينَ الْإِنسِ وَالْجِنِّ يُوحِي بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَىٰ بَعْضٍ زُخْرُفَ الْقَوْلِ غُرُورًاBut if your Lord had willed, they would not have done it
وَلَوْ شَاءَ رَبُّكَ مَا فَعَلُوهُSo the people of misguidance may be given eloquence and rhetoric and a style that attracts people. The criterion is not the style, nor the words. The criterion is the meaning. The criterion is the meanings. So let us not be deceived by the words and the embellishment of the words. So al-Busiri's poem is invalid and is disbelief and shirk (associating partners with Allah) with Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
As for praising the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with moderate praise, like the praise of Hassan ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him), Ka'b ibn Zuhayr, and Ka'b ibn Malik, and the poets of the Companions, this is truth. Praising the Messenger with what is in this is truth. As for exaggeration and excess, this is invalid, yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [160 -1024] هل يصح أن يقال: إن قصيدة البوصيري هي أفضل من مدح النبي ﷺ لولا بعض المؤاخذات عليه؟ — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.