Question: What is the ruling on spinning poetry (ghazal)?

Poetry is, in its origin, permissible speech, but divine rulings apply to it based on its subject matter and intent.

There is no objection to romantic poetry (ghazal) if the following conditions are met: 1. It should not be an explicit description of a specific woman (tashbeeb bi-imra'ah mu'ayyanah), as this constitutes a violation of the sanctity of Muslims, and is considered one of the major sins. 2. It should not be lewd ghazal that describes the woman's body, incites desires, or describes an illicit relationship. 3. It should not be accompanied by unlawful singing and musical instruments. 4. If the ghazal is about one's wife, nothing that describes her beauty in detail should be published, due to the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibition against a woman describing another woman to her husband as if he were looking at her.

Much of the romantic poetry prevalent today, such as the poems of Nizar Qabbani, is considered vile speech that spreads lust and vice. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke about such poetry when he said: "For the inside of one of you to be filled with pus is better for him than for it to be filled with poetry."

Most often, romantic and descriptive poetry (ghazal and tashbeeb) deals with forbidden images, and it is rare for it to be about one's wife or bondswoman.

The texts of the jurists emphasize the prohibition of describing a specific forbidden woman (tashbeeb bi-imra'ah mu'ayyanah muharramah), the permissibility of describing one's wife as long as it does not describe her intimate organs or what must be concealed, and the permissibility of describing a non-specific woman as long as it does not contain lewdness or any indication of specific identification.