What is the ruling on memorizing the Ten Mu'allaqat, especially the Mu'allaqa of Imru' al-Qays, which contains explicit ghazal (love poetry), hija' (satire), fakhr (boasting), and praise of wine, for the purpose of building a linguistic repertoire for seeking knowledge, knowing that some shaykhs memorize them?

A distinction must be made between composing blameworthy poetry, which Allah mentioned in Surat Ash-Shu'ara (Ash-Shu'ara/224-227), and memorizing, reciting, and studying it. If the intention behind memorizing and reciting is to engage in wrongdoing, such as غزليات about Muslim women, then it is forbidden, and the hadith (For a man's belly to be filled with pus that rots it is better than for it to be filled with poetry) applies to it. However, if the intention is to acquire knowledge of Arabic literature, or history, or to increase one's linguistic repertoire, or to study rhetoric, then there is no harm in that. Imams like Ash-Shafi'i used to memorize and transmit poetry. Some scholars interpret Abu Hurairah's hadith to mean that blameworthy poetry is that which distracts from the Quran and fiqh, or that which is satire and obscenity.