What is meant by their saying, "If the spinning (ghazal) is ambiguous and intended for citation and the like, then there is no objection to it"? And is it permissible for a male poet to express infatuation with his beloved's character rather than her appearance or body, and vice versa for a female poet?
The phrase "Poetry is speech; its good is good, and its bad is bad" means that if poetry calls for virtue, it is good, and if it calls for indecency, it is bad. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Indeed, some poetry contains wisdom." As for the phrase "If the ghazal (love poetry) is ambiguous," it means if it does not pertain to a specific woman, but rather is general regarding women. And the phrase "for the purpose of quoting and the like, there is no objection to it" means that ghazal is permissible if it is for the purpose of linguistic citation. It is not permissible for a poet to write ghazal about anyone other than his wife.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
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