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What is the authenticity of attributing verses from the Holy Quran to Imru' al-Qais, and do enemies of the religion attribute that to destabilize faith?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The Qur'an is the word of Allah, revealed by Him to Gabriel, who then brought it down upon the heart of Prophet Muhammad to lead people from darkness into light. Allah has absolved His Prophet from poetry, and describing him as a poet was a saying of the disbelievers.

The claim that the Prophet took some of the Qur'an from pre-Islamic poets is a lie and a fabrication, for the following reasons:

1. The composition of the Qur'an differs from the structure and meters of poetry. Eloquent speakers denied any relationship between the two, as stated by Anis the poet, Walid ibn al-Mughirah, and Dimad ibn Tha'labah. 2. The polytheists of Quraysh were the most eloquent of people and the most knowledgeable about poetry. Had the Prophet taken anything from poetry, they would have denounced him severely. 3. Those who diligently collected the poetry of Imru' al-Qays did not mention any similarity between the Qur'an and his poetry. 4. It is possible that some liars fabricated poetic verses, quoting them from the Qur'an and attributing them to Imru' al-Qays. 5. The Qur'an was revealed in a clear Arabic tongue. Even if some words resemble those found in poetry, there is a vast difference between the two styles and meanings. Sheikh Muhammad Rashid Rida refuted those who claimed that verses were quoted from pre-Islamic poems, explaining the poor quality of these poems and their distance from the eloquence of the Arabs, when compared to the eloquence of the Qur'an.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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