The Qur’an and Poetry

Abstract

This chapter discusses the relationship of the Qur’an to poetry, both in terms of poetry as a broader interpretive category and, in specific, in relation to pre-Islamic Arabic poetry, in which poetry is associated with prophecy. Specific Qur’anic statements in relation to poetry are discussed, but the broader relevance of the function of poetry in the pre-Islamic Arabian context is also brought to bear on the historical interpretation of the function of the Qur’an in the lives of its first recipients. The Qur’anic text actively counters negative associations with poets and seers in pre-Islamic Arabic culture, distancing the proclaimer from charges of ecstatic possession.