# A modern Arabic love poem: choosing honour over a friend's wife - URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/ijwbevcc6o8/s/10/ - Date: 2021-02-02 · Kind: other · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #200| Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (55:20–1:03:22) - Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijwBevcC6o8&t=3320s - Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/ijwbevcc6o8/ **Topics:** Arabic poetry and men of letters; Love and romance **Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Mufti Abu Layth reads an Arabic love poem in which the poet turns down his friend's wife, preferring honour to betrayal. ## Longer summary Asked by the chat for a love poem, Mufti Abu Layth searches for his books and finds an anthology he bought in Damascus over twenty years ago. He reads and explains a poem by a modern Arab poet about a strikingly beautiful Arab woman living in Brazil, whom God created beautiful 'without calculation'. When the poet is about to leave, she sends him a message folded in a handkerchief asking him to come back soon. Mufti points out the twist that she is the wife of a friend who has shown the poet much love, and the poet answers that when heart and intellect both cry out, one should answer the intellect: having her would be paradise, but he prefers adab and a love untainted by betrayal. ## Transcript (machine tier, 55:20–1:03:22) [54:53] You know, [laughter] you're like, "No, I'm just getting it done recreationally." [laughter] Anyway, so it's not haram now. Right. So, well, I've missed some super chats. Roses are red. My perception is pink. Long story short, I love you. I think va va va va va. [55:20] Please give us a love poem. Highi high low. Pesto sterone has got the low. Let's see if I've got a poem for you guys. Yeah, I did. I have one here somewhere. I had some poems. Right. So on moment, [55:54] what's this one? Well, they're not here. So they they are not here. I thought they were there, but nope. [snorts] Uh we'll do a poem. Don't Don't worry, man. Don't have I got any books over here? No. Hi. [56:22] H high that you from the most all striking kind of most powerful poems written in love. Shall I shall I read a bit of a snippet? This is in Arabic though. [56:46] And then Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. Oh, there used to be actually one here. Have I read this before? this this you know I I used to read this book when I was first I I mean I bought this when I was first in Damascus. I think it was around that time. [57:12] So wow. So over 20 years ago how time flies people how time flies. But he in here has a poem in here by this poet called Rashid Salim ali and he's he's contempor or was contemporary I take his he's passed away but um he he has this poem about this girl that he's fallen fallen for fallen but I won't read the whole thing cuz the [57:51] thing about Arabic poems is they write them, they're too long. [laughter] You know, it's like people don't have that. But he says, "Allah Hi. [58:30] Hi. Hi. Hi. He [snorts] says this incredibly attractive girl as though Allah when he was setting out her beauty did it without it was there were no there was no calculation as in here calculation meaning he didn't hold back unlimited infinite levels of beauty says Brazilian hi hi [laughter] Latinas but Brazilian where she lives is [59:10] Brazilan but she's also an Arab. Now there's a lot of Arabs that live in Brazil and South America argent um over there in South America, right? So and then he goes on to speak of her cheeks and the redness and hi hi hi hi hi and then her eyes and he says that those if you you know if you if they they could strike you dead but out of beauty. [59:41] That's what he means. See, it's weird because when you translate some of these things, he says uh goes on to praise her Allah. Allah Allah says, "And the day I was going to leave, she couldn't hold back her patience anymore. [1:00:11] So she wrote a book to me, a message. Sorry, she wrote a message to me. Says, "And she folded it up in a handkerchief that came to me to unfold a hidden dua." She said that you know for the love of God don't come back soon come back quick [laughter] [1:00:57] says that you've you're taking with you our hearts. So if you can so come back as quick as you can. But you see the the twist here is she's actually the wife of his friend. [1:01:19] So he goes on to mention he says uh see he he mentions it later on. He says says, "But this beloved, not beloved in that sense, but this beloved is she is one who has a husband that is somebody who is reasonably dear to him." So he says [1:01:54] somebody who has shown me so much love like the husband not not she's also showing love but his love is different different one you know different one so he says he says you know if one day both the heart and the mind or and the and the brain and the intellect cry out to you. [1:02:23] It's better that you respond to the intellect. And he says, uh, yep. Allah Allah Allah. [1:02:53] He said I I wrote to her saying that you know you having you would be Jenna but I prefer the adab instead. says, "I'd rather have a pure love that isn't tainted with betrayal." Oof. Oof. You could make a uh a movie out of this. [laughter] So, what is going on, Mente? [1:03:21] What is going on? Let me bring up your Thank you for doing these streams, Harun. Much love to you, Shukran. Right. So MUI right what is your what are your thoughts? ## Cite Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment ijwBevcC6o8/s/10. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/ijwbevcc6o8/s/10/ Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.