The Rapping of the Arabs

An Excerpt from the talk, ‘The Madinan Society: A Tafsir of Surat al-Hujurat Part 1’ – Delivered by Shaykh Riyadh ul Haq at Al Kawthar Academy, Leicester (UK)

Full talk: The Madinan Society: A Tafsir of Surat al-Hujurat Part 1 

We often think that poetry was recited in the past with great grandeur and flair, however this wasn’t the case with the Arabs. They would take pride in being able to spit poetry rapidly and freely, often boasting about their tribe and its possessions. This is similar to the content of the rap of today; while instead of speaking about horses and swords, artists rap about fast cars and guns.

The Qur’an was revealed as a form of poetry which shook the Arabs of the time and left orators and poets speechless by its wording and rhyme. Despite this, the Qur’an should never be read with haste as though it is a form of rap, rather it should be read slowly with clear pronunciation so that its reader and listeners may ponder on the words of Allah.

Find out in this excerpt how poetry would be recited during the time of the Prophet ﷺ and how the content of modern day rap resembles the traditional poetry of the Arabs.

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