During the month of October in 1994, I was traveling to Beirut to participate in the Arab-Islamist Anti-nationalist Conference. As any father normally does, I asked my children if anyone wanted something from my trip. At the time, Beirut was not expected to have anything attractive. After all, it was suffering from the aftermath of the civil war: water shortages, lack of electricity and phone lines. This is why I was not expecting any of my children to ask for anything. However, my daughter Meriam (who was preparing for her final exam to get a B.A. in architecture), said, "Yes daddy! I want Marcel Khalifa's video of the last Beirut concert."
Because of my lack of knowledge of the entertainment world, I did not know who Marcel was, so I asked my daughter. To my astonishment, she had amassed a lot of knowledge about him and his patriotic role in employing his talents for nationalistic goals. She played one or two of his songs. In fact, listening to his songs made me travel to Beirut with admiration for him. When I got there, my good friend, Professor Mohammed Samak, gave me a copy of the video. When I got home, I viewed it with my family. That redefined my admiration for Marcel and his talent. It turned out that he is very respected in the Arab world.
The Poem That Caused The Rage:
It was a surprise for me to read in the London-based Arabic daily Al-Hayat that a Beirut judge issued an arrest warrant for Marcel, accusing him of insulting Islam because he sang one of Mahmoud Darwish's poems. The specific poem contains some words taken from the Holy Quran in Surah Yusuf. I then followed the reaction of the Arab press and I discussed this issue with family and friends. I have also read Darwish's poem and controversial passage.
I discovered two important issues here. The first issue is the poem itself and the words taken from the Quran. The question is whether or not that can be considered as citation or borrowing from the Quran. The second issue deals with Islam's views on this matter and the views of the Fiqh on singing these words.
In terms of the words, the poet wanted to borrow the story of Prophet Yusuf (PBUH) from the Quran to reflect the views of the Arabs and the entire world from the eyes of the Palestinian people. I don't see anything wrong with borrowing the story and putting it in the form of a poem or essay. The poem portrays the Palestinian people as Yusuf, a peaceful and innocent people who have injustices committed against them despite being so. In the story, his brothers conspired to kill him. Some of the excerpts of the poem go as follows:
What did I do to them, oh father?
Butterflies lay on my shoulders.
Birds sit in my hands.
What did I do, oh father?
Then Darwish proceeds to narrate the story of Yusef's brothers, saying:
They threw me in the well.
They accused the wolves.
Wolves are much more merciful than my brothers!
Oh my father, have I done anyone mischief
When I said, I see eleven stars,
The sun and the moon.
I see them prostrate themselves to me.
The last three lines are the ones that encompass the words from Surah Yusuf (12:4). The verse goes as follows: "Behold, Yusuf said to his father: 'O my father, I did see eleven stars and the sun and the moon. I saw them prostrate themselves to me.'" Scholars call this type of incorporating words from the Quran without saying that they are such and putting them into poems as "borrowing."
Imam Suyuti stated that the Maliki school of thought made borrowing from the Quran a prohibited act, while the Shafi'i school mentioned nothing on this matter, despite the fact that it was common at that time. Poets did it widely. Sheik Ezzidin Ibn Abdulsalam was asked about it and he said it was allowed.
A critical reader of the Darwish poem would find out that the words were borrowed words from the Quran. They are not pure Quranic words. In fact, the least that can be considered as Quran is the use of a complete verse, and the scattered words in the poem don't fit that description. This is taken from the scholar's view that the prayer is inaccurate unless a full verse is read. Thus, the borrowing of some words does not mean that these words are purely Quranic.
The Fiqh Point of View:
The Islamic Fiqh on words borrowed from the Quran as stated by Imam Suyuti is that it is acceptable, as done so in speeches, preaching, letters and stories. However, it is absolutely prohibited if the objective was to ridicule the words of the Quran, and present them sarcastically. Imam Suyuti has narrated in his writings, works of scholars that have words from the Quran, such as Imam Abdulqadir Al-Baghdadi, and Imam Abulqassim Al-Raf'i. In his commentary on Imam Al Baghdadi's poems, Imam Taj Eddin Assabki said that, "The use of Abi Mansour of such borrowed words; some may prohibit that and some accept it."
However, when some scholars agree on an issue, but they do not act upon it, it means that it is not prohibited. Thus, if some singers implicitly incorporate some words in their songs, then it should be allowed. In fact, most scholars agree on reading the Quran in a beautified format, such as sheiks Mahmoud Alhossary and Mohammed Sideeq Minshawy.
Furthermore, if the objective of the poem is noble, the Quran's words add to its nobility. Therefore, borrowing such words are lawful and there is no problem in doing so. However, if the objective is to ridicule the words of the Quran by borrowing some of its words, then it is absolutely prohibited and unlawful.
Mahmoud Darwish's Poem:
In judging Darwish's poem and seeking the Fiqh point of view in this matter and on Marcel's singing of the poem, I find that none of those scholars reached a consensus of prohibiting the borrowing of the Quranic verse. The most that can be said here are that some people have reservations on using the words. This kind of reservation can't be considered a base for prohibiting. I see no problem with an intellectual debate on this matter; however, issuing fatwas and making the citation of the Quran a criminal act is unacceptable. It is a mere illusion.
By Dr. Mohammed Salim Al'awa
