Qur'an is not Poetry

Bismillah.

Recently a dear friend of mine posed the following question: Why does the Qur’an specifically state that it is not poetry, while it is rich and affects the heart?

“And We have not taught him poetry, nor is it suitable for him. This is only a reminder and a plain Qur’an." (Surah Yaseen 36:69)

When the Quraysh said to Waleed Ibn Mugheerah, “Then we shall say to the people that he is a poet.” Waleed, one of the wisest men of the Quraysh, replied, “But he is not a poet. We know the different kinds of poetry, and his words can’t be compared to any of them. He is therefore, not a poet.” (Mubarakpuri’s When the Moon Split) This is part of a much longer Hadith report.

Reading tafsirs by different scholars it seems the main reason why Allah says that the verses of the Qur’an is not poetry, is because Arabic poetry has many rules which the Qur’an did not follow. Arabic poetry seems to have a certain way to be recited and composed which, interestingly, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) was bad at doing or did not know how to do, according to his wife Aisha and her father Abu Bakr among others. There’s even an incident where the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) tries to recite poetry but gets the rhythm wrong, so Abu Bakr tries to correct him.

Poetry also is a man-made mixture of truth, hyperbole, wisdom, flattery, rhyme, half-truths, imagination and even lies; conversely, the Qur’an is divine, wisdom, truth, rhyme and pure. To say the Qur’an is poetry, underscores its aims and objectives because the main aim of poetry in 7th century Arabia was to entertain and record their tribal history; while this was not the purpose and intent of the Qur’an. The lofty intent and purposes of the Qur’an cannot be compared to poetry.

It is important also to note that tribal poetry competitions came to an end with the revelation of the Qur’an.

As for the second half of the above ayah, “This is only a reminder and a plain Qur’an.” Scholars have interpreted this as, the gist of the Qur’an should be understood by anyone who reads it with understanding without the need to study its rules, context and language; which is the case for ancient Arabic poems today. Whereas, the Qur’an does not need in-depth knowledge and study to know what Allah is trying to tell us on a basic level like Surah al-Fatihah and Surah al-Asr as well as Surah al-Ikhlas.