Sunan Abi Dawud: Book 43, Hadith 237

Abu Hurairah reported the Messenger of Allah (May peace be upon him) as saying : it is better for a man’s belly to be full of pus than to be full of poetry. Abu ‘Ali said : I have been told that Abu ‘Ubaid said : It means that his heart is full of poetry so much so that it makes him neglectful of the Quran and remembrance of Allah. If the Quran and the knowledge (of religion) are dominant, the belly will not be full of poetry in our opinion. Some eloquent speech is magic. It means that a man expresses his eloquence by praising another man, and he speaks the truth about him so much so that he attracts the hearts to his speech. He then condemns him and speaks the truth about him so much so that he attracts the hearts to another of his speech, as if he spelled the audience by it.

حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْوَلِيدِ الطَّيَالِسِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا شُعْبَةُ، عَنِ الأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ أَبِي صَالِحٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏
“”‏ لأَنْ يَمْتَلِئَ جَوْفُ أَحَدِكُمْ قَيْحًا خَيْرٌ لَهُ مِنْ أَنْ يَمْتَلِئَ شِعْرًا ‏””‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ أَبُو عَلِيٍّ بَلَغَنِي عَنْ أَبِي عُبَيْدٍ أَنَّهُ قَالَ وَجْهُهُ أَنْ يَمْتَلِئَ قَلْبُهُ حَتَّى يَشْغَلَهُ عَنِ الْقُرْآنِ وَذِكْرِ اللَّهِ فَإِذَا كَانَ الْقُرْآنُ وَالْعِلْمُ الْغَالِبُ فَلَيْسَ جَوْفُ هَذَا عِنْدَنَا مُمْتَلِئًا مِنَ الشِّعْرِ وَإِنَّ مِنَ الْبَيَانِ لَسِحْرًا ‏.‏ قَالَ كَأَنَّ الْمَعْنَى أَنْ يَبْلُغَ مِنْ بَيَانِهِ أَنْ يَمْدَحَ الإِنْسَانَ فَيَصْدُقَ فِيهِ حَتَّى يَصْرِفَ الْقُلُوبَ إِلَى قَوْلِهِ ثُمَّ يَذُمَّهُ فَيَصْدُقَ فِيهِ حَتَّى يَصْرِفَ الْقُلُوبَ إِلَى قَوْلِهِ الآخَرِ فَكَأَنَّهُ سَحَرَ السَّامِعِينَ بِذَلِكَ ‏.‏

Sunan Abi Dawud: Book 43, Hadith 237

 
This hadith is from the Sunan Abi Dawud collection of hadiths. For those new to Islamic texts, Sunan Abi Dawud is a classic, respected collection of the teachings and life example of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Written over a thousand years ago by a dedicated scholar named Abu Dawud, it sits among the religion’s six most important source books. It contains thousands of entries that are thoughtfully sorted by practical topics like how to worship, how to conduct business fairly, and how to treat one’s family with kindness. The compiler was renowned for his meticulous fact-checking of each story’s origins, which is why it remains a profoundly trusted and widely studied guide for Muslims on how to live a good and faithful life.

Use the tags to drill down deeper and find connections and new streams of information to help you fill gaps in knowledge and better connect the dots. Eman and Life is a growing database of knowledge with the mission to help further us in our pursuit of the best lifestyle through the guidance of the Quran and Sunnah.

 

For more Hadith in Book 43: General Behavior (Kitab Al-Adab)
 

Categories