with his sword and with his tongue—and, by Him in Whose Hand my soul rests, what you hurl at them is like a shower of arrows.”

That wording comes from the ḥadith of Kaʿb ibn Mālik. He said to the Prophet ﷺ, “Allah has revealed about poetry whatever He has revealed.” The Prophet then replied with the above words, and Kaʿb transmitted the rest of the report.

Aḥmad related it, saying: “ʿAbd al-Razzāq narrated to us; Muʿammar narrated to us from al-Zuhrī, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Kaʿb ibn Mālik, from his father.” This isnād is sound according to the criteria of al-Bukhārī and Muslim.

It has a corroborating narration from Anas, who said:

“The Prophet ﷺ entered Mecca during the make-up ʿumrah (ʿUmrat al-Qaḍāʾ) while Ibn Rawāḥah walked in front of him reciting:

‘Clear the way, you sons of unbelievers, from his path;
today we shall strike you for what it truly means—
blows that will lop heads from their resting place
and make a close friend forget his friend.’

ʿUmar said, ‘O Ibn Rawāḥah, do you declaim such poetry in the Sanctuary of Allah, in front of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ?’ The Prophet ﷺ replied, ‘Leave him be, for—by Him in Whose Hand is my soul—his words weigh upon them more heavily than the impact of arrows.’”

Al-Nasāʾī and al-Tirmidhī transmitted this version through the route of ʿAbd al-Razzāq, who said: “Jaʿfar ibn Sulaymān narrated to us from Thābit, from him.” This chain too is sound according to Muslim’s criteria.