al-Waleed ibn al-Mugheerah

When the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was first revealed the Qur’an the pagan Makkans at the time were masters of the language and held annual poetry competitions. When he was reciting it, one of the top poets of the time, al-Waleed ibn al-Mugheerah, overheard the recitation, about which he later commented, ‘‘I swear by God, there is none amongst you who knows poetry as well as I do, nor can any compete with me in composition or rhetoric – not even in the poetry of jinns! And yet, I swear by God, Muhammad’s speech (i.e. the Qur’ān) does not bear any similarity to anything I know, and I swear by God, the speech that he says is very sweet, and is adorned with beauty and charm. Its first part is fruitful, and its last part is abundant, and it conquers all other speech, and remains unconquered! It shatters and destroys all that has come before it!’