The Islamic Prophet


United States
35° 47' 41.3304" N, 91° 39' 23.8968" W

A prophet crossed the white line

And he did not eat a swine.

Disgusted by booze,

He kept out the Jews.

After that he drank palm wine.

Poetry Slam: 



devil.....i hate you......all that you have written about Islamic Prophet is wrong......

Doctor Bristle

Leela, why would you claim that everything about my poem is wrong? Calling me the devil is name-calling, and I do not appreciate that. I have no intention of hurting anyone. The poem in question is a limerick, a hilarious and sometimes naughty form of verse, made up of five lines that rhyme aabba. The first, second, and fifth lines contain three stresses; the third and fourth lines contain two stresses. It is designed to point out the hypocrisy of a Muslim prophet. Let me give you my analysis of "The Islamic Prophet" so you can understand it better:

"A prophet crossed the white line" tells the reader that a prophet did something wrong. The line that this prophet crossed was a proverbial white line. Since his birth, he lived his life as a Muslim, a follower of Islam. As the title indicates, the prophet is Islamic. At one point in his life, he broke a religious code or law. Any religion has its hypocrites, but Islam is no exception.

"And he did not eat swine." Observant Muslims will tell a person that eating pork is prohibited because Islam considers it unclean. For this reason, Islamic countries institute dietary laws to criminalize pork sales, restricting pork importation and consumption. However, some countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Lebanon, and Turkey allow pork in international hotels and some supermarkets that serve the needs of non-Muslims and expatriates. These laws are justified by the Koran in passages pertaining to meat or blood of "swine" (Sura 2.173; 5.3; 5.60; 6.145; and 16.115).

"Disgusted by booze," indicates that the Islamic prophet chooses not to drink any form of alcohol. Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcoholic beverages. Some, but not all, Islamic countries criminalize the production, sale, and consumption of alcohol. The Sharia Law is used to prohibit alcohol, although non-Muslims are allowed to create, sell, and consume it.

"He kept out the Jews." This prophet would be a Muslim who bars Jews from his presence or discriminates them. His interpretation of the Koran is extreme, as if he literally obeys it. Like Christians, Jews are called "People of the Book" by the Koran. As long as they pay an extra tax, Jews and Christians are considered by Muslims as brothers and earlier forerunners to Islam. Tracing back to Abraham through his son, Ismael, instead of Isaac as the Jews did, Muslims believe that they are descendants of God's promise. They believe that the Koran corrects the alleged corruption of the Old and New Testaments, but there is still a legitimate link between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Christians, Jews, and Muslims have differing views regarding the Koran and Islamic history. Much of current Islamic culture, even in places that were tolerant toward Christians and Jews (e.g., Egypt), has witnessed an increase in religious persecution and violence. On an unrelated note, the words "booze" and "Jews" closely rhyme with each other.

"After that he drank palm wine." The Islamic prophet drank palm wine, which is considered an alcoholic beverage. His hypocrisy is revealed in this situation. He chose to adhere to Sharia Law since he became a Muslim, but he violated it after obeying it for a long time. His habit was to not have a drop of alcohol in his body. However, by drinking palm wine, he disobeyed Sharia Law and will likely face harsh punishment for his transgression.

I hope my analysis clears the misunderstanding we have about this limerick. Let me know if you have further questions. Please do not call me names because it is not legitimate criticism. Do not read my poem if you do not like it. I know that there are people in this world who may not enjoy comedy in this poem, but just remember that I am entitled to post this on the Internet because of my First Amendment right to free speech.

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