Avoid being artificial

I once read a poem of Abu Reeshah and was instantly captivated by his words. I memorized the poem and studied Abu Reeshah’s style. Soon afterwards, I had to present a poem at a school recital, so I tried to copy Abu Reesha’s style — the only problem being that I am not Abu Reesha. Hence the words that came out lacked coherence, and the poem in general was stale and insipid. After that day I stopped copying other peoples’ styles. I began to write according to what I felt, and in this way I was automatically able to infuse my personality into my poetry. Similarly, I once prayed behind an Imam in Jeddah. He was trying to copy a famous reciter; how far he was, though, from achieving the desired effect! His voice was too different from the famous reciter and the attempt at imitation seemed blatantly affected. It was hard for me to bear his effort because I was feeling all along how hard he was struggling to reach similarity. I realized that Allah created every person with distinct qualities, characteristics, and talents:(To each among you. We have prescribed a law and a clear way)    (Qur’an 5: 48)If you want to excel in something, try to follow a way that suits both your nature and your ability:Say: [O’ Muhammad to mankind]: ‘Each one acts according to Shaakilatihi [i.e. his way his disposition, his religion, or his intentions, etc.].)                                                                                             (Qur’an 17: 84)