Answer
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
1- A Muslim is encouraged to praise the Prophet (peace be upon him) without exaggeration and to refer to his good ethics and morals to encourage himself or herself and others to follow in his footsteps and guidance.
2- It is permissible to listen to poems that praise the Prophet and display his character and morals.
In his response to your question, Dr. Muzzammil H. Siddiqi, former president of the Fiqh Council of North America, states:
It is very good to praise the Prophet (peace be upon him) and refer to his good example and character to encourage oneself and others to follow his Sunnah.
There are many beautiful poems in the praise of the Prophet (peace be upon him) written by the Companions and later generations of Muslims.
Indeed, it is permissible to listen to these poems.
When praising the Prophet, we should make sure that we do not exaggerate in his praise. The Prophet said, “Do not overpraise me as Christians overpraised Jesus son of Mary. Say [when referring to me], ‘Servant of Allah and His Messenger.'” (Al-Bukhari)
Almighty Allah knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.