Ruling on music, singing and dancing
Question:
I have always heard that music, singing and dancing are
haram in Islam. I went to this other site for the first time,XXX,
and typed in music and all of these articles appeared which said music,dancing,
and singing in Islam is halal??? They said "as long as the 2 sexes are not
close together and their is no drinking going on"
etc. and they even have hadiths that try to prove our Prophet Muhammed s.a.w
was ok with this??? I am very confused now... Could you PLEASE give a full,
detailed explanation about the Islamic ruling on music, singing and dancing and
when it is allowed, if it is even allowed at all.
Answer:
Praise be
to Allaah.
Ma’aazif is the plural of mi’zafah, and refers to musical
instruments (Fath al-Baari, 10/55), instruments which are played (al-Majmoo’, 11/577). Al-Qurtubi (may Allaah have mercy on him) narrated from
al-Jawhari (may Allaah have mercy on him) that ma’aazif means singing.
In his Sihaah it says that it means
musical instruments. It was also said that it refers to the sound of the
instruments. In al-Hawaashi by al-Dimyaati (may Allaah have mercy on
him) it says: ma’aazif means drums (dufoof, sing. daff) and other instruments
which are struck or beaten (Fath al-Baari,
10/55).
Evidence of prohibition in the
Qur’aan and Sunnah:
Allaah says in Soorat Luqmaan
(interpretation of the meaning):
“And of mankind is he who purchases idle
talks (i.e. music, singing) to mislead (men) from the path of Allaah…” [Luqmaan
31:6]
The scholar of the ummah, Ibn
‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: this means singing. Mujaahid
(may Allaah have mercy on him) said: this means playing the drum (tabl).
(Tafseer al-Tabari,
21/40).
Al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allaah have
mercy on him) said: this aayah was revealed concerning singing and musical
instruments (lit. woodwind instruments). (Tafseer
Ibn Katheer, 3/451).
Al-Sa’di (may Allaah have mercy on
him) said: this includes all manner of haraam speech, all idle talk and
falsehood, and all nonsense that encourages kufr and disobedience; the words of
those who say things to refute the truth and argue in support of falsehood to
defeat the truth; and backbiting, slander, lies, insults and curses; the
singing and musical instruments of the Shaytaan; and musical instruments which
are of no spiritual or worldly benefit. (Tafseer
al-Sa’di, 6/150)
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The
interpretation of the Sahaabah and Taabi’in, that ‘idle talk’
refers to singing, is sufficient. This was reported with saheeh isnaads
from Ibn ‘Abbaas and Ibn Mas’ood. Abu’l-Sahbaa’ said: I asked Ibn Mas’ood about
the aayah (interpretation of the meaning), ‘“And of mankind is he who purchases idle talks’ [Luqmaan 31:6]. He
said: By Allaah, besides Whom there is no other god,
this means singing – and he repeated it three times. It was also reported with
a saheeh isnaad from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them both) that this
means singing. There is no contradiction between the interpretation of “idle
talk” as meaning singing and the interpretation of it as meaning stories of the
Persians and their kings, and the kings of the Romans, and so on, such as
al-Nadr ibn al-Haarith used to tell to the people of Makkah to distract them
from the Qur’aan. Both of them are idle talk. Hence Ibn ‘Abbaas said: “Idle
talk” is falsehood and singing. Some of the Sahaabah said one and some said the
other, and some said both. Singing is worse and more harmful than stories of
kings, because it leads to zinaa and makes hypocrisy grow (in the heart); it is
the trap of the Shaytaan, and it clouds the mind. The way in which it blocks
people from the Qur’aan is worse than the way in which other kinds of false
talk block them, because people are naturally inclined towards it and tend to
want to listen to it. The aayaat condemn replacing the Qur’aan with idle talk
in order to mislead (men) from the path of Allaah without knowledge and taking
it as a joke, because when an aayah of the Qur’aan is recited to such a person,
he turns his back as if he heard them not, as if there were deafness in his
ear. If he hears anything of it, he makes fun of it. All of this happens only
in the case of the people who are most stubbornly kaafirs and if some of it
happens to singers and those who listen to them, they both have a share of this
blame. (Ighaathat
al-Lahfaan, 1/258-259).
Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“[Allaah said to Iblees:] And befool them gradually those whom you can among them with
your voice (i.e. songs, music, and any other call for Allaah’s disobedience)…”
[al-Israa’ 17:64]
It was narrated that Mujaahid (may
Allaah have mercy on him) said: “And befool them gradually those whom you can among them with your
voice” – his voice [the
voice of Iblees/Shaytaan] is singing and falsehood. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said: This idaafah [possessive or genitive
construction, i.e., your voice] serves to make the meaning specific, as with
the phrases [translated as] “your cavalry” and “your infantry” [later in the
same aayah]. Everyone who speaks in any way that is not obedient to Allaah,
everyone who blows into a flute or other woodwind instrument, or who plays any
haraam kind of drum, this is the voice of the Shaytaan. Everyone who walks to
commit some act of disobedience towards Allaah is part of his [the Shaytaan’s]
infantry, and anyone who rides to commit sin is part of his cavalry. This is
the view of the Salaf, as Ibn ‘Abi Haatim narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas: his
infantry is everyone who walks to disobey Allaah. (Ighaathat al-Lahfaan).
Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“Do you then wonder at this recitation (the
Qur’aan)?
And you laugh at it and weep not,
Wasting your (precious) lifetime in
pastime and amusements (singing)”
[al-Najm
53:59-61]
‘Ikrimah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: it was
narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas that al-sumood [verbal noun from saamidoon,
translated here as “Wasting your (precious) lifetime in
pastime and amusements (singing)”] means “singing”, in the dialect of Himyar;
it might be said “Ismidi lanaa” [‘sing for us’ – from the same root as saamidoon/sumood]
meaning “ghaniy” [sing]. And he said (may Allaah have mercy on him):
When they [the kuffaar] heard the Qur’aan, they would sing, then
this aayah was revealed.
Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him)
said: Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning) “Wasting your (precious)
lifetime in pastime and amusements (singing)” – Sufyaan al-Thawri said,
narrating from his father from Ibn ‘Abbaas: (this means) singing. This is
Yemeni (dialect): ismad lana means ghan lana
[sing to us]. This was also the view of ‘Ikrimah. (Tafseer Ibn Katheer).
It was reported from Abu Umaamah
(may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not sell singing slave women, do
not buy them and do not teach them. There is nothing good in this trade, and
their price is haraam. Concerning such things as this the aayah was revealed
(interpretation of the meaning): ‘And of mankind is
he who purchases idle talks (i.e. music, singing) to mislead (men) from the
path of Allaah…’ [Luqmaan 31:6].” (Hasan
hadeeth)
The Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Among my ummah there will certainly
be people who permit zinaa, silk, alcohol and musical instruments…” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari ta’leeqan, no. 5590;
narrated as mawsool by al-Tabaraani and al-Bayhaqi. See al-Silsilah
al-Saheehah by al-Albaani, 91).
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy
on him) said: This is a saheeh hadeeth narrated by al-Bukhaari in his Saheeh,
where he quoted it as evidence and stated that it is mu’allaq and majzoom.
He said: Chapter on what was narrated concerning those who permit alcohol and
call it by another name.
This hadeeth indicates in two ways
that musical instruments and enjoyment of listening to music are haraam. The
first is the fact that the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “[they] permit” which clearly
indicates that the things mentioned, including musical instruments, are haraam
according to sharee’ah, but those people will permit them. The second is the
fact that musical instruments are mentioned alongside things which are
definitely known to be haraam, i.e., zinaa and alcohol: if they (musical
instruments) were not haraam, why would they be mentioned alongside these
things? (adapted from al-Silsilah al-Saheehah by
al-Albaani, 1/140-141)
Shaykh al-Islam
(Ibn Taymiyah) (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: This hadeeth indicates that
ma’aazif are haraam, and ma’aazif means
musical instruments according to the scholars of (Arabic) language. This word
includes all such instruments. (al-Majmoo’, 11/535).
Ibn al-Qayyim
(may Allaah have mercy on him) said: And concerning the same topic similar
comments were narrated from Sahl ibn Sa’d al-Saa’idi, ‘Imraan ibn Husayn,
‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr, ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Abbaas, Abu Hurayrah, Abu Umaamah
al-Baahili, ‘Aa’ishah Umm al-Mu’mineen, ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib, Anas ibn Maalik,
‘Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Saabit and al-Ghaazi ibn Rabee’ah. Then he mentioned it in Ighaathat
al-Lahfaan, and it indicates that they (musical instruments) are haraam.
It was narrated
that Naafi’ (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Ibn ‘Umar heard a woodwind
instrument, and he put his fingers in his ears and kept away from that path. He
said to me, O Naafi’, can you hear anything? I said, No.
So he took his fingers away from his ears and said: I was with the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and he heard something like this, and he
did the same thing. (Saheeh Abi Dawood). Some insignificant person said that this
hadeeth does not prove that musical instruments are haraam, because if that
were so, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) would have instructed Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be
pleased with them both) to put his fingers in his ears as well, and Ibn ‘Umar
would have instructed Naafi’ to do likewise! The response to this is: He was
not listening to it, but he could hear it. There is a difference between
listening and hearing. Shaykh al-Islam (Ibn Taymiyah) (may Allaah have mercy on
him) said: Concerning (music) which a person does not intend to listen to,
there is no prohibition or blame, according to scholarly consensus. Hence blame
or praise is connected to listening, not to hearing. The one who listens to the
Qur’aan will be rewarded for it, whereas the one who hears it without intending
or wanting to will not be rewarded for that, because actions are judged by intentions.
The same applies to musical instruments which are forbidden: if a person hears
them without intending to, that does not matter. (al-Majmoo’, 10/78).
Ibn Qudaamah
al-Maqdisi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: the listener is the one who
intends to hear, which was not the case with Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased
with them both); what happened in his case was hearing. The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) needed to know when the sound stopped
because he had moved away from that path and blocked his ears. So he did not
want to go back to that path or unblock his ears until the noise had stopped,
so when he allowed Ibn ‘Umar to continue hearing it, this was because of
necessity. (al-Mughni,
10/173)
(Even
though the hearing referred to in the comments of the two imaams is makrooh, it
was permitted because of necessity, as we will see below in the comments of
Imaam Maalik (may Allaah have mercy on him). And Allaah knows best).
The
views of the scholars (imaams) of Islam
Al-Qaasim (may
Allaah have mercy on him) said: Singing is part of falsehood. Al-Hasan (may
Allaah have mercy on him) said: if there is music involved in a dinner
invitation (waleemah), do not accept the invitation (al-Jaami by al-Qayrawaani, p. 262-263).
Shaykh
al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The view of the four
Imaams is that all kinds of musical instruments are haraam. It was reported in Saheeh
al-Bukhaari and elsewhere that the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said that there would be among his ummah
those who would allow zinaa, silk, alcohol and musical instruments, and he said
that they would be transformed into monkeys and pigs… None of the followers of
the imaams mentioned any dispute concerning the matter of music. (al-Majmoo’,
11/576).
Al-Albaani (may
Allaah have mercy on him) said: The four madhhabs are agreed that all musical
instruments are haraam. (al-Saheehah,
1/145).
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on
him) said: The madhhab of Abu Haneefah is the strictest in this regard, and his
comments are among the harshest. His companions clearly stated that it is
haraam to listen to all musical instruments such as the flute and the drum,
even tapping a stick. They stated that it is a sin which implies that a person
is a faasiq (rebellious evil doer) whose testimony should be rejected.
They went further than that and said that listening to music is fisq
(rebellion, evildoing) and enjoying it is kufr (disbelief). This is their
words. They narrated in support of that a hadeeth which could not be attributed
to the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him). They said: he should try not to hear it if he passes by it
or it is in his vicinity. Abu Yoosuf said, concerning a house from which could
be heard the sound of musical instruments: Go in without their permission,
because forbidding evil actions is obligatory, and if it were not allowed to
enter without permission, people could not have fulfilled the obligatory duty
(of enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil). (Ighaathat al-Lahfaan, 1/425).
Imaam Maalik (may Allaah have mercy
on him) was asked about playing the drum or flute, if a person happens to hear
the sound and enjoy it whilst he is walking or sitting. He said: He should get
up if he finds that he enjoys it, unless he is sitting down for a need or is
unable to get up. If he is on the road, he should either go back or move on. (al-Jaami’ by
al-Qayrawaani, 262). He (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “The only people
who do things like that, in our view, are faasiqs.” (Tafseer
al-Qurtubi, 14/55).
Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (may Allaah have
mercy on him) said: Among the types of earnings which are haraam by scholarly
consensus are ribaa, the fee of a prostitute, anything forbidden, bribes,
payment for wailing over the dead and singing, payments to fortune-tellers and
those who claim to know the unseen and astrologers, payments for playing
flutes, and all kinds of gambling. (al-Kaafi).
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy
on him) said, explaining the view of Imaam al-Shaafa'i: His companions who know
his madhhab (point of view) stated that it is haraam and denounced those who
said that he permitted it. (Ighaathat
al-Lahfaan, 1/425).
The author of Kifaayat al-Akhbaar,
who was one of the Shaafa’is, counted musical instruments such as flutes and
others, as being munkar (evil), and the one who is present (where they
are being played) should denounce them. (He cannot be excused by the fact that
there are bad scholars, because they are corrupting the sharee’ah, or evil faqeers
– meaning the Sufis, because they call themselves fuqaraa’ or faqeers
– because they are ignorant and follow anyone who makes noise; they are not
guided by the light of knowledge; rather they are blown about by every wind. (Kifaayat al-Akhbaar, 2/128).
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy
on him) said: With regard to the view of Imaam Ahmad, his son ‘Abd-Allaah said:
I asked my father about singing. He said: Singing makes hypocrisy grow in the
heart; I do not like it. Then he mentioned the words of Maalik: the evildoers
(faasiqs) among us do that. (Ighaathat
al-Lahfaan).
Ibn Qudaamah, the researcher of the
Hanbali madhhab – (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Musical instruments are
of three types which are haraam. These are the strings and all kinds of flute,
and the lute, drum and rabaab (stringed instrument) and so on. Whoever persists
in listening to them, his testimony should be rejected. (al-Mughni, 10/173). And he said (may Allaah have mercy on
him); If a person is invited to a gathering in which there is something
objectionable, such as wine and musical instruments, and he is able to denounce
it, then he should attend and speak out against it, because then he will be
combining two obligatory duties. If he is not able to do that, then he should
not attend. (al-Kaafi,
3/118)
Al-Tabari (may Allaah have mercy on
him) said: The scholars of all regions are agreed that singing is makrooh and
should be prevented. Although Ibraaheem ibn Sa’d and
‘Ubayd-Allaah al-‘Anbari differed from the majority, (it should be noted that)
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Adhere to the majority.” And whoever
dies differing from the majority, dies as a jaahili. (Tafseer al-Qurtubi,
14/56). In earlier
generations, the word “makrooh” was used to mean haraam, then it took on the
meaning of “disliked”. But this is to be understood as meaning that it is
forbidden, because he [al-Tabari] said “it should be prevented”, and nothing is
to be prevented except that which is haraam; and because in the two hadeeths
quoted, music is denounced in the strongest terms. Al-Qurtubi (may Allaah have
mercy on him) is the one who narrated this report, then he said: Abu’l-Faraj
and al-Qaffaal among our companions said: the testimony of the singer and the
dancer is not to be accepted. I say: if it is proven that this matter is not
permissible, then accepting payment for it is not permissible either.
Shaykh al-Fawzaan (may Allaah
preserve him) said: What Ibraaheem ibn Sa’d and ‘Ubayd-Allaah al-‘Anbari said
about singing is not like the kind of singing that is known nowadays, for they
would never have allowed this kind of singing which is the utmost in immorality
and obscenity. (al-I’laam)
Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy
on him) said: It is not permissible to make musical instruments. (al-Majmoo’,
22/140). And he said:
According to the majority of fuqahaa’, it is permissible to destroy musical
instruments, such as the tanboor [a stringed instrument similar to a mandolin].
This is the view of Maalik and is the more famous of the two views narrated
from Ahmad. (al-Majmoo’,
28/113). And he said: …Ibn
al-Mundhir mentioned that the scholars were agreed that it is not permissible
to pay people to sing and wail… the consensus of all the scholars whose views
we have learned about is that wailing and singing are not allowed. Al-Shu’bi,
al-Nakha’i and Maalik regarded that as makrooh [i.e., haraam]. Abu Thawr,
al-Nu’maan – Abu Haneefah (may Allaah have mercy on him) – and Ya’qoob and
Muhammad, two of the students of Abu Haneefah said: it is not permissible to
pay anything for singing and wailing. This is our view. And he said: musical
instruments are the wine of the soul, and what it does to the soul is worse
than what intoxicating drinks do. (Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 10/417).
Ibn Abi Shaybah (may Allaah have
mercy on him) reported that a man broke a mandolin belonging to another man,
and the latter took his case to Shurayh. But Shurayh did not award him any compensation
– i.e., he did not make the first man pay the cost of the mandolin, because it
was haraam and had no value. (al-Musannaf, 5/395).
Al-Baghawi (may Allaah have mercy on
him) stated in a fatwa that it is haraam to sell all kinds of musical instruments
such as mandolins, flutes, etc. Then he said: If the images are erased and the
musical instruments are altered, then it is permissible to sell their parts,
whether they are silver, iron, wood or whatever. (Sharh al-Sunnah, 8/28)
An appropriate exception
The exception to the above is the daff
– without any rings (i.e., a hand-drum which looks like a tambourine, but
without any rattles) – when used by women on Eids and at weddings. This is
indicated by saheeh reports. Shaykh al-Islam (may Allaah have mercy on him)
said: But the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) made allowances for certain types of musical instruments
at weddings and the like, and he made allowances for women to play the daff at
weddings and on other joyful occasions. But the men at his time did not play
the daff or clap with their hands. It was narrated in al-Saheeh that he
said: “Clapping is for women and tasbeeh (saying Subhaan Allaah) is for men.”
And he cursed women who imitate men and men who imitate women. Because singing
and playing the daff are things that women do, the Salaf used to call any man
who did that a mukhannath (effeminate man), and they used to call male singers
effeminate – and how many of them there are nowadays! It is well known that the
Salaf said this.
In a similar vein is the hadeeth of
‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), when her father (may Allaah be
pleased with him) entered upon her at the time of Eid, and there were two young
girls with her who were singing the verses that the Ansaar had said on the day
of Bu’aath – and any sensible person will know what people say about war. Abu
Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Musical instruments of the
Shaytaan in the house of the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him)!” The Messenger of Allaah had turned away
from them and was facing the wall – hence some scholars said that Abu Bakr (may
Allaah be pleased with him) would not tell anybody off in front of the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him), but he thought that the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was not paying attention to what was
happening. And Allaah knows best. He (the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him)) said: “Leave them alone, O Abu Bakr, for
every nation has its Eid, and this is our Eid, the people of Islam.” This
hadeeth shows that it was not the habit of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his companions to gather to listen to singing, hence Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq called it “the musical
instruments of the Shaytaan”. And the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) approved of this appellation and did not
deny it when he said, “Leave them alone, for every nation has its Eid and this
is our Eid.” This indicates that the reason why this was permitted was because
it was the time of Eid, and the prohibition remained in effect at times other
than Eid, apart from the exceptions made for weddings in other ahaadeeth.
Shaykh al-Albaani explained this in his valuable book Tahreem Aalaat
al-Tarab (the Prohibition of Musical Instruments). The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) approved of young girls singing at Eid, as
stated in the hadeeth: “So that the mushrikeen will know that in our religion
there is room for relaxation.” There is no indication in the hadeeth about the
two young girls that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) was listening to them. The commands and
prohibitions have to do with listening, not merely hearing, just as in the case
of seeing, the rules have to do with intentionally looking and not what happens
by accident. So it is clear that this is for women only. Imaam Abu ‘Ubayd (may
Allaah have mercy on him) defined the daff as “that which is played by women.” (Ghareeb al-Hadeeth, 3/64).
Some of them make an exception for
drums at times of war, and consequentially some modern scholars have said that
military music is allowed. But there is no basis for this at all, for a number
of reasons, the first of which is that this is making an exception with no
clear evidence, apart from mere opinion and thinking that it is good, and this
is wrong. The second reason is that what the Muslims should do at times of war
is to turn their hearts towards their Lord. Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“They ask
you (O Muhammad) about the spoils of war. Say: ‘The spoils are for Allaah and
the Messenger.’ So fear Allaah and adjust all matters of difference among you…”
[al-Anfaal 8:1]. But using music is the opposite of this
idea of taqwa and it would distract them from
remembering their Lord. Thirdly, using music is one of the customs of the
kuffaar, and it is not permitted to imitate them, especially with regard to
something that Allaah has forbidden to us in general, such as music. (al-Saheehah, 1/145)
“No people go astray after having
been guided except they developed arguments amongst themselves.” (Saheeh)
Some of them used the hadeeth about
the Abyssinians playing in the mosque of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) as evidence that singing is allowed!
Al-Bukhaari included this hadeeth in his Saheeh under the heading Baab
al-Hiraab wa’l-Daraq Yawm al-‘Eid (Chapter on Spears and Shields on the Day
of Eid). Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: This indicates that it
is permissible to play with weapons and the like in the mosque, and he applied
that to other activities connected with jihaad. (Sharh
Muslim). But as al-Haafiz
ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: whoever speaks about something
which is not his profession will come up with weird ideas such as these.
Some of them use as evidence the
hadeeth about the singing of the two young girls, which we have discussed above,
but we will quote what Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said,
because it is valuable:
I am amazed that you quote as
evidence for allowing listening to sophisticated songs the report which we
mentioned about how two young girls who were below the age of puberty sang to a
young woman on the day of Eid some verses of Arab poetry about bravery in war
and other noble characteristics. How can you compare this to that? What is
strange is that this hadeeth is one of the strongest proofs against them. The
greatest speaker of the truth [Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq] called them musical
instruments of the Shaytaan, and the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) approved of that appellation, but he made
an exception in the case of these two young girls who had not yet reached the
age of responsibility and the words of whose songs could not corrupt anyone who
listened to them. Can this be used as evidence to allow what you do and what
you know of listening (to music) which includes (bad) things which are not
hidden?! Subhaan Allaah! How people can be led astray! (Madaarij al-Saalikeen, 1/493).
Ibn al-Jawzi (may Allaah have mercy
on him) said: ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) was young at that
time; nothing was transmitted from her after she reached the age of puberty
except condemnation of singing. Her brother’s son, al-Qaasim ibn Muhammad,
condemned singing and said that it was not allowed to listen to it, and he took
his knowledge from her. (Talbees Iblees,
229). Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: A group of the
Sufis used this hadeeth – the hadeeth about the two young girls – as evidence
that singing is allowed and it is allowed to listen to it, whether it is
accompanied by instruments or not. This view is sufficiently refuted by the
clear statement of ‘Aa’ishah in the following hadeeth, where she says, “They
were not singers.” She made it clear that they were not singers as such,
although this may be understood from the wording of the report. So we should limit
it to what was narrated in the text as regards the occasion and the manner, so
as to reduce the risk of going against the principle, i.e., the hadeeth. And
Allaah knows best. (Fath al-Baari, 2/442-443).
Some people even have the nerve to
suggest that the Sahaabah and Taabi’een listened to singing, and that they saw
nothing wrong with it!
Al-Fawzaan (may Allaah preserve him) said: We demand them to show
us saheeh isnaads going back to these Sahaabah and Taabi’een, proving what they
attribute to them. Then he said: Imaam Muslim mentioned in his
introduction to his Saheeh that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Mubaarak said: The
isnaad is part of religion. Were it not for the isnaad, whoever wanted to could
say whatever he wanted to.
Some of them said that the ahaadeeth
which forbid music are full of faults. No hadeeth was free of being criticized
by some of the scholars. Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The
ahaadeeth which were narrated concerning music being haraam are not full of
faults as has been claimed. Some of them are in Saheeh al-Bukhaari which
is the soundest of books after the Book of Allaah, and some of them are hasan
and some are da’eef. But because they are so many, with different isnaads, they
constitute definitive proof that singing and musical instruments are
haraam.
All the imaams agreed on the soundness of
the ahaadeeth which forbid singing and musical instruments, apart from Abu
Haamid al-Ghazzaali, but al-Ghazzaali did not have knowledge of hadeeth; and
Ibn Hazam, but al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) explained where Ibn
Hazam went wrong, and Ibn Hazam himself said that if any of (these ahaadeeth)
were saheeh, he would follow that. But now they have proof that these reports
are saheeh because there are so many books by the scholars which state that
these ahaadeeth are saheeh, but they turn their backs on that. They are far
more extreme than Ibn Hazam and they are nothing like him, for they are not
qualified and cannot be referred to.
Some of them said that the scholars
forbade singing because it is mentioned alongside gatherings in which alcohol
is drunk and where people stay up late at night for evil purposes.
Al-Shawkaani (may Allaah have mercy
on him) said: The response to this is that mentioning these things in
conjunction does not only mean that what is haraam is what is joined together
in this manner. Otherwise this would mean that zinaa, as mentioned in the
ahaadeeth, is not haraam unless it is accompanied by alcohol and the use of
musical instruments. By the same token, an aayah such as the following
(interpretation of the meaning):
“Verily,
he used not to believe in Allaah, the Most Great,
And urged not on the feeding of Al‑Miskeen
(the poor).”
[al-Haaqqah
69:33-34]
would imply that it is not haraam to disbelieve in Allaah unless
that is accompanied by not encouraging the feeding of the poor. If it is said
that the prohibition of such things one at a time is proven from other reports,
the response to that is that the prohibition of musical instruments is also
known from other evidence, as mentioned above. (Nayl al-Awtaar, 8/107).
Some of them said that “idle talk”
does not refer to singing; the refutation of that has been mentioned above.
Al-Qurtubi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: This – the view that it means
singing – is the best that has been said concerning this aayah, and Ibn Mas’ood
swore three times by Allaah besides Whom there is no other god, that it does
refer to singing. Then he mentioned other imaams who said the same thing. Then
he mentioned other views concerning the matter. Then he said: The first view is
the best of all that has been said on this matter, because of the marfoo’
hadeeth, and because of the view of the Sahaabah and the Taabi’een. (Tafseer al-Qurtubi).
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy
on him), after quoting this Tafseer, said: Al-Haakim Abu ‘Abd-Allaah
said in the Tafseer of Kitaab al-Mustadrak: Let the one who is
seeking this knowledge know that the Tafseer of a Sahaabi who witnessed the
revelation is a hadeeth with isnaad according to the two Shaykhs
(al-Bukhaari and Muslim). Elsewhere in his book, he said: In our view this
hadeeth has the same strength as a marfoo’ report. Although their tafseer is
still subject to further examination, it is still more readily acceptable than
the tafseer of those who came after them, because they are the most
knowledgeable among this ummah of what Allaah meant in his Book. It was
revealed among them and they were the first people to be addressed by it. They
heard the tafseer from the Messenger (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in word and in deed. And they were Arabs
who understood the true meanings of (Arabic) words, so Muslims should avoid
resorting to any other interpretation as much as possible.
Some of them said that singing is a
form of worship if the intention is for it to help one to obey Allaah!
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy
on him) said: How strange! What type of faith, light, insight, guidance and
knowledge can be gained from listening to tuneful verses and music in which
most of what is said is haraam and deserves the wrath and punishment of Allaah
and His Messenger? … How can anyone who has the least amount of insight and
faith in his heart draw near to Allaah and increase his faith by enjoying
something which is hated by Him, and He detests the one who says it and the one
who accepts it? (Madaarij al-Saalikeen,
1/485)
Shaykh al-Islam said, discussing the
state of the person who has gotten used to listening to singing: Hence you find
that those who have gotten used to it and for whom it is like food and drink
will never have the desire to listen to the Qur’aan or feel joy when they hear
it, and they never find in listening to its verses the same feeling that they
find when listening to poetry. Indeed, if they hear the Qur’aan, they hear it
with an inattentive heart and talk whilst it is being recited, but if they hear
whistling and clapping of hands, they lower their voices and keep still, and
pay attention. (Majmoo’ al-Fataawa,
11/557 ff)
Some say that music and musical
instruments have the effect of softening people’s hearts and creating gentle
feelings. This is not true, because it provokes physical desires and whims. If
it really did what they say, it would have softened the hearts of the musicians
and made their attitude and behaviour better, but most of them, as we know, are
astray and behave badly.
Conclusion
Perhaps – for fair-minded and
objective readers – this summary will make it clear that the view that music is
permissible has no firm basis. There are no two views on this matter. So we
must advise in the best manner, and then take it step by step and denounce
music, if we are able to do so. We should not be deceived by the fame of a man
in our own times in which the people who are truly committed to Islam have
become strangers. The one who says that singing and musical instruments are
permitted is simply supporting the whims of people nowadays, as if the masses
were issuing fatwas and he is simply signing them! If a matter arises, they
will look at the views of fuqahaa’ on this matter, then they will take the
easiest view, as they claim. Then they will look for evidence, or just specious
arguments which are worth no more than a lump of dead meat. How often have
these people approved things in the name of sharee’ah which in fact have
nothing to do with Islam!
Strive to learn your Islam from the Book of your Lord and the
Sunnah of your Prophet. Do not say, So-and-so said, for you cannot learn the
truth only from men. Learn the truth and then measure people against it. This
should be enough for the one who controls his whims and submits himself to his
Lord. May what we have written above heal the hearts of the believers and
dispel the whispers in the hearts of those who are stricken with insinuating
whispers. May it expose everyone who is deviating from the path of Revelation
and taking the easiest options, thinking that he has come up with something
which none of the earlier generations ever
achieved, and speaking about Allaah without knowledge. They sought to avoid
fisq (evildoing) and ended up committing bid’ah – may Allaah not bless them in
it. It would have been better for them to follow the path of the believers.
And Allaah knows best. May Allaah
bless and grant peace to His Messenger who made clear the path of the
believers, and to his companions and those who follow them in truth until the
Day of Judgement.
Summary of a paper entitled al-Darb
bi’l-Nawa li man abaaha al-Ma’aazif li’l-Hawa by Shaykh Sa’d
al-Deen ibn Muhammad al-Kibbi.
For more information, please see:
Al-I’laam bi Naqd Kitaab
al-Halaal wa’l-Haraam, by Shaykh
al-‘Allaamah Saalih ibn Fawzaan al-Fawzaan
Al-Samaa’ by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn al-Qayyim
Tahreem Aalaat al-Tarab, by Shaykh Muhammad Naasir al-Deen al-Albaani (may Allaah
have mercy on him)
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid