Music
According to Quran and Sunnah
The
Prohibition
The Noble Qur'an - Luqman
31:6
And of mankind is he who purchases idle talks
(i.e. music, singing, etc.) to mislead (men) from the Path of Allah without
knowledge, and takes it (the Path of Allah, the Verses of the Qur'an) by
way of mockery. For such there will be a humiliating torment (in the
Hell-Fire).
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Ibn Masood (ra) said about this verse
"I swear by the One other than Whom there is no God that it refers to singing
[ghinaa].", and he repeated this three times. Ibn Abbaas (ra) said it refered
to 'singing and the like' while Jaabir (ra) is reported to view its meaning
to signify singing and listening to songs. Many taabi'oon such as Mujaahid,
Ikrimah, Mak-hool and Umar ibn Shu'ayb viewed it as a censure of music and
song.
Hadith - Bukhari (#787)
[Also related by Tabari]
Sa'id ibn Jbayr reported that Ibn 'Abbas said
about the verse: "And of mankind is he who purchases idle talks" (31:6),
that, "ldle talks means singing and the like."
The Noble Qur'an - Al-Isra
17:64
"And Istafiz [literally means: befool
them gradually] those whom you can among them with your voice (i.e. songs,
music, and other call for Allah's disobedience)..."
Hadith - Bukhari 7:494
Narrated Abu 'Amir or Abu Malik Al-Ash'ari
that he heard the Prophet
saying, "From among my followers
there will be some people who will consider illegal sexual intercourse, the
wearing of silk, the drinking of alcoholic drinks, and the use of
musical instruments as lawful. And (from them), there will be some
who will stay near the side of a mountain, and in the evening their shepherd
will come to them with their sheep and ask them for something, but they will
say to him, 'Return to us tomorrow.' Allah will destroy them during the night
and will let the mountain fall on them, and Allah will transform the rest
of them into monkeys and pigs and they will remain so till the Day of
Resurrection."
The Noble Qur'an - An-Najm
53:57-62
The Day of Resurrection draws near, None besides
Allah can avert it, (or advance it, or delay it). Do you then wonder
at this recital (the Qur'an)? And you laugh at it and weep not, Wasting
your (precious) lifetime in pastime and amusements (singing, etc.). So
fall you down in prostration to Allah, and worship Him (Alone).
-
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
Quraan, they would sing, then this aayah was revealed.
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Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Allah 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).
Use of a Simple
Drum
Use of the "duff" (simple drum)
is permitted in Islam for a practical purpose (such as establishing a simple
beat for exercise, rowing, and other labors), but not to be done by a Muslim
for entertainment or idleness. In such instances, it must not be played as
music, such as by enhancing rhythm, whistling a tune and whatnot. Ibn al-Qayyim
said in Ighaathat al-Lahfaan (1/256) that the prohibition against the use
of instruments refers to "all kinds of things used for entertainment."
According to the Sunnah, females
can sing and beat the duff on the two 'Eids (specific Muslim celebrations)
and to announce a Muslim wedding amongst themselves, and their voices shouldn't
be raised loud enough or near enough to be heard by the men.
Poetry is also permitted, but
it must not contain shirk (the major sin of associating a partner in worship
with Allah, i.e. trinity, major or minor shirk, etc.).
The woman's voice should not
be used in an attractive way around
non-mahram men and to them it must
be limited to necessity (physical necessity such as asking for something
at the store, not emotional 'necessity' such as social conversation). Men
and women must not engage in idle or social conversations with
non-mahrams (those not related as specified
in The Quran). Muslim men should avoid listening to a non-related (i.e.
non-mahram) female voice (such as pop singers, etc.) except when it is
unavoidable or due to her speaking out of necessity and not socializing.
The Noble Qur'an - An-Najm
53:57-62
The Prophet came to me after consuming his
marriage with me and sat down on my bed as you (the sub-narrator) are sitting
now, and small girls were beating the duff* and singing in lamentation of
my father who had been killed on the day of the battle of Badr. Then one
of the girls said, "There is a Prophet amongst us who knows what will happen
tomorrow." The Prophet [saaws] said (to her),"Do not say this, but go on
saying what you have spoken before."
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* duff /daff- a one-sided drum made of animal skin.
The Noble Qur'an - Al-Ahzab
33:32
O wives of the Prophet! You are not like any other
women. If you keep your duty (to Allâh), then be not soft in speech,
lest he in whose heart is a disease (of hypocrisy, or evil desire for adultery,
etc.) should be moved with desire, but speak in an honourable manner.
Explanation from
Sheikh Ibn Baz
Shaykh Ibn Baz (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Majmoo' al-Fataawa,
3/423-424:
"Ma'aazif refers to singing and musical instruments. The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us that at the end of time there
will come a people who will allow these things just as they will allow alcohol,
zina and silk. This is one of the signs of his Prophethood, for all of this
has happened. The hadeeth indicates that [musical instruments] are
haram (prohibited), and condemns those who say they are halal
(permissible), just as it condemns those who say that alcohol and zina are
allowed. The aayaat and ahaadeeth that warn against singing and musical
instruments are many indeed. Whoever claims that Allaah has allowed singing
and musical instruments is lying and is committing a great evil. We ask Allaah
to keep us from obeying our desires and the Shaytaan. Even worse and more
seriously sinful than that are those who say it is mustahabb. Undoubtedly
this stems from ignorance about Allaah and His Religion; it is insolent blasphemy
against Allaah and lying about His Laws.
What is mustahabb (recommended) is to beat on the daff [simple hand
drum] at weddings. This is mustahabb for women only, in order to announce
the wedding and to distinguish it from fornication. There is nothing wrong
with women singing amongst themselves, accompanied by the daff, so long as
the songs contain no words that encourage evil or distract people from their
duties. It is also a condition that this should take place among women
only, and there should be no mixing with men. It should also not cause
any annoyance or disturbance to neighbours. What some people do, of amplifying
such singing with loudspeakers is evil, because of the disturbance it causes
to other Muslims, neighbours and others. It is not permissible for women,
in weddings or on other occasions, to use any instrument other than the daff,
such as the oud, violin, rebab (stringed instrument) and so on. This is evil,
and the only concession that women are given is that they may use the daff.
As for men, it is not permissible for them to play any kind of musical
instrument, whether at weddings or on any other occasion. What Allaah has
prescribed for men is training in the use of instruments of war, such as
target practice or learning to ride horses and competing in that, using spears,
shields, tanks, airplanes and other things such as cannons, machine guns,
bombs and anything else that may help jihaad for the sake of Allaah."
Hadith - Sunan of Abu Dawood, #4909,
Narrated Abdullah ibn Mas'ud
Salam ibn Miskin, quoting an old man who witnessed
AbuWa'il in a wedding feast, said: They began to play, amuse and sing. He
united the support of his hand round his knees that were drawn up, and said:
I heard Abdullah (ibn Mas'ud) say: I heard the apostle of Allah (peace be
upon him) say: Singing produces hypocrisy in the heart.
Intentions as it
Relates to Hearing Music
Shaykh 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).
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 faasiq's." (Tafseer al-Qurtubi, 14/55).
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).
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 haram and
had no value. (al-Musannaf, 5/395).
A Haram (Prohibited)
Profession
It is haram (prohibited)
to be work as a salesperson in a store that sells musical instruments. It
is permissible to sell an instrument for its parts, such as to have it melted
down, etc. It is of course, as shown by the evidences above, haram
to be a musician.
Al-Baghawi (may Allaah have mercy
on him) stated in a fatwa that it is haram 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)
Effeminate
Men
Shaykh Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said: 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 (men of the far past) 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.
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