Music is Halal. (Claimed by some)

Music is Halal. (Claimed by some)

In today’s ear a lot of Muslims are confused as to whether music is hahal or haram and that is because of the dust blown by the media which has stirred confusion among the less learned ones. People get confused because they do not possess the knowledge, they fail to answer the points raised by the supports of music, and the people of weak soul end up considering it halal.

In this article I’ll quote Quran and Hadeeth to establish the fact and clear all the misconceptions regarding music.

For anything to be haram it must be clearly mentioned in Quran or Hadeeth.
There is no clear verse in Quran that says music is haram.
A man said to Ibn Abbas (R.A), “What do you say about singing? Is it halal or haram?” Ibn Abbas (R.A) said “I do not say anything is haram unless it is in the book of Allah.” The man said “Is it halal then?” Ibn Abbas (R.A) said “I do not say that either.” Then Ibn Abbas (R.A) said to that person “Imagine if truth and falsehood come on the Day of Judgment, with which one singing would be?” The man said, “It would be with falsehood.” Ibn Abbas (R.A) said “Go you have answered yourself.” (Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim)

Singing and music are the two of the greatest causes of disease and hardness of heart. They turn people away from listening to the words of Allah and also remove iman and ihsan from people’s heart. Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim writes in his book Ighathat Al-lahfan “One of the knowledgeable people of the Salaf said listening to music results in hypocrisy, obstinacy, lying, lewdness and heedlessness. People start loving images and find pleasure in immoral acts. Their addiction makes the Quran heavy on their hearts and makes them hate listening to it. If this is not hypocrisy then there is no such thing as hypocrisy.”

I would like to quote an Ayah of Quran here.
And of the people is he who buys the amusement of speech to mislead [others] from the way of Allah without knowledge and who takes it in ridicule. Those will have a humiliating punishment. 31:6

The word here is idle speech.
Abdullah Ibn Masud (R.A) when asked what was intended by idle speech He said “It is singing, by the one and only God.” He repeated this three times.
Abdullah Ibn Abbas (R.A) and his father said “It was sent down for singing and its likes.”
The same explanation was given by Abdullah Ibn Umer(R.A) and Jabir Ibn Abdullah (R.A)
Others who share the same opinion include
Mujahid
Ikrimah
Makhul
Ibrahim An-Nakahi
Ataa Al-Khurasani
Al-Hassan Al-Basri
Saeed Ibn Jubayr
Qatadah Ibn Diamah
Maymum Ibn Mahran
Habib Ibn Abi Thabit
Amr Ibn Shuaib
Abdullah Ibn Juraij
Saeed Ibn Al-Musayyab.
These 13 Tabiees have explained ‘idle speech’ to mean singing, and there is no known difference of opinion.
Allah has bestowed upon us countless favors, we must be thankful for every one of those and one way of being thankful is by using the favor for the purpose it has been bestowed upon us. Among the favors are the senses of sight and hearing that He has given to us.
Allah says in Quran
It is He Who has created hearing, sight and hearts for you. What little thanks you show! (Qur'an, 23:78)
And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed the hearing, the sight and the heart – about all those will be questioned. (Qur’an, 17:36)
And whatever you have of favor - it is from Allah. (Qur’an, 16:53)
If we aren’t using our senses the way Allah wants then we are being unthankful. Allah doesn’t like an ungrateful one and punishes him.
Why should Allah punish you if you have thanked (Him) and have believed in Him? And Allah is Ever All-Appreciative (of good), All-Knowing. (Qur’an, 4:147)
And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed: ‘If you give thanks (by accepting Faith and worshipping none but Allah), I will give you more (of My Blessings); but if you are thankless, verily, My punishment is indeed severe. (Qur’an, 14:7)

Now I’ll be quoting Hadeeths to further clarify the issue.

Narrated Abu 'Amir or Abu Malik Al-Ash'ari:
that he heard the Prophet Mohammed ﷺ 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 there will be some people 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 He will transform the rest of them into monkeys and pigs and they will remain so till the Day of Resurrection." (Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 69, Number 494)

“Verily a group from my Ummah will drink wine, and call it by other than its name. Around them musical instruments will be played and female singers will sing. Allah will make the earth swallow them, and will make some of them monkeys and pigs.” (Sahih Sunan Ibn Majah, no. 4020)

These Hadeeth show that musical instruments aren’t permissible, because the statement “They make permissible” proves that it is something prohibited to begin with. Another point that proves that musical instruments are prohibited is that those involved with them will be turned into animals and the earth will swallow them up.

“In this Ummah there shall be collapsing of the earth, metamorphosis and al-qadhf.” A man asked “O Prophet Of Allah ﷺ when will that be? Prophet Mohammed ﷺ said “ When female singers, music and drinking becomes widespread. (Reported by Al-Tirmidhi)

“Two sounds have been cursed in this life and the next: A flute during a blessing and wailing during a calamity.” (As-Silsilah As-Sahihah no.427)

Abu Hurairah (R.A) said “Prophet Mohammed ﷺ prohibited the price of dog and the price of az-zammarah (the female singer).” (Lisan Al-Arab, vol4, p.327 and An-Nihayah, vol2, p.213.)

Abu Umamah (R.A) reported that Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said “Do not sell female singers, do not buy them, do not teach them. There is no good in trading them, and their price is prohibited.” (At-Tabaraanee)

Nafi the slave of Ibn Umer(R.A) said
“Ibn Umer (R.A) heard a flute. So he placed his fingers in his ears, and went away from the road. He then said to me O Nafi, do you hear anything? I said no, so He removed his fingers from his ears and said, I was with Allah Messenger ﷺ and He heard something like this and He did as I did. (Sunan Abi Dawud no.4924)

Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said “ There is no proof in this for those who have allowed flute, especially when the four schools of fiqh have considered the flute to be prohibited. There is no disagreement among the four schools of fiqh regarding this. Musical instruments can’t be kept, nor can they be rented according to the four schools of fiqh. Thus this Hadeeth if it is authentic contains no proof that the flute is permissible. Rather it is closer to proving its prohibition.”

According toAbu Hurairah (R.A) Prophet Mohammed ﷺ said “Allah has decreed the exact amount of zina which the son of Adam will indulge in, and he will fulfill it without a doubt. The zina of the eyes is its (lustful) look, the zina of the ears is its listening (to voluptuous songs or speech), the Zina of the tongue is (lewd) speech, the zina of the hand is its (lustful) grip and zina of the feet is walking (to the place where he intend to commit zina). The heart yearns and desires, and the private part accepts all of it or refuses it.” (Reported by Muslim, book of destiny)

Imam An-Nawawi said when explaining this Hadeeth “ The meaning of this Hadeeth is that human beings have had their share of zina decreed for them. Some of them will commit real zina by inserting their private parts into prohibited private parts; some of them will commit metaphorical zina by looking at prohibited things, listening to zina or what leads to it.

Now I’ll be quoting and explaining those Hadeeth that are used to prove the legitimacy of music in Islam.
Ayesha (R.A) said “Allah’s Messenger ﷺ entered upon me and I had two young girls singing about Bu’aath (the day a famous war took place before Islam). He lay down on the bed and turned his face. Abu Bakr (R.A) entered and reprimanded me saying, the flute of Satan in the presence of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ? Allah Messenger ﷺ turned to him and said, Leave them alone, when He fell asleep he(Abu Bakr) poked them and the left. (Reported by Bukhari 944)
In the narration of Imam Muslim Prophet Mohammed ﷺ said “O Abu Bakr (R.A)! verily every nation has its Eid and it’s our Eid. (Muslim 892)

What is understood from this Hadeeth as the great scholars have clarified is that singing and music are prohibited in Islam. This ruling was well known to the noble companions. This is why Abu Bakr(R.A) hastened to denounce this immediately and without any hesitation. Prophet Mohammed ﷺ agreed with his denouncement and with him calling it such a name (the flute of Satan). However He prevented him from being harsh in his reprimand. The reason He mentioned was that it was the day of Eid and the Prophet ﷺ had allowed this type of singing and the duff during celebrations, weddings and special occasions but following specific guidelines. It is to be performed by women only to women only and men can’t listen to them.

Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim said “Allah’s Messenger ﷺ did not condemn Abu Bakr(R.A) for calling singing ‘the flute of Satan.’ He allowed them because they were two young girls who weren’t Islamically accountable and were singing the song of the Arabs- the day of the war of the Bu’ath (words) of bravery and war and because it was the day of Eid.
Shaykh Al-Islam Abu At-Tayyib said “This is a proof for us, because Abu Bakr(R.A) called it the flute of Satan, and the Prophet ﷺ did not oppose Abu Bakr’s statement. Rather the Prophet ﷺ only prevented him from being harsh on his denouncement and from preventing the young girls from being happy on the day of Eid which is a day of happiness. Do you not see what has been reported in this Hadeeth that Abu bakr(R.A) poked them and they left. Ayesha (R.A) was younger at that time but when she reached maturity nothing was reported from her regarding this except denouncing singing and music as we clarified. Her brother’s son Al-Qasim Ibn Mohammed was one of the seven Faqihs of Madinah, he also use to denounce singing and he prevented (people) from listening to it. He learned his knowledge and manners from her.”

Abdullah Ibn Buraidah (R.A) reported that he heard his father saying “When Allah’s Messenger ﷺ returned from one of His battles a young black girl said O Messenger of Allah ﷺ I vowed that if Allah returns you safely then I will beat the duff in front of you and sing. He said if you have vowed then go ahead and otherwise do not. So she began beating the duff. Abu Bakr(R.A) entered and she continued, Ali (R.A) entered and she continued, Utman (R.A) entered and she kept on beating. Then Umer (R.A) entered. She hid the duff under her bottom and sat on it. Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said “Verily the devil is scared of you, Umer! I was sitting down as she beat. The Abu Bakr enetred as she beat. The Ali entered as she beat. Then Utman entered as she beat. When you entered Umer she put the duff away.” (Al-Tirmidhi, 3690; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi, 2913.)
Ayesha (R.A) said “Allah’s Messenger ﷺ was sitting when he heard a ruckus and sounds of boys around her. He said O Ayesha come and see. So I went and placed my jaws on the shoulder of Allah’s Messenger ﷺ. I kept on looking at her between his shoulder and his head. He said to me ‘Did you not get enough? Did you not get enough?’ I kept saying no, so that I could see me status with him. Then Umer(R.A) case and people fled from her. Allah’s Messenger ﷺ said ‘Verily I see the devil of mankind and jinn have indeed fled from Umer.’ So I returned.” (Reported by Al-Tirmidhi and authenticated by Al-Albani)

The Proof derived from this Hadeeth is that if the duff was allowed then Prophet ﷺ would not have attributed it to the devil.

Abdullah Ibn Abbas(R.A) said “ The duff is haram, stringed instruments are haram and the flute is haram.

Umm Alqamah Ayesha(R.A) servant said “Once Ayesha(R.A) passed from the house of her brother and she found a singer singing and moving his head to a tune and he was known for a lot of poetry. Ayesha(R.A) said Uff! A devil! Take him away! Take him away! So they took him away.” (Reported by Bukhari in Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, no.1247)

Now I’d like to quote the four scholars of Fiqh.
The Hanafi Scholars
Ibn Al-Jawazi said “As for Abu Hanifah’s opinion, Hibatullah Ibn Ahmad Al-Hariri informed me that Abu At-Tayyib At-Tabari said, Abu Hanifa used to hate singing even though he allowed drinking nabeedh ( a fermented drink). He considered listening to it a sinful act. This was also the opinion of the scholars of Kufa : Ibrahim, Ash-Shabi, hammad, Sufyan Ath-Thawi and others. There was no difference of opinion amongst them regarding this. He also said, there is no difference of opinion amongst the scholars of Basrah that it is hated and prohibited.”

Ibn Abidin said “Financial liability is not necessary for the one who breaks musical instruments.”

Abu Yusuf was asked “Is it hated to (use) duff (at events) other than weddings or when a woman beats on it for her child in a non-sinful manner? He said ‘No, as for what brings about immoral singing then I detest it.”

The Maliki Scholars
When Imam Malik was asked about singing he said “Only sinners amongst us do it.”
Al-Qadhi Sahnun said “Imam Malik used to hate duffs and all musical instruments during weddings. This is because when I asked him about it, he considered (the opinion) weak and did not like it.”

Shaykh Al-Islam Al-Qadhi At-Tayyib At-Tabari said “As for Imam Malik Ibn Anas he forbade singing and listening to it. He stated that if one buys a female slave and she turns out to be a singer then he could return her due to this fault. This is the opinion of the rest of the scholars of Madinah.”

Imam Malik in the book Al-Mudawwanah says “ The testimony of the male and female singer is rejected is they are known for that (if they are famous for singing).”

The Shafi Scholars
Imam Shafi said “Singing is hated (type of) distraction. It resembles falsehood and idleness. Whoever does it a lot, then he is foolish, and his testimony is rejected.

Imam Shafi said “If a person breaks (another man’s) mandolin, flute, or drum then if any of these have a purpose other than entertainment then he should pay for the damage caused. If it is not used for anything but entertainment, then there is nothing upon him.”

Imam Abu Ishaq Ash-Shirazi said “Using musical instruments is prohibited even without singing such as lute, mandolin, drum, and flute. Beating on the duffs is allowed at wedding and circumcision ceremonies, but nowhere else.”

The Hanbali Scholars
Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal said “Singing makes hypocrisy grow in the heart. I do not like it.”
He also said “The flute, the pipe, the sorna (an ancient Persian woodwind instrument), the mandli, the lute, and the rebec and the like are haram.

Abu Bakr Al-Mirwazi Said
“I said to Abu Abdillah ‘I pass by the market and I see drums being sold. Shall I break them?’ He said, ‘I don’t think you have to ability. If you are able to.’ I said ‘I get invited to wash a dead person’s body. Then I hear the sound of drums.’ He said ‘If you have the ability to break it, then break it. Otherwise leave.”

All these points make it clear that music has no place in Islam. The Faqhi Sahabah, the Tabaeens , the scholars of Fiqh all agree that music is haram. There was a consensus among the Sahabah, the Tabeens over the interpretation of Quran and Hadeeth. There was a consensus among the scholars of the old and the present day scholars. I have quoted the most learned ones, those who understood Islam the best. We should follow their wisdom rather than following our own wisdom or what we are told by the media. We should opt to go with the learned majority.

May Allah guide us all to the right path.