Asiff Hussein – Asiff Hussein Web Site
By: Asiff Hussein
There is a belief especially among some Muslims today that there is a blanket ban on music in Islam. But is this correct especially when some renowned scholars of Islam such as Sheikh Jaddul Haqq of Al Azhar and Sheikh Yusuf Al Qaradawi, author of the book Al Halal Wal Haram Fil Islam (The Lawful and Prohibited in Islam) have after extensive study vouched for its general permissibility.
After all, there were many occasions when our beloved Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) explicitly allowed singing and music on certain occasions, and especially Eid Days and Weddings.
Besides, we know that when the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) entered Madina after his flight from Mecca, the townsfolk including women and children sang him a song of welcome, chanting:
“The full moon has risen upon us
Over the hills of Wadaa
Gratitude is incumbent upon us
Each time a petitioner calls upon Allah”
In fact, this beautiful song sung with a very charming tune is probably the oldest existing song anywhere in the world
AHADITH ON PERMISSIBILITY OF SINGING AND MUSIC
Here are some authentic hadith about it:
1) Once, a woman came to the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him). He asked his wife Ayisha “Ayisha, Do you know her?” “No, O Prophet of God” she replied. He said: “This is the singer of such and such tribe. Do you want her to sing to you?” so the woman sang for her. (Sunan Bahaqi).
2) Ayisha has narrated that when a woman was married to an Ansari man, the Prophet (peace be on him) said, “Ayisha, did they have any entertainment? The Ansar are fond of entertainment” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari.).
3) On another occasion, the Prophet (Sal) asked Ayisha: “Did you send a young girl with the bride to beat upon the daff (a tambourine) and sing?” She replied: “What should she say in her song?” He replied: “Let her say, ‘To you we have come, to you we have come! So welcome us, as we welcome you!’ (Tabarani).
4) Ayisha narrates that when her father Abu Bakr visited her at the time of Eid, there were two young girls with her who were singing. Abu Bakr cried out: “Musical instruments of Satan in the house of the Messenger of God!” The Prophet (Sal) replied “Leave them alone, O Abu Bakr, for every nation has its Eid, and this is our Eid.” (Sahih Bukhari).
5) Ibn Abbas says: “Ayisha gave a girl relative of hers in marriage to a man of the Ansar. The Prophet (peace be on him) came and asked ‘Did you send a singer along with her?’ ‘No,’ said Ayisha. The Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) then said ‘The Ansar are a people who love poetry. You should have sent along someone who would sing: ‘Here we come, to you we come, greet us as we greet you.’ ” (Ibn Majah).
6) Another of the Prophet’s wives Umm Salamah narrates: “A slave girl belonging to Hassan Ibn Thabit came to us on Eid-ul-Fitr. Her hair was unkempt and she carried a tambourine and was singing”. Umm Salamah rebuked her. But the Prophet said to her “Umm Salamah, let her (sing). Certainly every nation has an Eid and this day is our Eid” (Mu’jam Al Kabir).
7) Musical instruments were played to welcome the Prophet (Sal) during his arrival in Madina. Abu Bakr wanted to reprimand those who were playing these instruments but the Prophet stopped him saying: “Leave them alone O Abu Bakr so that the Jews will also learn and know that our religion is relaxed and accommodating!” Thus, the women of Madina continued to play the instruments singing “We are the daughters of Najaar! How excellent and wonderful it will be to have Muhammad as a Jaar (neighbour)! (Al-Qushayri). At this the Prophet remarked:`God knows that I love you people‘ (Ibn Majah).
AHADITH TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT
There is an oft quoted hadith that is taken as evidence that music is impermissible :
“Among my ummah there will certainly be people who will permit illicit sex, silk, alcohol and musical instruments”
(Saheeh Al Bukhari)
This hadith is taken by many scholars as proof that musical instruments are prohibited since they are mentioned in association with other haram activities like consuming alcohol and fornication.
However reputed scholars like Sheikh Yusuf Al Qaradawi argue that this particular statement of the Prophet is qualified by the fact that they refer to a vulgar, decadent type of music which is accompanied by immoral acts, such as alcohol consumption and the promiscuous mixing of the sexes leading to fornication and adultery. This view would have us believe that music is not haram per se but becomes so when it is accompanied by these other vices thus leading to immoral behaviour.
This view is supported by the fact that what the Prophet spoke in the above ahadith was by way of a prophesy, for who knows he saw the musical shows of our day and age with all their corrupting influences and censured them, at the same time condemning all those misled persons who approved of such sins. Such persons need not be Islamic scholars since we know of no such scholars who allow the drinking of liquor or illicit sexual relationships. All scholars are unanimous that these are haram even in our day and age. However, they differ with regard to music, with some saying it is permissible according to Islam based on evidence from the Sunnah. Thus the persons the Prophet speaks of seem to be rulers and other corrupt people who do not prevent these evil orgies where people gather together for committing sins such as drinking liquor and fornication, with a corrupting vulgar form of music thrown in for good measure, which we certainly know to be common in this day and age. It cannot refer to the scholars of Islam.
This view is lent support by another hadith, or perhaps version of it that has it:
Some people of my Ummah will drink wine, calling it by another name, while they listen to singers accompanied by musical instruments. Allah will cause the earth to swallow them and will turn some of them into monkeys and swine
(Ibn Majah)
What seems to be condemned here is not song or music in itself, but rather a culture of indulgence or rather decadent living with a gay abandon to wine, women and song where the only purpose of life is to indulge in worldly pleasures. This view is supported by yet another hadith where the Prophet says:
“In this Ummah will be earthquakes, disfiguration (of faces) and showers of stone (descending from the heavens).” A man asked: “O Messenger of God! When will this be?” and the Prophet replied: “When singing girls and musical instruments will become profuse and when liquor will be consumed (in abundance)”
(Tirmidhi)
Here too we find a reference to music and liquor consumption as part of a culture of immorality. Note what is condemned here is not singing or music per se, but these activities becoming commonplace in the Ummah.
Another hadith recorded in the book Adab Al Mufrad by Imam Bukhari has Umm Alqama relating that when the daughters of Ayisha’s brother were circumcised, she was asked, “Shall we call someone to amuse them?” “Yes” she replied. Adi was sent for and he came to them. Ayisha passed by the room and saw him singing and shaking his head in rapture – and he had a large head of hair. ‘Uff!’ she exclaimed, “A Satan! Get him out! Get him out!‘(Adab Al Mufrad).
This tradition suggests that Lady Ayisha approved of some form of entertainment for her nieces who had just been circumcised and were recovering from the operation. In those days girls were circumcised at a much older age than now and perhaps she envisaged some decent singing as a form of entertainment, but when she saw Adi shaking his head ecstatically with an unkempt head of hair like a modern day heavy metal rockstar, she ordered him out, calling him a Satan for good measure. What the good lady would have found unacceptable were the combination of acts that made it such an unseemly sight, not the act of singing itself.
All this would suggest that singing in itself is not haram, but that it is a combination of indecent acts that invite censure. Both the above cited ahadith imply this and what we can infer from the above ahadith taken as a whole, those explicitly or implicitly permitting music and the few that seem to censure music but in combination with other acts is that music is permitted in general.
However it should not include other shameful acts that could degenerate into a culture of sin and excessive permissiveness. This of course includes vulgar words and suggestive body movements. Moreover it must in no way take us away from our remembrance and duties to God. In other words, music though permitted must also be controlled so we do not allow this fleeting worldly entertainment to take us away from the Path of Allah. It could be a diversion from the hustle and bustle of this worldly life, but must not be a distraction from our remembrance of Allah.
