Why is listening to music haram

Music already existed during the time of our prophet and therefore was definitely created by the Almighty. Noises and sounds in nature, when fit together into a melodic tune, that is what we consider now as music.

It has always been a conflict on whether or not music is haram. This is because there are hadiths that prohibit it, and others that support it. And do not insult one another and do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames. The verse above mentions the ill use of words to belittle and insult others, and in that context it is prohibited.

It did not explicitly state that music itself is haram, but the negative use of words in general is clearly stated. The context of music being a distraction and hypnotising is what deems it haram. If excessive music consumption causes you to lose focus during salah or stray away from your faith, then the effect of music is negative.

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. 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-Tabari may Allaah have mercy on him said: The scholars of all regions are agreed that singing is makrooh and should be prevented. I say: if it is proven that this matter is not permissible, then accepting payment for it is not permissible either. Ibn Taymiyah may Allaah have mercy on him said: It is not permissible to make musical instruments.

This is the view of Maalik and is the more famous of the two views narrated from Ahmad. 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. 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.

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. 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. The exception to the above is the daff — without any rings i. 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. 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. 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. 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 :. 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.

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-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! Talbees Iblees, There is a popular perception that music is generally forbidden in Islam. However, such a prescriptive statement elevates the issue to one of faith. The answer to the question is open to interpretation. The first consistent scholarly attack on music dates to the midth century, and seems to be in response to illicit behavior tied to music, rather than to the music itself.

However, in an Islamic legal framework the recitation is not music, and to call it so is insulting. The debate among Muslims is not about the permissibility of audio art, but about what kind of audio arts are permissible. Legal scholars use the hadith saying and actions of Prophet Muhammad as another source of authority, and have found conflicting evidence in it. The consensus that has emerged is that the audio arts fall into three broad categories: legitimate, controversial, and illegitimate.

Controversial audio arts include almost all other types of music. Then again: how could a seven year-old research about whether music is allowed or not? Sign In Create Account. Illustration: Nadia Akingbule.

Is Music Haram? Growing up, music was forbidden in my Muslim household. I decided to embark on a journey of musical discovery this year to find out why. April 19, , am.