MUSIC
Narrated by Bukhari in a mu’allaq report, The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: There will be people of my ummah who will regard fornication, alcohol, silk (for men), and musical instruments as permissible.
According to the view of scholars, this hadeeth proves the mentioned things are haraam in two ways. First, “Regard...as permissible” implies that it is in fact haraam, but they will regard it as permissible; and second, musical instruments are mentioned alongside some of the major sins (fornication and alcohol), and therefore it is made clear that musical instruments are haraam.
Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said, “This hadeeth indicates that maa’zif are haraam, and maa’zif means musical instruments according to scholars of the (Arabic) language. This word includes all such instruments.” Ibn Al-Qiyyam (may Allah 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. 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’an 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).
In Surah Luqman [chapter 31], verse 6, Allah says: And of mankind is he who purchases idle talks (music, singing) to mislead men from the path of Allah. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) regarded “idle talks” to mean falsehood—the Makkans would tell stories of Persian and Roman kings and the like to distract people from the Qur’an—and singing. Abu’l-Sahbaa narrated: I asked Ibn Mas’ood of the meaning of the verse, “And of mankind is he who purchases idle talks,” and he said, “By Allah, besides whom there is no other god, this means singing,” and repeated it three times. Singing is worse than the stories of the kings the Makkans would tell because people are naturally inclined to it and want to listen to it. The verse condemns those who replace the Qur’an with singing.
In another verse it says, “[Allah said to Iblees:] Befool them gradually those whom you can with your voice (songs, music, and any other type of thing that leads to disobedience of Allah).” Ibn Qiyyam (may Allah have mercy on him) was of the view that the construction of the ayah (i.e. your voice) was to make the meaning specific; everyone who speaks in a way that is not obedient to Allah, everyone who blows into a flute or other woodwind instrument, or who plays any haraam kind of drum, this is the voice of Shaitaan.
In Surah al-Najm, verses from 59 to 61, it says, “Do you then wonder at this recitation (the Qur’an)? And you laugh at it and weep not, wasting your (precious) lifetime in pastime and amusements (singing).” Ikrimah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: It was narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) 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. He (may Allah have mercy on him) also said: When they [the kuffar] heard the Qur’an, they would sing, then this ayah was revealed. 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: “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)
Of the questions posted, we were also asked about the story regarding why a bell was suggested for the call to prayer. This suggestion is also used by some groups to argue that music is not haraam, which is untrue.
In Tirmidhi (189), Abu Dawood (499), and Ibn Majah (706), the following hadeeth can be found about how the adhan was decided: It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Zayd ibn ‘Abd Rabbihi said: “When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) decided to use a bell, he did so reluctantly because that was like what the Christians did. Then at night whilst I was sleeping, a man walked around me [in my dream], wearing two green garments and carrying a bell in his hand. I said to him, ‘O slave of Allaah, will you sell the bell?’ He said, ‘What will you do with it?’ I said, ‘I will call (the people) to prayer.’ He said, ‘Shall I not tell you of something better than that?’ I said, ‘What is it?’ He said, ‘Say: ‘Allaahu akbar…’ (to the end of the adhaan). The following morning I came to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and told him what I had seen. He said, ‘It is a true dream, in sha Allah. Go out with Bilaal to the mosque and teach it to him, for he has a more melodious voice than you.’ I went out with Bilaal to the mosque, and I started teaching him the words and he was calling them out. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab heard the voice from his house and came out dragging his lower garment and saying, ‘O Messenger of Allaah! By Allaah, I saw the same (dream) as him.’ The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, ‘To Allaah be praise.’”
The Muslims needed something loud, in which all people could hear, so they would come for people. Before deciding on the bell, a number of other suggestions had been made, which were rejected for one reason or other. It is also important to note that the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) was reluctant to use the bell. To further clarify this point, I will also give some rulings about the use of bells.
Muslim narrated in his Saheeh (2113) from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The angels do not accompany any group with whom there is a dog or a bell.”
And he narrated (2114) also from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Bells are the musical instruments of the Shaitaan.”
Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: As for bells, it was said that the reason why the angels dislike them is that they are similar to church bells, or because they are one of the hanging things that are forbidden. And it was said that the reason why they are disliked is their sound, which is supported by the report which mentions “the musical instruments of the shaitaan.”
The reason why their sound is disliked is that it is akin to musical instruments, which are forbidden.
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: To sum up, the sound has two qualities, one which is the strength of the sound and the other is its tune, and because of its musical tune it was prohibited, and the reason was given as being because they are “the musical instruments of the shaitaan.”
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, “(The Prophet [peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him]) told us that the angels do not accompany people with whom there is a bell, because when the animals walk, it will make a sound like music, and it is known that musical instruments are haraam.” Sharh Riyaadh al-Saaliheen (4/340).
With regard to alarm clocks and the like, if they have musical sounds then they are haraam, because of the general meaning of the evidence that indicates that musical instruments are haraam. But there is nothing wrong with an ordinary alarm clock.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: As for alarm clocks and the like that do not come under the prohibition, and things that are used beside doors to ask permission to enter – because some doors have a bell to ask permission to enter – there is also nothing wrong with these, and they do not come under this prohibition, because they are not hung around an animal’s neck and the like, and they do not create a tune which is the reason why the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade them.
Music is a widespread problem within the Muslim ummah, especially among the Muslim youth. However, a love for music and love for the Qur’an cannot exist in the same heart. For those who listen to it, I realize it is difficult to stop. I have been there myself. I listened to it on a constant basis, more than anyone else I knew—but I stopped, and so can you. First, replace your music with Islamic nasheed, but do not make it another addiction you cannot be rid of. When the urge to listen to something arises, turn on the Qur’an. Listen to Allah’s words—they are the most beautiful, and eventually the desire to listen to music fades away.