Music (1) – Verdict from Qur’an

May 23, 2008 at 8:44 pm (Islamic studies, Naseeha, Tazkiyyah)

I came across this article by Ismail Moosa which serves as a concise summary of the proof texts on the prohibition of music and I wished to reproduce it here in short installments. The final installment in this series will not be from Ismail Moosa’s article, but rather our own collection of points of naseeha for the modern youth on how to deal with this issue of Music

What follows in blue is the first portion of Ismail Moosa’s article:

Proofs from the Qur’an

(1) Allah Taala mentions

((وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَشْتَرِي لَهْوَ الْحَدِيثِ لِيُضِلَّ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ وَيَتَّخِذَهَا هُزُوًا أُولَئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُهِينٌ))

((From amongst men there are those who purchase ‘lahw al hadith’ without knowledge, to mislead from the Path of Allah and they ridicule it. For them there is a humiliating punishment)). (Luqmân: 6)

The following great Commentators state that ‘lahw al hadith’ in the above verse refers to music….

a) Abdullah ibn Mas‘ûd radiyallâhu ‘anhu

b) Jâbir ibn ‘Abdillah radiyallâhu ‘anhu

c) Abdullâh ibn ‘Abbâs radiyallâhu ‘anhu

d) Hasan al-Basrî rahimahu Allah

e) Ikrimah rahimahu Allah

f) Ebrahim an Nakhi rahimahu Allah

g) Maymoon bin Mahran rahimahu Allah

h) Qatada rahimahu Allah

i) Sa‘îd ibn Jubayr rahimahu Allah

j) Mujâhid rahimahu Allah

k) Amr ibn Shu`ayb rahimahu Allah

l) Ali ibn Badhîmah rahimahu Allah

m) Habeeb rahimahu Allah

n) Makhûl. rahimahu Allah

o) Abd al Kareem rahimahu Allah

p) Ibn Zakhr rahimahu Allah

q) Ataa al Khuraasaani rahimahu Allah

The two greatest commentators of this Ummah, Abdullah bin Masood and Abdullah bin Abbaas (radiyallâhu ‘anhuma), used to take an oath and say that this verse refers to music.

[Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 5/132, Al Mustadrak lil Hakim 2/211, Sunan al kubra lil Bayhaqi 10/223, Ad Durr al manthoor 8/76, Al Hawi al Kabeer 17/388, An Nukat wal uyoon 3/332, Tafseer Ibn Katheer 6/330, Tafseer al Qurtubi 14/52, Tafseer al Baghwi 6/283, Tafseer al lubaab libni Adil 13/10, Tafseer al Khaazin 5/145, Tafseer at Tabari 20/127, Zad al maser 5/105, Ma’arif al Quraan 7/28, Dhamm al malahi 5-6, Ahsan al fatawa 8/380]


(2) In Surah Bani Israeel, Allah Ta’ala mentioned to the devil

((وَاسْتَفْزِزْ مَنِ اسْتَطَعْتَ مِنْهُمْ بِصَوْتِكَ ….الخ )) (64)

((And gradually befool those who you can from them with your voice (songs, music etc)….) (Bani Israeel 64)

The following illustrious commentators opined that ‘…your voice’ in the above mentioned verse refers to music…

a) Mujahid rahimahu Allah

b) Dhahaak rahimahu Allah

c) An Nasafi rahimahu Allah

d) At Tabri rahimahu Allah

e) As Suyuti rahimahu Allah

[Tafseer al Baghawi 5/105, Al muharrar al wajeez 4/258, Tafseer an Nasafi 2/209, Ad Durr al manthoor 6/297, Tafseer Al Bahr al muheet 7/372, Tafseer al lubaab 10/340, Tafseer at Tabari 8/108, 17/490, Ma’ani al Quraan lin Nuhaas 4/172, Adhwa al bayaan 3/230, Tafseer al Qurtubi 10/288,14/52, Ruh al ma’ani 11/11, Tafseer al Jalaalain 1/372, Al Ikleel 144, Ahsan al fatawa 8/381]


(3) The third verse which proves the impermissibility of music is the concluding verses of Surah Furqan where Allah has enumerated that one of the outstanding qualities of His slaves is that they distance themselves from music.

وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَشْهَدُونَ الزُّورَ وَإِذَا مَرُّوا بِاللَّغْوِ مَرُّوا كِرَامًا

((And they are those who do not witness ‘Zoor’, and when they pass by futile activities, they pass in a dignified way)) (Furqan 72)

The following illustrious Commentators are of the opinion that ‘Zoor’ means music…

a) Mujahid rahimahu Allah

b) Imam Abu Hanifa rahimahu Allah

c) Abu Jafar rahimahu Allah

d) Muhammad bin Hanafia rahimahu Allah

e) Makhool rahimahu Allah

f) Ikramah rahimahu Allah

g) Abu al Jihaf rahimahu Allah

h) Hasan Basri rahimahu Allah

[Tafseer al Baghawi 6/98, Tafseer Ibn Abi Hatim 10/375, Ad Durr al manthoor 7/377, Tafseer at Tabari 19/313-315, Tafseer an Nisaburi 6/68, Fath al Qadeer 5/294, Zad al maser 4/484, Tafseer Ibn Katheer 6/130, Ruh al ma’ani 14/147, Ahkam al Quran 3/427, Al Mabda sharh al Maqna 10/290, Ma’alim at tanzeel 4/251, Ahsan al fatawa 8/382]


(4) Allah rebukes those who listen to music in the following verses

أَفَمِنْ هَذَا الْحَدِيثِ تَعْجَبُونَ (59) وَتَضْحَكُونَ وَلَا تَبْكُونَ (60) وَأَنْتُمْ سَامِدُونَ (61) فَاسْجُدُوا لِلَّهِ وَاعْبُدُوا (62)

((Are you astonished at this recitation (the Quran)? And you laugh and do not cry, (Wasting your time) in vanities (music). So fall in prostration to Allah and worship him)) (An Najm 59-62)

The following distinguished commentators suggest that ‘vanities’ refers to music…..

a) Ibn Abbaas radiyallâhu ‘anhu

b) Abu Ubaidah radiyallâhu ‘anhu

c) Ikrimah rahimahu Allah

d) Mujahid rahimahu Allah

e) Baydhawi rahimahu Allah

[Zad al maser 5/448, An Nukat wal uyoon 4/195, Tafseer al Qurtubi 14/51, Tafseer al Baydhawi 5/245, Fath al Qadeer 7/85, Tafseer Ibn Katheer 7/468, Tafseer at Tabari 22/559, Ruh al ma’ani 20/44, Bahr al uloom lis Samarqandi 4/217, Tafseer Abd ar Razzaaq 7/13, Ahsan al fatawa 8/381]


(5) Another verse which could be cited is the following…

وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا الزِّنَا إِنَّهُ كَانَ فَاحِشَةً وَسَاءَ سَبِيلًا (32)

((And go not close to unlawful sex, verily it is a ‘fahisha’ (anything that that transgresses its limits: a great sin) and (it is) an evil way.)

Music plays a great role in stimulating one’s emotions, lusts and passions and also leads to various physiological disorders. This is a proven concept in psychology. Our pious predecessors also understood this well….

Yazeed bin Waleed An Naqidh (rahimahullah) has advised: “Oh Bani Ummayah, save yourselves from music, as it would decrease your modesty, increases your lust and demolish your morality. It would create within you the fondness of wine and it will lead you to do what a drunken person does. If (as a last resort) you really have to listen to music then, at least save your womenfolk from it for verily music leads to fornication.” (Narrated by Ibn Abi ad Dunya in dham al malahi and Al Bayhaqi in Shuab al Iman)

Fuzail bin Ayaaz (rahimahullah) has said: “Music is the catalyst to zina” (Narrated by Ibn Abi ad Dunya in dham al malahi and Al Bayhaqi in Shuab al Iman)

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The Secret to Victory

April 3, 2008 at 5:51 am (Naseeha, Tazkiyyah)

Islamreligion.com“And I advise you and those with you to be more cautious of your sins than you are of your enemies. Since, verily, the sins of an army are more harmful to them than their enemies.

Victory is given to the Muslims through the disobedience of their enemies to Allah, and if it was not for that we would not have an edge over them. [Don’t you see that] our number is not like their numbers, nor is our weapons like theirs.

Thus, if we became equal in our sins, they would be given the edge over us by their strength … and do not think that [even if we sin] our enemy is [still] worse than us and so would never be given power over us, since in many times were people overpowered by others that were more evil than them, like what happened to the Children of Israel, when they acted upon what upsets Allah, the disbelievers of the Magians (Magus) were sent on them and probed [even] into the homes, and it was a promise fulfilled (cf. Qur’an 17:5)”

This was the advice of the Khalifa, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab [R] to Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas [R] and his army just before the battle with the persians at al-Qadisiyyah.

Translated from al-Jami’ fi Talab al-’Ilm ash-Shareef. JazakAllah khayr to br. Mahmoud al-Misri.

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Stories of Repentance: Woe Unto You, O Dinâr

March 17, 2008 at 4:30 pm (Tazkiyyah)

There is an interesting story related about Dinâr Al’Ayyâr. Dinâr had a righteous mother who would constantly advise him to repent for his wayward, sinful existence, but as much as she tried, her words had no positive effect on him whatsoever. Then, one day, as he was walking by a graveyard, he stopped to pick up a bone; he was shocked to see how it crumbled and turned to dust in his hand. The sight of that bone had a profound effect on Dinâr. He began to think about his life and is past sins, and then he exclaimed, “Woe unto you, O Dinâr, you are going to end up like this crushed bone, and your body will turn into dust.” All of his past sins then flashed before his eyes, and he made a firm resolve to repent. Turning his gaze towards the sky, he said, “My Lord, I now turn to You in complete submission, so accept me and have mercy on me.”

With a complete changed heart and state of mind, Dinâr went to his mother and said, “Mother, what does a master do when he captures his slave, who had run away from him?” She said, “(To punish him,) the master then provides him with coarse clothing and low-quality food; and he ties his hands and feet, so that he does not make another attempt to escape. ” Dinâr said, “Then I want a garment made of coarse wool, low-quality barley, and two chains. Mother, do with me which is done to a runaway slave: Perhaps my Lord will, upon seeing my humiliation and humility, have mercy on me.” Seeing that her son was adamant and resolute in his quest, she complied.

At the beginning of every ensuing night, Dinâr would begin to cry and wail uncontrollably. And he would repeat the words: “Woe unto you, O Dinâr, do you have the power to withstand the Hell Fire! How brazen you have been to have led a life that has made you deserving of the anger of the All-Mighty!” He would continue upon that state until the morning. Turning wan and pale, Dinâr’s body slowly wasted away. Not being able to bear seeing hum in that pitiable state, his mother said, “My son, be easy on yourself.” He answered, “My mother, let me remain tired for a short while, so that perhaps I can achieve long term comfort later on. For tomorrow, I will be waiting a long time before my Majestic Lord, and I do not know whether He will order me to go to places of beautiful shade or to places of unspeakable horror.”

She said, “My son, at least rest for a while.” He said, “It is not present rest or comfort that I am seeking out. Mother, it is as if I see you and other people being led tomorrow towards Paradise, while I am being led towards the Hell Fire along with its inhabitants.” She left him then, and he returned to crying, worshipping, and reciting the Quran. One night, as he was reciting the Quran, he came across these verses:

“So, by your Lord (O Muhammad), We shall certainly call all of them to account, for all they used to do.” [Quran 15: 2, 93]

As he contemplated the meaning and the implications of the verses, he cried with such intensity that he fainted. His mother rushed to him and tried very hard to revive him, but he wouldn’t respond; she thought that he had died. Looking into the face of her precious son, she said, “O my beloved one, O the joy of my heart, where shall we meet again?” In fact, Dinâr still had some life left in him, and hearing his mother’s words , he answered with a faint voice, “My mother, if you do not find me on the wide plains of the Resurrection Day, then ask Malik, the Custodian of the Hell Fire, about me.” He then made a croaking sound and died.

After she finished washing his body, Dinâr’s mother prepared for him his funeral. She then went out and made the announcement: “O people, come to the (funeral) prayer of one who has been killed by (fear of) the Hell Fire.” People began to come from all directions; it is said that, during that era, no greater gathering came together and no amount of tears were shed as much on that day.

On the same night that his funeral was held, one of Dinâr’s friend saw him in a dream: attired in a green robe, Dinâr was prancing around in Paradise, all the while reciting the verse:

“So, by your Lord (O Muhammad), We shall certainly call all of them to account, for all they used to do.” [Quran 15: 2, 93

During the dream, his friend heard him say, “By His and Majesty, He asked me (about my deeds). Having mercy on me, He forgave me and pardoned me (my sins). Lo! Convey news of this to my mother.”

From the Book: Stories of Repentance, By: Muhammad Abduh Mughawiri

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