On music

[Zidane]

You mention:

Yes, I said this is the opinion of some of the Ulema:

In his book, Al-Ahkam, Al-Qadi Abu Bakr Ibn Al-`Arabi says, “None of the hadiths maintaining that singing is prohibited are considered authentic (by the scholars of the Science of Hadith Methodology).” The same view is maintained by Al-Ghazali and Ibn An-Nahwi in Al-`Umdah. Ibn Tahir says, “Not even a single letter from all these Hadiths was proved to be authentic.”

Ibn Hazm says, “All the hadiths narrated in this respect were invented and falsified.”


Dear Brother, that mentions about singing and not musical instruments.


http://www.sunnipath.com/resources/Q...a00002024.aspx

Statements of the Fuqaha

The great Hanafi jurist al-Kasani states:

“If a singer gathers people around him only to entertain them with his voice, then he will not be considered a upright person (a’dil), even though if he does not consume alcohol, as he will be considered the leader of sinners. If however, he only sings to himself in order to eradicate loneliness, then there is nothing wrong in doing so.

As far as the one who uses musical instruments is concerned, if the instruments themselves are not unlawful, such as the bamboo and tambourine, then there is nothing wrong with that and he will still be considered upright. However, if the instrument is unlawful, such as the lute and the like, then he will not be considered a upright person (to be a witness in the court. m), as these instruments can never be considered lawful” (Bada’i al-Sana’i, 6/269).

It is stated in Khulasat al-Fatawa:

“Listening to the sound of musical instruments is unlawful (haram), as the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) said: “Listening to songs is a sin” (4/345).

Ibn Humam, the great Hanafi Mujtahid makes a decisive statement in his famous Fath al-Qadir:

“Unlawful (haram) singing is when the theme of the song consists of unlawful things, such as the description of a particular living person’s beauty and features, the virtues of wine that provoke wine-drinking, the details and particulars of family affairs or those songs that mock and ridicule others.

However, songs that are free from such unlawful things and they consist of descriptions of the natural things, such as flowers and streams, etc… will be permissible. Yes, if they are accompanied by musical instruments, then it will be unlawful even if the song is full of advice and wisdom, not because of what the songs consist of, rather due to the musical instruments that are played with it.

And it is stated in the al-Mugni of Ibn Qudamah (Hanbali Madhhab) that musical instruments are of two types:

1) Unlawful, Such as those that are specially designed for entertainment and singing, like the flute and mandolin, etc…

2) Lawful, like the playing of the tambourine (daff) at weddings and other happy occasions” (Ibn Humam, Fath al-Qadir, 6/36).

The same has more or less been mentioned in the other Hanafi works also, such as al-Ikhtiyar, al-Bahr al-Ra’iq, al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya and others.

Imam an-Nawawi, the great Hadith and Shafi’i scholar states:

“It is unlawful to use or listen to musical instruments, such as, those which the drinkers are known for, like the mandolin, lute, cymbals, and flute. It is permissible to play the tambourine (daf) at weddings, circumcisions and other times, even if it has bells on its sides. Beating the Kuba, a long drum with a narrow middle, is also unlawful” (Mugni al-muhtaj, 4/429, & Reliance of the traveller, 775).

There are many other statements of the Fuqaha and scholars such al-Qurtubi, and each of the four Madhhabs, but due to the length of the article, I will suffice with the above.

As for those who hold music to be lawful usually present the Hadith of Sahih al-Bukhari in which two girls were singing in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him & give him peace) and Sayyida A’isha (Allah be pleased with her).

However, the permissibility of music can not be justified with this Hadith. The Hadith expert, Ibn Hajr al-Asqalani has refuted this claim in length in his Fath al-Bari, 2/345).

Firstly, theses young girls were singing without any unlawful musical instruments and secondly, the content of the song was regarding war, thus perfectly lawful. Also, they were not professional singers as the words of the Hadith clearly indicate.

Some try to justify music with the Hadith in which the permissibility of playing the tambourine (daf) is mentioned.

However, as stated in the works of the Fuqaha, to play the tambourine is permissible at weddings, as it is not designed for sole entertainment and pleasure, rather for announcement, etc…
___________________________________

If that is not enough of an evidence, then what is?

[AbuZayd]

I think the following is relevant to this thread despite it being from a Maliki source:

Question: On the day of Judgement, if we followed a valid legal opinion (under a madhab) be it minority or majority, strong or weak, and it turns out to be incorrect - will it count as sin?




No. It will not count as an act of disobedience as long as the person who issued it was an absolute mujtahid (e.g., Imam Malik or Imam Abu Hanafi) or a mujtahid within a madh-hab (e.g., al-Qarafi, Qadi `Iyad, Ibn `Abd al-Barr, Ibn al-`Arabi, Ibn Rushd al-Kabir, etc.).

The proof for this is the hadith of the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) in Sahih Bukhari:

"idha hakama l-hakimu fa j-tahada thumma asaba, falahu ajrani wa idha hakama fa j-tahada thumma akhta'a, falahu ajrun [{Bukhari, i`tisam bi l-kitab qa s-unnah, ajru l-hakimi idha j-tahada, hadith #6805}).

“When a haakim (i.e. absolute or restricted mujtahid) gives a legal ruling and is actually correct, he has two rewards. When a haakim gives a legal ruling and is actually wrong, he still gets one reward.”

The fact that the Prophet (May Allah bless him and give him peace) states that there is reward in the errant opinion of a mujtahid demonstrates that those who follow the mujtahid are forgiven and *rewarded*.

This is the meaning of the hadith: "ikhtilafu l-`ulama' rahmatun li ummati."

The meaning is: "Disagreement of the scholars of din [in this world] is [reason for] a mercy for the members of my ummah [in the next world].

Sheikh Abuqanit Hasani, Maliki scholar, Guiding Helper Foundation


Abuqanit Hasani has been studying Jurisprudence formally for over
ten years. Although this is not a very long time, those that have
in actuality studied with him in person (a rare few) agree that
he is far more qualified and understands the issues at a far greater
depth than the average gray-bearded sheikh alive today who
may claim to have been studying for thirty or forty years.

As for the texts he has studied with `Ali Filali and his other Teachers,
they are about fifty substantial Arabic texts, such as the over twenty
volume Tafsir Imam al-Qurtubi, the eight volume al-Khurashi Sharh
Mukhtasar Khalil, Tuhfah al-Hukkam, al-Qawanin al-Fiqhiyyah, the
various available shuruh of al-Murshid al-Mu`in, al-Khulasah
al-Fiqhiyyah, al-Mudawwanah al-Kubra, Muqaddimat ibn Rushd,
etc.

Additionally, he has perused many traditional and ancient Arabic
books about `aqidah, fiqh, and tasawwuf, which amount to near or
over one thousand separate works.

Also, he is a Hafiz of the Qur'an and has memorized well over ten
thousand hadith (not counting duplications). He has also memorized
thousands of lines of mutun (similar to the al-Murshid al-Mu`in).
His mastery of the Arabic language in its grammar and lexicography
is surpassed by perhaps only a few in the world alive today.

[AbuZayd]

Dear Brother, that mentions about singing and not musical instruments.

My apologies Akhi, I quoted the wrong paragraph.

Here is the correct section:

Imam Ash-Shawkani says in his book “Nayl Al-Awtar”, “The people of Madinah and those who agreed with them from among the Zahiriyyah and the Sufis maintain that singing is permissible, even when it is accompanied by a musical instrument such as the lute or the flute. Abu Mansur Al-Bughdadi Ash-Shafi`i narrate that `Abdullah Ibn Ja`far saw nothing wrong in singing, and he, himself, used to compose the music for his own slaves who used to sing these melodies in his presence. This took place during the time of Commander of the Faithful, `Ali Ibn Abi Talib. Abu Ja`far Al-Bughdadi narrates the same after Al-Qadi Shurayh, Sa`id Ibn Al-Musaiyb, `Ata’ Ibn Abu Rabah, Az-Zuhri and Ash-Shi`bi.”

Ar-Ruwaiyani narrates on the authority of Al-Qaffal that Malik Ibn Anas maintained that singing with musical instruments is permissible. Also, Abu Mansur Al-Furani quotes Malik as maintaining that playing the flute is permissible.

Abu Al-Fadl Ibn Tahir narrates, “The people of Madinah never disputed over the permissibility of playing the lute.”

Ibn An-Nahwi narrates in his “Al-`Umdah”: “Ibn Tahir said, ‘The people of Madinah showed consensus over this (issue). Also, all the Zahiriyyah maintained the same.'”

Al-Mawardi attributes the permissibility of playing the lute to some of the Shafi`i followers and students. This has been narrated also by Abu Al-Fadl Ibn Tahir after Abu Ishaq Ash-Shirazi; and it is narrated by Al-Isnawi after Ar-Ruwaiyani and Al-Mawardi. Again, this is narrated by Al-Adfuwi after Sheikh `Izz Ad-Deen Ibn `Abd As-Salam. It is also narrated after Abu Bakr Ibn Al-`Arabi.

All these scholars consider singing that is accompanied by musical instruments permissible

[Zidane]

That is correct, Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam states:

"However, to play the tambourine (daf) at weddings (and other occasions according to some fuqaha) will be permissible"


Regarding the post by Sidi Faraz Rabbani and in particular the quote of the great Hanafi Shaykh Ibn Abidin, the reason for your objection is that you appear to disagree with the concept of "difference of opinion"? Am I correct in saying this?

That is correct, Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam states:

"However, to play the tambourine (daf) at weddings (and other occasions according to some fuqaha) will be permissible"

In my first post, the reason is mentioned why the duff was played. For announcements. The action of Umar (R.A.) clearly proves it. So ok, in weddings it's fine if you take is as amusement and not annoucement. But I hardly think the duff which are played in the nasheeds were played at weddings.

I understand the concept of difference of opionion. But when there are 1000 people one one side and 2 people on the other, no sane person would side the 2. And when it comes to Halal and Haram, why would you not condemn the opinion of the two. Condemn as in say it's a wrong opinion.

That's the thing wrong with some sites nowadays, they play on people's wishes. People like it when you tell them there are some who hold another opinion because that is what they want when it comes to Islam. But when it comes to worldly matters, then would never accept the opionon of some or a few.

1000 doctors telling you one thing and two telling you another thing, who would you listen to? And with respect to music, it's everybody except a few.

[AbuZayd]

Akhi read the article by Shaykh Abuqanit Hasani I have posted above.

[Zidane]

What was the answer of those few scholars about the Ahadith clearly saying musical instruments are unlawful? Till then, I really don't care about the opinion of a few. Read Mufti Muahammad's answer on Music. He is a Mufti.

Brother, you can keep on listening to music and Insha Allah I wont. Then we will see on Judgement Day who is correct.

My final words are:

Assalamu Alaikum



And the following:

The views of the scholars (imaams) of Islam

Al-Qaasim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Singing is part of falsehood. Al-Hasan (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: if there is music involved in a dinner invitation (waleemah), do not accept the invitation (al-Jaami by al-Qayrawaani, p. 262-263).

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The view of the four Imaams is that all kinds of musical instruments are haraam. It was reported in Saheeh al-Bukhaari and elsewhere that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said that there would be among his ummah those who would allow zinaa, silk, alcohol and musical instruments, and he said that they would be transformed into monkeys and pigs… None of the followers of the imaams mentioned any dispute concerning the matter of music. (al-Majmoo’, 11/576).
Al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The four madhhabs are agreed that all musical instruments are haraam. (al-Saheehah, 1/145).

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The madhhab of Abu Haneefah is the strictest in this regard, and his comments are among the harshest. His companions clearly stated that it is haraam to listen to all musical instruments such as the flute and the drum, even tapping a stick. They stated that it is a sin which implies that a person is a faasiq (rebellious evil doer) whose testimony should be rejected. They went further than that and said that listening to music is fisq (rebellion, evildoing) and enjoying it is kufr (disbelief). This is their words. They narrated in support of that a hadeeth which could not be attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). They said: he should try not to hear it if he passes by it or it is in his vicinity. Abu Yoosuf said, concerning a house from which could be heard the sound of musical instruments: Go in without their permission, because forbidding evil actions is obligatory, and if it were not allowed to enter without permission, people could not have fulfilled the obligatory duty (of enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil). (Ighaathat al-Lahfaan, 1/425).

Imaam Maalik (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about playing the drum or flute, if a person happens to hear the sound and enjoy it whilst he is walking or sitting. He said: He should get up if he finds that he enjoys it, unless he is sitting down for a need or is unable to get up. If he is on the road, he should either go back or move on. (al-Jaami’ by al-Qayrawaani, 262). He (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “The only people who do things like that, in our view, are faasiqs.” (Tafseer al-Qurtubi, 14/55).

Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Among the types of earnings which are haraam by scholarly consensus are ribaa, the fee of a prostitute, anything forbidden, bribes, payment for wailing over the dead and singing, payments to fortune-tellers and those who claim to know the unseen and astrologers, payments for playing flutes, and all kinds of gambling. (al-Kaafi).

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, explaining the view of Imaam al-Shaafa'i: His companions who know his madhhab (point of view) stated that it is haraam and denounced those who said that he permitted it. (Ighaathat al-Lahfaan, 1/425).

The author of Kifaayat al-Akhbaar, who was one of the Shaafa’is, counted musical instruments such as flutes and others, as being munkar (evil), and the one who is present (where they are being played) should denounce them. (He cannot be excused by the fact that there are bad scholars, because they are corrupting the sharee’ah, or evil faqeers – meaning the Sufis, because they call themselves fuqaraa’ or faqeers – because they are ignorant and follow anyone who makes noise; they are not guided by the light of knowledge; rather they are blown about by every wind. (Kifaayat al-Akhbaar, 2/128).

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: With regard to the view of Imaam Ahmad, his son ‘Abd-Allaah said: I asked my father about singing. He said: Singing makes hypocrisy grow in the heart; I do not like it. Then he mentioned the words of Maalik: the evildoers (faasiqs) among us do that. (Ighaathat al-Lahfaan).

Ibn Qudaamah, the researcher of the Hanbali madhhab – (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Musical instruments are of three types which are haraam. 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. (al-Mughni, 10/173). 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-Kaafi, 3/118)

Al-Tabari (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The scholars of all regions are agreed that singing is makrooh and should be prevented. Although Ibraaheem ibn Sa’d and ‘Ubayd-Allaah al-‘Anbari differed from the majority, (it should be noted that) the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Adhere to the majority.” And whoever dies differing from the majority, dies as a jaahili. (Tafseer al-Qurtubi, 14/56). In earlier generations, the word “makrooh” was used to mean haraam, then it took on the meaning of “disliked”. But this is to be understood as meaning that it is forbidden, because he [al-Tabari] said “it should be prevented”, and nothing is to be prevented except that which is haraam; and because in the two hadeeths quoted, music is denounced in the strongest terms. Al-Qurtubi (may Allaah have mercy on him) is the one who narrated this report, then he said: Abu’l-Faraj and al-Qaffaal among our companions said: the testimony of the singer and the dancer is not to be accepted. I say: if it is proven that this matter is not permissible, then accepting payment for it is not permissible either.

Shaykh al-Fawzaan (may Allaah preserve him) said: What Ibraaheem ibn Sa’d and ‘Ubayd-Allaah al-‘Anbari said about singing is not like the kind of singing that is known nowadays, for they would never have allowed this kind of singing which is the utmost in immorality and obscenity. (al-I’laam)

Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: It is not permissible to make musical instruments. (al-Majmoo’, 22/140). And he said: According to the majority of fuqahaa’, it is permissible to destroy musical instruments, such as the tanboor [a stringed instrument similar to a mandolin]. This is the view of Maalik and is the more famous of the two views narrated from Ahmad. (al-Majmoo’, 28/113). 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. Al-Shu’bi, al-Nakha’i and Maalik regarded that as makrooh [i.e., haraam]. Abu Thawr, al-Nu’maan – Abu Haneefah (may Allaah have mercy on him) – and Ya’qoob and Muhammad, two of the students of Abu Haneefah said: it is not permissible to pay anything for singing and wailing. 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. (Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 10/417).

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.e., he did not make the first man pay the cost of the mandolin, because it was haraam and had no value. (al-Musannaf, 5/395).

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. (Sharh al-Sunnah, 8/28)

Taken from: http://****************/index.php?ln=eng&QR=5000

[AbuZayd]

Wa alaykum assalaam.

Akhi, please consult each of the respective Mujtahids' works for a detailed discussion into their reasoning behind their fatawa in favour for musical instruments.

Another interesting work on the subject I have read is Imam Al-Ghazali's discussion in "The Alchemy of Happiness".......





Umar Ibn Abd al Aziz said:

"It would not please me if the Companions of Muhammad, salallah alayhi wasaalam, had not disagreed, for had they not done so, no mercy would have come down."


Sufyan Al Thawri said:

"If you see a man doing something over which there is a debate among the scholars, and which you yourself believe to be forbidden, you should not forbid him from doing it."


Imam Nawawi mentioned something similar:

"Scholars only protest against that which musters unanimous consensus: as for what does not muster unanimous consensus, then there is no permission to protest"


Yahyah bin Said said:

"The people of knowledge are a people of broadness. They continue to give fatwas that are different form each other, and no scholar reproaches another scholar for his opinion."

www.sunnipath.com

Spiritual Music with Instruments?

Answered by Sidi Faraz Rabbani


Truth be told I had left music but then re-started listening to it again, in part because of some spiritual Islamic CDs that contain musical instruments including violins, different types of drums




Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,

Sidi, I don't know what reasoning the CD was based on. Allah knows best.

There is difference of opinion on this issue, but the position conveyed by Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari is the very same as that mentioned in the relied upon works across the Sunni schools of fiqh, and held by most traditional Sunni scholars now and in the past [see, for example, the entries on Music in the Reliance of the Traveller].

Some scholars did, in fact, allow instruments if not used for vain purposes, including in this the use of some Sufis and others of instruments for 'spiritually uplifting' purposes, as long as this was free of other impermissible matters (such as impermissible song content, female singing for non-females, free-mixing at such gatherings, etc.).

This remains a minority opinion, however, and religious precaution would indicate avoiding it, for the many reasons, explained by Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam in his answer.

At the same time, Ibn Abidin explains in his Radd al-Muhtar [6.349, Ilmiyya ed.], one should not condemn to those (like upright Sufis) who have noble intentions in their listening to such songs and are far from vain purposes (lahw), as long as nothing else impermissible is conjoined with the listening.

As such, religious caution and following sounder legal opinion (and the outward purport of the prohibitions of the Qur’an and Sunna) would indicate scrupulously avoiding music and singing with instruments besides the duff. However, one should not condemn others about this because of the difference of opinion regarding this.

And Allah knows best.

Wassalam,
Faraz Rabbani

[Zidane]

Wa alaykum assalaam.



Umar Ibn Abd al Aziz said:

"It would not please me if the Companions of Muhammad, salallah alayhi wasaalam, had not disagreed, for had they not done so, no mercy would have come down."


Sufyan Al Thawri said:

"If you see a man doing something over which there is a debate among the scholars, and which you yourself believe to be forbidden, you should not forbid him from doing it."


Imam Nawawi mentioned something similar:

"Scholars only protest against that which musters unanimous consensus: as for what does not muster unanimous consensus, then there is no permission to protest"


Yahyah bin Said said:

"The people of knowledge are a people of broadness. They continue to give fatwas that are different form each other, and no scholar reproaches another scholar for his opinion."

Very rarely would you find that when there is a unanimous consensus, that there is no one on the other side.

When majority and most say one thing about Music, it is considered unanimous. So when a few go against all, then for sure, the majority will say it's wrong and you shouldn't follow the few.

It's just a matter of the fear of Allah. When there are clear ahadith, why would you listen to a few who are going against the majority?


Have you been reading what I have been writing and all those proofs and evidences? No wonder people are so against blind Taqleed.

[AbuZayd]

Taken from: http://****************/index.php?ln=eng&QR=5000

SubhanAllah.

Akhi, I would not advise your quoting Islam-qa - the extremely unreliable Wahabbi / Salafi site. Interestingly your quote contradicts Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam's article - if you read it you will see why.

[Zidane]

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The view of the four Imaams is that all kinds of musical instruments are haraam. It was reported in Saheeh al-Bukhaari and elsewhere that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said that there would be among his ummah those who would allow zinaa, silk, alcohol and musical instruments, and he said that they would be transformed into monkeys and pigs… None of the followers of the imaams mentioned any dispute concerning the matter of music. (al-Majmoo’, 11/576).


Islam-qa is not totally unreliable. At times, I find it to be better than all the others out there.