On music

[salman]

Sallamu Alaikum

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



قال ابن عابدين في ردّ المحتار: (6/349)

أقول : وهذا يفيد أن آلة اللهو ليست محرمة لعينها بل لقصد اللهو منها إما من سامعها أو من المشتغل بها وبه تشعر الإضافة ألا ترى أن ضرب تلك الآلة بعينها حل تارة وحرم أخرى باختلاف النية بسماعها و الأمور بمقاصدها وفيه دليل لساداتنا الصوفية الذين يقصدون أمورا هم أعلم بها فلا يبادر المعترض بالإنكار كي لا يحرم بركتهم فإنهم السادة الأخيار أمدنا الله تعالى بإمداداتهم وأعاد علينا من صالح دعواتهم وبركاتهم

http://sunnipath.com/resources/Quest...a00002031.aspx

That should answer it. Jazakallah to Eteacher for the speech : )

[Garden]

Ditto to bro salman and Abu Zayd’s comments. Correct me if I’m wrong but the fatwa by Mufti Adam says very little about the uses of music for “spiritual” purposes (ie the ones that bro salman mentioned.) So according to his opinion, a documentary like Muhammad Legacy of a Prophet (which uses modern day Mevlevi violin music for embellishing and emphasizing the narrated content) is not permissible? I dunno, but for a western audience, perhaps it is wiser to take the weaker opinion in certain situations. Btw, here is another quote from Sh. Hamza Yusuf on a BBC radio programme.

“The debate in Islam about music stems from the power of music over human souls. It's related to what was known in platonic thought as the ethos theory, and that was that music actually did have a profound effect on the human soul and also the association with music with intoxicants, which is still very much part of our modern society. In the early stages of the debate there were clear distinctions between sacred and profane sounds. Do they open our souls to higher states or do they close them to those higher states and open them to lower states? This is really at the crux of the issue.”

[salman]

Sallamu Alaikum

Akhi garden, note that i didnt say that Music was halal. What i have stated is that we should still respect the opinion of other Ulema, whether a minority or not.

[Garden]

Sallamu Alaikum

Akhi garden, note that i didnt say that Music was halal. What i have stated is that we should still respect the opinion of other Ulema, whether a minority or not.

Wa ‘alaikum as-salam,

My apologies if I put words into your mouth. I respect your tolerance is what I was trying to say.

And also I want to make it clear that I’m not trying to make the case that Sh. Hamza and Sh. Abdal Hakim have explicitly stated their approval of certain types of music, rather that they have just given some interesting facts as food for thought. So in another thread I quoted some statements that demonstrated that instrumental music was a genuinely islamic art form which transformed the soul in healthy ways. I know that these Shuyukh themselves do not employ instruments, rather Sh. Abdal Hakim has some really beautiful nasheeds using just his voice. Anyhow, I just want to make sure that is clear.

Wassalam.

[Omar HH]

Regardless of what your stance is on music, Muslims have contributed alot ot musical theory throughout the centuries.

"Muslim Musical Achievement

Arabs always cherished and respected good language skills, making it one of man's prerogatives of perfection and qualities. This high esteem for man's culture was the driving force behind their striving to achieve a good quality of speech (Fasaha) and chivalry (Furussiya). Consequently, the elaboration of a complex behavioural order based on sophisticated system of manners was paralleled with a considerable development of arts and literature. Before Islam (Jahiliya), poetry (Mu'allaqat) and music had long been Arab traditions. In addition to the pursuit of chivalry, Arabs of pre-Islam spent their free time listening either to poetry or music. These two were interconnected; the poetry composition could not be successful if it did not follow a musical pattern in its verses while the music mode (nagham) or song (ghina') is dependent on the type and form of poetry. Therefore, musical rhythm pervaded poetry adding a new dimension extending beyond Fasaha. Historical records, especially "Kitab al-Aghani" (10th century) of Al-Isfahani (897-967), showed the presence, during early years of the Muslim Caliphate, of a number of musicians including Sa'ib Khathir (d.683), Tuwais (d.c.710), Ibn Mijjah (d.c.705-714). The spread of Islam over Arabia, Persia, Turkey and India, regions known to have possessed music traditions, brought this art into the Muslim Caliphate in its early days, reaching its apogee under the Abbassids. Muslims also translated a number of Greek musical treatises, especially under the Caliph Al-Ma'mun, as part of Bait Al-Hikma project of acquiring knowledge. The translation work included treatise of Aristoxenos, Aristotle (384-322 A.C.), Euclid, Ptolemy (90-128), and Nikomachos of Gerasa (Jordan, fl.c.100 A.C.). This inherited musical knowledge was refined and adapted to Islam's rules, as much of it was essentially secular or incorporated pagan practices. Under the Abbasids, the courts of Caliphs sponsored regular poets; most of the Caliphs were themselves poets and men of literature. It was under their rule that music gained greater respect due to the works of the famous Ishaq Al-Mausili (767-850) who revived the Arabian theory.

During the early times of Islam, music was considered a branch of philosophy and mathematics. In addition to his philosophical and mathematical brilliance, Al-Kindí (800-877) was the first great theoretician of music. He suggested a detailed fretting for the 'ud, and discussed the cosmological connotations of music. In using the alphabetical annotation for one eighth he surpassed the achievement of the Greek musicians. Al-Kindí was also the first to realise the therapeutic value of music. It was revealed that he tried to cure a quadriplegic boy with musical therapy. He left fifteen treatises, but only five survived on music, in one of which the word music "musiqí" was used for the first time, in a book title.

Al-Kindi's precedent was followed by his successors who dealt with music as a branch of mathematics, or a philosophical discipline. Al-Farabí (870-950) was the next prominent scholar in the chronology. His life at the court of Saif al-Dawla Al- Hamdaní of Aleppo, also known for his love for poetry and music, gave him an opportunity to develop both his musical skills and theory. His definition of the power of music shows his deep understanding:

"the man and the animal, under the impulsion of their instincts, emit sounds that express their emotions, as they can be the one of joy or fear. The human voice expresses greater variety - sadness, tenderness, rage -. These sounds, in the diversity of its notes, cause in the person that listens to them, such shades of feelings or passions, raising to him, controlling to him or tranquillising to him".

It is thought that when Al-Farabí played the 'ud he would make his audience burst into laughter or tears, or fall asleep depending on the mood of his tune. These same sources suggest that he was the inventor of two instruments; the rabab and qanun. Al-Farabi also wrote five books on music, one of which, Kitabu al-Musiqa to al-Kabir "the Great Book of Music", is his master ouevre on the theory of music in Islam. In this work, he presented various systems of pitch, including one diatonic tuning to which certain microtones, or "neutral" intervals, were added. The influence of Al-Farabi continued to be felt up to the sixteenth century. Kitab al-Musiqi of Al-Farabi was translated by Ibn Aqnin (1160-1226) into Hebrew, while the Latin translation was made under the titles De Scientiis and the De Ortu Scientiarum.

In addition to these great theorists of music one cannot ignore the works of Ibn Sina (Avicena) whose works, especially al-Shifá ("the treatment") and al-Najat ("the Salvation"), contained lengthy chapters on music. He treated the Greek theory of music and provided detailed description of instruments (used then). Ikhwan Al-Safaa' (the brothers of Purity), with their sufi and mystical approach, took music into new dimension. Music became a means of contemplation helping both body and soul to invoke the remembrance and worship of Allah (God). This view is highly advocated and developed by Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali (Algacel; 1058-1111) who argued for the power of music (and dance?) in intensifying the religious feeling and reaching the mystical experience. He distinguished between the sensual perception of music and the spiritual one. His thesis was:

"it is not possible to enter the human heart without passing by the antechamber of the ears. The musical, measured subjects, emphasise what there is in the heart and reveal their beauties and defects".


Al-Ghazali devoted large sections of his books; Ihiá ' Ulum Al-Din (The revival of religious sciences) and, Kitab adab al-samá ua al-uae'dh , to the good use of music and songs in the spiritual life. In the former work, made at the beginning of twelfth century, he considers music to be a means for reaching the mystical union with God. These meanings were further developed by the famous Djalal Uddin Al-Rumi (1207-1273) and those who came after him. One must also mention Safiuddin al- Armawi (1216-1297) who based the intervals of the melodic modes used at his time upon a detailed systematic scale that incorporated small subdivisions within the Pythagorian scale. This consists of using the first ten letters of the Arabic alphabet to denote the positions of fingers on the strings. To denote the scale of sound level he added the tenth letter to the above letters.

Although Framer short-listed a total of 28 major scholars who wrote about music, but their real number exceeded this figure. This rich production resulted in widespread popularity of music described by Ribera as follows:

"... the pleasure of music had been diffused to such point that it was impossible in any Andalusian city to find a quiet district, street or a corner in which a person could get rid of the omnipresent sounds of musical instruments and songs".

Conclusions

It appears that Muslims (of the Middle Ages), especially scholars, perceived their role in this world to consist essentially of serving Allah alone and assisting their human brothers to overcome the obstacles and difficulties facing them. As servants of God, they bore the task of making life easier, more comfortable and enjoyable to others but within the guidance, the Halal way, prescribed to them in their covenant. Thus, it is not surprising to find this dedication extends to music, a subject the lawfulness of which has been and is still being debated. Once more we find Muslims developing another art theme, raising it from the primitive ground of classicism to the high skies of the Renaissance. This paper has outlined the tremendous contribution of Muslims to the theory, notation and measurement of music. Above all, music was subjected, for the first time, to scientific rules explaining and measuring various tunes. These achievements revolutionised the way music was perceived, played and enjoyed in a time when the world, and Europe in particular, had hardly any knowledge or experience of this noble art. The strong evidence presented above has established, beyond doubt, that Muslims can rightfully claim to be the architects of this art. Europe, and the whole world, owes much of its musical culture to the Muslims. "

The Muslim influence on musical theory is strongly denied by Western scholars. Even those who accept the Muslims playing some role, reject their deep involvement with the theory, limiting it to instruments only. The first to suggest the contribution of Muslim scholars and artists to musical theory was a French scholar named Laborde. In his book "Essai sur la Musique ancienne et moderne" (1780), pp.8-9, p.22, he attributed the alphabetic notation of musical notes to Muslims. The notation, which consists of the syllables (known as solmisation); do, re, mi, fa, sol, la and si, is widely known as Latin, borrowed from the syllables of the Hymn of St. John. The Italian musician, Guido of Arezzo (c.995-1050) is the one who is credited with its invention in 1026. A recent British Channel 4 programme on the history of music claimed that Guido was the inventor of such a system, failing to refer to any Muslim involvement[1]. However Villoteau, (d.1839)[2] took the position of Laborde, admitting the Muslim influence on the theory of music. From comparing Guido's music scale with that of the Muslims, he found striking resemblances which led him to believe that the former had adopted his theory from the Muslims. He commented[3]: "according to all appearances it is this latter which served as the model for that of Guido of Arezzo".

Farmer in his monograph provided detailed analysis and critics of such views credibly demonstrating the Muslim origin of the use and invention of the notes. The phonetic similarity with the Arabic alphabet is striking:

Arabic Alphabet

Musical notes


Mi

mi


Fa

fa


Sad

sol


La

la


Sin

si


Dal

Do


Ra

re

The Muslims used notation as early as the ninth century at the time of Al-Ma'mun (d.833) and Ishaq Al-Mausili (d.850). We find it in the works of Al-Kindi (d.874), Yahia Ibn Ali Ibn Yahia (d.912), Al-Farabi (870-950), Ibn Sina (d.1037), Al-Hussain ibn Zaila (d.1048) and many others. We find Dominucus Gundissalinus (d.1151) used Arabic texts for his musical definitions. The Count Souabe Hermanus of Reichenau was particularly interested in the works of Al-Kindi and his musical theory and system of notation. The musical works of both Avicenna and Averoes were also influential on European music (as were their works in medicine) particularly in Provence[4] and Montpellier[5]. The works of Al-Farabi were influential on European musical theorists as recent as the eighteenth century, teaching le rapport 5/4 (major tierce) and 6/5 (minor tierce)[6].

But how did Guido know about Muslim work?

Soriano[7] revealed that Guido had studied in Catalogna. Hunke[8] established that these Arabic syllables were found in an eleventh century Latin treatise produced in Monte Cassino, a place which had been occupied by the Muslims a number of times, and was the retiring place of Constantine Africanus, the great Tunisian scholar who migrated from Tunis to Salerno and then to Monte Cassino. The role of Christian scholars who spent some time studying in the land of Islam is also an important factor. It is widely known that music was taught in Andalusian colleges. Ibn Farnes (d.888) was the first to introduce it as an integral part of the department of the quadrivium. Zariyab (789-857) was also renowned for his teaching of music in Spain as well as for his establishment of the first conservatory in the world. Evidence shows the re at least one scholar who, acquiring a vast knowledge of musical art forms from the Muslims, taught in European circles. Gerbert of Aurillac (later Pope Sylvester II) (d.1003), known for playing a very important part in the renewal of scientific thought in Europe, was also influential in disseminating Muslim musical knowledge, including their musical theory, in Europe. He studied in Andalusia and was nicknamed the Musician[9]. Gerbert also taught the quadrivium which consisted of the four subjects in the upper division of the seven liberal arts: arithmetic, astronomy, geometry, and music. Gerbert taught Arabic numerals; evidence of this is found in "Cita et vera divisio monochordi in diatonico genere", a work of Bernelius (c 990), his former pupil, which contained the Arabic numerals[10]. This teaching was soon spread abroad by Gerbert's pupils Bernelius, Adalboldus (d.1027) and Fulbertus (d.1028). These numerals are also found in Pseudo-Odo of Cluny (d.942) in a tract entitled "Regulae Domni Oddonis super abacum". Odo of Cluny, in discussing the eight tones, referred to Arabic and Jewish names including buq, re, schembs and so on[11]. Meanwhile, Fulbertus is known to have taught in Chartres. Musical knowledge must have taken similar courses.

The contribution of translators and their translations were influential, particularly since the twelfth century. We find Muslim musical ideas, like the rest of subjects, appearing in many works. Ideas such as those of Al-Farabi (Alpharabius) and Ibn Sina (Avicenna) were translated into Latin and borrowed by Vincent de Beauvais (d.1264), Pseudo Aristotle (c.1270), Roger Bacon (d.1280), Walter Odington (c.1280), Jerome of Maravia (13th century) .

Latin translations of Ihsa' Al-Ulum of Al-Farabi was influential in Latin compilations and treatises. In the mid ninth century Aurelian of Rome, who is considered to be the first musical theorist with Remi of Auxerre, mentioned a new musical theory of eight tones, although he claimed to have obtained it from Greek sources. Pseudo Hucbald, Pseudo Bernelinus and Notker Labeo (1022) all used phonetic (alphabetic) notation, a method used first by the Muslims, especially Al-Kindi (d.874). Hermann Contract (d.1054) was deeply influenced by Muslim learning. He is credited with a number of scientific works including "De mensura astolabii" and two other treatises on music[12]. In 1242 when the Christians took the Andalusian town of Murcia, a Muslim scholar Muhammed Ibn Ahmed al-Raquti, famous for his mathematical and musical writings was retained by the Christian King to teach in his schools[13].

[1] Broadcasted Monday, May 12th between 9:30-10:30, Channel 4.

[2] Villoteau, (Description des instruments de musique des orientaux'. P.858-9.).

[3] ibid., pp.858-9.

[4] There was a Provencal translation of surgery written by Al-Zahrawi ('Abd al-Qasim) written long before any Latin treatise.

[5] The famous Latin Arabic school of Medicine of Montpellier was founded by the Muslims teaching principally medicine of Avicenna. Since 1180 it was substituted by Averros medicine.

[6] Guettat, M. (1980), ‘La Musique classique du Maghreb’, Sindbad, Paris.

[7] Soriano Fuertes Hitoire de la musica Espanola', vol.1, p.152

[8] Hunke, S. (1969), 'Shams al-'Arab Tasta'a 'ala Al-Gharb', 2nd edition, Commercial Office publishing, Beirut.

[9] Ibid., p. 182.

[10] Ibid., p.185.

[11] Ibid., p.31

[12] "De musica lib.1" and "De monochordo lib.1."

[13] Casiri Miguel (1710—1791), ‘Bibliotheca Arabico-Hispana Escurialensis’, 2 vols., Madrid, 1760-1770, vol.2, pp.81-82 see Farmer, H.G. (1970) `Historical facts for the Arabian Musical Influence', Georg Olms Varlag, Hildesheim, New York, note 20, p.38.

by: FSTC. Limited, Wed 21 April, 2004


Muslimheritage.com

[Omar HH]

For pro-Music arguments, other than Qaradawi's and other scholars please see:

Lois Lamya al-Faruqi, "The Shariah on Music and Musicians," published in Islamic Thought and Culture: Papers Presented to the Islamic Studies Group of the American Academic of Religion, edited by Ismail R. al-Faruqi (Herndon, Virginia: International Institute of Islamic Thought, 1982).

[Strive4Allah]

The salaf not the salafis right they used to listen to Sima' Though it doesnt make it jaiz. Also to remember those were the khairul quroon. It only says bout Duff in hadeeth that when the prophet heard it he didnt do nakeer. and that was becoz there was a wedding like fromt hat hadeeth ppl do istidlal that listening to nasheeds with instrumens and that is jaiz,it is totally wrong. Its like tahreef fil hadeeth.
The hadeeth Al halalu bayyinun wal haramu bayyinun wa bainahuma....? Any1? Cant remeber it but nowadays ulama say its best to stay away from it. I know some muftis say its jaiz to listen to nasheeds with that sorta stuff but we have to look at whose giving the fatwa. how high they r in taqwa. Taqwa has its stages. I do not mean judge ppl but from what is zahir. And alah knws best

[Strive4Allah]

ofcourse we have to respect others opinions But at the end of the day it remains a fact that these r not jaiz bcz there r no qawi ahadeeth to it. Allahu aalam

[Strive4Allah]

what has the prophet said bout music.. it breeds hypocrisy in the heart.
Also ijma/

[AbuZayd]

Assalamu alaykum,

Thanks for that article from muslimheritage.com which by the way looks an excellent site.

Wasalam.