Ruling of the Shafii madhhab

The Shafii scholars, as quoted from al Ghazali, allow singing, dancing, daff, and play with shields and spears at times of lawful joy such as Eid, weddings, aqiqah, circumcision, return from travel, and other lawful happy occasions, so long as there is no forbidden content or fitnah.

They allow simple non erotic dancing by men in front of men, but they state that dancing by women in front of non mahram men is haram by consensus, and the same is said about beardless youths in front of those tempted by them.

Al Ghazali uses the playing of the Abyssinians with spears in the masjid while Aishah watched under the cloak of the Prophet ﷺ as proof of this limited permissibility.

Imam al Shafii is quoted as saying that singing is amusement, disliked, and resembling falsehood, and that the owner of a slave girl who gathers people to listen to her is foolish and his testimony is rejected.

He said that singing in this sense is a matter of religion, and whoever does it is sinful. He disliked tapping with a stick (striking wood for rhythm) and said that the heretics (people of innovation) introduced it to distract Muslims from the Quran. He held that the lute (oud), tanbur (long necked string instrument), and all amusements are forbidden, and that the one who listens to them is sinful.

Later Shafii scholars explained that his blame of singing refers to the forbidden types only, and that general poetry, camel songs, and beautifying the voice with poetry that has no haram content are allowed.

Taqi ad-Din al-Hisny Al Shafi’i counted musical instruments such as flutes among the evil things that must be forbidden when present, and held that the presence of corrupt jurists does not remove the duty to forbid them.

The Shafi’is also warned against those who made singing a religious badge while being ignorant followers of every caller.

Ibn al Qayyim confirms that the Shafii madhhab is upon forbidding instruments and rejects claims that Imam al Shafii allowed them.

Ruling of the Hanafi madhhab

The Hanafi jurists explain that forbidden singing is that which contains unlawful words, such as describing a specific living woman, describing beardless youths, praising wine in a way that stirs desire for it, describing taverns, or insulting a Muslim or a dhimmi when the aim is insult.

If the aim is only to quote such lines as proof, or to study eloquence, then it is not haram, and description of flowers, water, mountains, and clouds is permitted.

At the same time, the Hanafi madhhab is described as one of the strictest against musical instruments.

Abu Hanifah is reported to dislike singing and count listening to it among sins, and his companions clearly said that listening to all amusements like the flute, daff and even stick beating is disobedience that makes one sinful and causes his testimony to be rejected.

They even said that taking pleasure in such listening is kufr, though the hadith they used for that phrase is not sound as a marfu report.

Abu Yusuf ruled that if music and instruments are heard from a house, one may enter without permission to forbid the evil, because forbidding munkar is an obligation.

Ruling of the Maliki madhhab

Maliki jurists allow certain simple instruments that are used to announce marriage, such as the daff which is a frame drum, the tar without jingles, and the flute and bugle when they do not lead to excessive amusement. These are allowed for men and women, with some saying only for the wedding feast, and others extending it to the nikah contract and other new joys. As for singing, they allow simple rajaz like the chants of the Ansar girls that mention welcome and simple worldly matters.

Imam Malik himself, when asked about singing, said that it is only done by sinners among them and that he forbade singing and listening to it. He told the one who hears a drum or flute and feels pleasure to stand up and leave unless bound by a need. For someone on the road, he should go back or move ahead to avoid it.

Al Tartushi, quoted by al Qurtubi, strongly attacked gatherings where Sufis clap, tap sticks on leather, dance, and faint in masjids while chanting poetry, calling their way idleness, ignorance, and misguidance, and linking it to the dancing around the calf of Samiri. They held that it is the religion of disbelievers and that the ruler must prevent them from the masjids and other places, and that it is not lawful for a believer to attend or help them.

Ruling of the Hanbali madhhab

Hanbali scholars state that none of the instruments such as the lute, flute, drum, rabab and similar are lawful, just as backgammon and chess and similar games are not lawful. If a wedding feast contains any of these, it is not lawful to answer the invitation.

They allow the beautifying of one’s voice, and say it is recommended for reciting the Quran as long as it does not change letters or add words, and the same applies to chanting words of wisdom and admonition. They dislike reciting the Quran with musical tunes and dislike listening to it in that form.

Imam Ahmad is reported to have said that singing grows nifaq (hypocrisy) in the heart and that he does not like it, and he quoted Malik that singing is only done by sinners among them.

Ibn Qudamah, a main Hanbali authority, divided amusements into three types.

He said that the forbidden type includes striking strings (stringed instruments), flutes (wind instruments), all mizmars (reed pipes), the lute (oud), tanbur (long necked string instrument), mizaf (a type of drum or percussion instrument), rabab (bowed string instrument), and similar instruments. He said that whoever keeps listening to them has his testimony rejected.

He also said that if a person is invited to a walimah where there is evil like wine and flutes, and he can forbid it, he should attend and forbid; if he cannot, he should not attend.

Consensus of the four madhhabs on musical instruments

Shaykh al Islam Ibn Taymiyyah states clearly that the madhhab of the four imams, Malik, Abu Hanifah, al Shafii, and Ahmad, is that all musical instruments of amusement are forbidden. He uses the hadith in Sahih al Bukhari that people from this ummah will make lawful silk, wine, and musical instruments, and that some will be transformed into monkeys and pigs, and says that none of the followers of the imams mention any dispute about forbidding instruments of amusement.

Al Albani explains that the four madhhabs agree on forbidding all musical instruments and that the hadiths that forbid them are authentic or hasan, not all very weak as some claimed.

Ibn Hazm said they would follow any authentic hadith, and that later research has made the authenticity of these narrations clear.

Quran and hadith evidence used for prohibition

The scholars use several ayat as evidence. In Surah Luqman, Allah mentions those who buy idle talk to mislead from His path, and Ibn Abbas said this is singing, Mujahid said it is all amusement and the drum, and al Hasan al Basri said it was sent down about singing and flutes.

Al Saadi explains that it covers all forbidden and useless talk, including singing and the flutes of Shaytan and distracting amusements.

They also use the ayah in Surah al Isra, where Shaytan is told to incite people with his voice, which Mujahid explained as singing and falsehood, and the ayah in Surah al Najm, where the word “samidun” is explained by Ibn Abbas and Ikrimah as singing in the language of Himyar, since the people used to sing when they heard the Quran.

Ibn Kathir reports that Sufyan al Thawri narrated this understanding. Singing is described as a charm that calls to zina, a plant that grows nifaq, a partnership of Shaytan, and the wine of the mind, which turns hearts away from the Quran.

From the Sunnah, they quote the hadith of Abu Umamah that the Prophet ﷺ said not to sell or buy singing girls, not to teach them, and that their trade is evil and their price is haram, and that about this the ayah of idle talk was sent down.

They also rely heavily on the hadith that there will be people who make lawful zina, silk, wine, and musical instruments, which al Bukhari narrates in a connected meaning and which al Tabarani and al Bayhaqi connect with full chains.

Ibn al Qayyim and Ibn Taymiyyah both say this hadith proves the forbiddance of musical instruments because they are mentioned as something people will falsely make lawful, and because they are placed next to zina and wine.

Ruling on the listener and the one who plays

There is a clear difference between merely hearing music without intent and listening with purpose.

Ibn Umar covered his ears and moved away when he heard a flute, and later said that the Prophet ﷺ did the same.

Ibn Qudamah explained that this shows that hearing without intention does not carry any blame, but the listener who intends to listen is the one who takes on sin.

Ibn Taymiyyah adds that praise and blame are based on listening with intent, just as one is rewarded for listening to the Quran with intention, not for simply hearing it by chance.

As for the singer and player, many imams held that their actions are sinful and affect their legal status.

Abu Hanifah and his companions said that listening to amusements is disobedience that makes one sinful and rejects his testimony. Ibn Abd al Barr lists earnings from singing, wailing, and flutes among agreed forbidden earnings.

Ibn al Mundhir reports consensus on invalidating contracts made to pay for singing and wailing. Baghawi rules that sale of instruments of amusement like the tanbur and mizmar is forbidden, and that they only gain lawful value if the instruments are destroyed and their raw materials sold.

Ibn Abi Shaybah narrates that when a man broke another man s tanbur, the judge Shurayh did not require him to pay compensation, showing that such instruments have no protected value in Sharia.

The limited exception of the daff and simple singing

A clear exception agreed in these discussions is the daff without jingles in weddings and Eids for women.

Ibn Taymiyyah says that the Prophet ﷺ allowed some kinds of amusement in weddings and similar happy times, and that he allowed women to strike the daff in weddings and times of joy, while no man in his time used to strike the daff or clap.

There is a hadith that clapping is for women and tasbih is for men, and curses are reported for men who imitate women and women who imitate men. The Salaf used to call men who played daff and sang like women “mukhannath”.

The famous hadith of Aishah that two young girls sang lines about the bravery of the Ansar on the day of Eid while she was with the Prophet ﷺ is understood as a specific case. Abu Bakr called it “a flute of Shaytan” in the house of the Messenger of Allah, and the Prophet ﷺ allowed it only because it was Eid and the girls were very young with no risk of fitnah.

Ibn al Jawzi and Ibn Hajar say that nothing is narrated from Aishah after she was older except blame of singing, and that she herself said in another narration that those girls were not professional singers. This shows that such cases are limited, not a general licence for singing and instruments.

Refutation of claims of permissibility and the judgement of innovation

A number of excuses used to permit music are answered. Some say that all hadiths that forbid singing are very weak, but Ibn Baz explains that among them are authentic narrations in Sahih al Bukhari and others that are hasan, and that their many chains and routes make them firm proof for forbidding singing and instruments, and that the imams agreed on this except al Ghazali and Ibn Hazm who were not specialists in hadith.

Al Albani refutes those who deny these narrations.

Others claim that scholars only forbade singing because it was linked with wine gatherings.

Al Shawkani replies that linking singing with wine and zina in one hadith does not mean each is only forbidden when the others are present, otherwise it would imply zina is allowed if there is no wine or music, which is false by consensus.

In the same way, he says the ayah that joins not believing in Allah with not encouraging feeding the poor does not mean disbelief is only forbidden in that combined case. He adds that the forbiddance of instruments is also known from other evidence.

Some people claim that “lahw al hadith” in Surah Luqman is not singing, but al Qaradawi admits that the view that it is singing is the strongest among the interpretations because Ibn Masud swore three times that it is singing and many imams from the Sahabah and Tabiin said the same.

Ibn al Qayyim says that the explanation of the Companions, who lived the revelation, has more right to be followed than those after them, and that singing is a major form of idle talk that turns people away from the Quran.

al Qurtubi and al Tartushi describe Sufi gatherings of clapping, singing, stick tapping, and dancing in masjids as a misguided new practice that opposes the Book of Allah and Sunnah, and they link its origin to the dancing of the people of Samiri around the calf and to heretics who wanted to distract Muslims from the Quran.

Ibn al Hajj, himself counted among Sufis, narrates a formal question sent to jurists of the four madhhabs about a group who clap, sing, and dance with daffs and reed flutes in a masjid, and the answer described this as not allowed in Sharia.

Shaykh Fawzan says that what some earlier figures allowed from singing is far from the modern common music and cannot be used to permit it.

Al Jaziri says: The ruling on singing: O Lina, those nights, those nights

Among what relates to the walimah (wedding feast) is singing and listening. Does answering the invitation to the walimah fall away if it contains singing and play that people are used to?

The answer is that answering does not fall away unless the singing or play is not permitted in the Sharia. As for light play and permitted singing, then it does not cancel answering the invitation.

That is because the aims of the Sharia and its purposes in what it legislates are limited to refining manners and cleaning the souls from the filth of corrupt desires and their sins. So any action that leads to doing a munkar (forbidden evil) is haram, even if it is good in itself. Singing, in terms of it being repeating the voice with tunes, is mubah (permitted) and there is nothing in it, but something may come with it that makes it haram or makruh (disliked).

The same is the case with play. So singing is prevented if it leads to fitnah (temptation) with a woman who is not halal for him, or with a beardless youth, and it is also prevented if it leads to stirring up drinking wine, or wasting time, and turning away from doing duties. But if none of that follows from it, then it is mubah.

So it is not halal to sing words that contain describing a specific woman who is still alive, because that stirs desire towards her and pushes a person to become tempted by her.

If she has died, then describing her does not harm because there is no hope of meeting her, and the beardless youth is the same in this. And it is not halal to sing words that describe wine and make people want it, because that stirs a person towards drinking it and attending its gatherings, and that is a crime in the view of the Sharia.

And it is not halal to sing words that mock people, whether they are Muslims or dhimmis (non Muslims under protection), because that is haram in the view of the religion, so it is not halal to sing it or to listen to it.

As for singing words that contain wisdom and reminders, and words that describe flowers, sweet smelling plants, green fields, colours, water, and the like, or words that describe the beauty of a human being who is not specific, if it does not lead to forbidden fitnah, then it is mubah and there is no harm in it.

As for play, then what is mubah from it is what is free from filthy speech and lying, uncovering the awrah, mocking people, and women dancing in the presence of men who are not halal for them, as some foolish people do by bringing prostitutes to dance in their walimahs.

If it contains any of that, then it is haram, it is not halal to watch it, and it is not halal to answer the invitation to a walimah that contains it. What we have mentioned to you is what the rules of the religion require, and it is taken from the words of many of the thinking scholars who interpreted the words of the imams in that way, so we will mention their words at the bottom of the page.

The Shafiis said: Imam al Ghazali (d. 505 AH) said in al Ihya: The reports show the permissibility of singing, dancing, striking the daff, playing with shields and spears, and watching the dancing of the Abyssinians and the blacks at times of happiness, by analogy with the day of Eid because it is a time of happiness. In its meaning is the wedding, the walimah, the aqiqah, the circumcision, the day of arriving from travel, and all causes of joy, and it is everything by which joy is allowed in the Sharia. Joy is also allowed by visiting brothers, meeting them, and gathering in one place over food or talk, and that is also a place where listening may happen.

He divided singing into many types, and he mentioned among them what leads to temptation or a religious prohibition, or what has words that are ugly in the view of the religion, and he said: The type that is not haram means the dancing movements done by men in whom desire is not imagined, in front of those like them. As for women dancing in front of those who are not lawful for them, then it is haram by consensus because it leads to stirring desire and temptation, and because it contains exposure and shamelessness.

The same applies to beardless youths in front of those who desire them and are tempted by them.

al Ghazali (d. 505 AH) used as proof for the permissibility of dancing the dancing of the Abyssinians and the blacks in the Prophetic masjid on the day of Eid, when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ approved them, and he allowed his wife Lady Aishah رضي الله عنها to watch them while she was covered by him, and as you know, that does not stir any desire. So the permitted type of dancing is what does not stir corrupt desire.

He also said in al Ihya that al Shafii (d. 204 AH) said: I do not know anyone from the scholars of the Hijaz who disliked listening except what was from it in descriptions. As for the camel song, mentioning the ruins and dwelling places, and beautifying the voice with the tunes of poetry, then it is permitted.

He said: What was said from Imam al Shafii (d. 204 AH), that singing is disliked amusement that resembles falsehood, does not oppose its permissibility, because he only meant the forbidden type of it. Also what he meant by amusement and play is not haram unless it leads to a Sharia prohibition, and likewise what resembles falsehood. He went on at length in using proofs for the permissibility of singing, so return to it if you wish.

The Hanafis said: The forbidden singing is what contains words that are not lawful, such as describing beardless youths, or a specific woman who is still alive, and describing wine in a way that stirs desire for it, and describing taverns, and insulting a Muslim or a dhimmi if the speaker’s aim is insult.

As for if his aim is to use it as evidence, or to know what it contains of eloquence and clear speech, then it is not haram.

Likewise, if it contains describing flowers, meaning describing sweet smelling plants and flowers, or it contains describing water, mountains, clouds, and the like, then there is no reason to prevent it. End, from the words of Fath al Qadir.

So what was said from Abu Hanifah (d. 150 AH), that he used to dislike singing and count listening to it among sins, is carried on the forbidden type of it. And they count as disliked in the meaning of prohibition playing with backgammon and chess, and striking strings such as the tanbur, the rabab, the qanun, the mizmar, the bugle, and the like, as will come in the chapter of contests.

The Malikis said: The instruments of amusement that make marriage known are allowed to be used for it only, like the daff, meaning the drum, the sieve like frame drum, the tar, if it does not have jingles, and the flute and the bugle if they do not lead to much amusement.

That is allowed for men and women. Some of them said it is allowed for the walimah only, and some of them said it is allowed in the wedding and at the contract, and in every new happiness, so it is not limited to the walimah of marriage.

As for singing, then what is allowed from it is the rajaz that resembles what came in the singing of the girls of the Ansar: We have come to you, so greet us and we greet you, and if not for the wheat grain, you would not settle in your valley.

The Hanbalis said: Nothing of the lute, flute, drum, rabab, and the like is lawful, just as backgammon and chess and what is like them are not lawful. If the walimah contains any of that, then it is not lawful to answer it.

As for singing, then beautifying your voice in itself is allowed. Rather, they said it is recommended when reciting the Quran if it does not lead to changing a letter in it or adding a word, otherwise it is forbidden. So chanting and improving the voice with words of warning and wisdom and the like is also like that. They said: Reciting the Quran with tunes is disliked, and listening is disliked.

This means the hadith of Aishah (d. 58 AH) رضي الله عنها, she said: I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ covering me with his cloak while I was looking at the Abyssinians playing with spears in the masjid, until I was the one who chose to stop. So judge the wish of a young girl who is eager for play. It was narrated by al Bukhari (d. 256 AH) and Muslim (d. 261 AH).

(Allah Most High said in Surah Luqman: وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَشْتَرِي لَهْوَ الْحَدِيثِ لِيُضِلَّ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ (Luqman 31:6). Ibn Abbas (d. 68 AH) said: It is singing. Mujahid (d. 104 AH) said: It is all amusement, the drum. Al Hasan al Basri (d. 110 AH) said: This ayah was sent down about singing and flutes.

Al Saadi said: This includes every forbidden talk, every useless false talk, rambling speech that calls to kufr and sin, the speech of those who know the truth and argue with falsehood to remove the truth, backbiting, tale carrying, lying, insults, swearing, singing, flutes of Shaytan, and the distracting acts of amusement that have no benefit in religion or worldly life.

As for explaining “lahw al hadith” as singing, that is authentic from Ibn Abbas (d. 68 AH) and Ibn Masud (d. 32 AH). Abu al Sahba رضي الله عنه‎ asked Ibn Masud (d. 32 AH) رضي الله عنه‎ about His saying: “and among people are those who buy idle talk”, and he said: By Allah besides whom there is no god, it is singing, and he repeated it three times. It is also authentic from Ibn Umar رضي الله عنه‎ (d. 73 AH) that it is singing.

There is no conflict between explaining it as singing and explaining it as the stories of foreign peoples and their kings and the kings of the Romans and the like that al Nadr ibn al Harith used to tell the people of Makkah to distract them from the Quran, because all of that is idle talk.

That is why Ibn Abbas (d. 68 AH) said: Idle talk is falsehood and singing. Some of the Sahabah mentioned one, some mentioned the other, and some gathered both.

Singing is stronger idle talk and more harmful than stories of kings and their news. It is a charm that calls to zina, a plant that grows nifaq, the partnership of Shaytan, and the wine of the mind. Its turning people away from the Quran is greater than other false talk because hearts lean strongly towards it and desire it.

The ayat contain blame of exchanging idle talk for the Quran, to mislead from the path of Allah without knowledge, and to take it as a mockery. When the Quran is recited to him he turns away as if he did not hear it, as if in his ears is heaviness and deafness, and if he learns anything from it he mocks it.

This does not happen except from the greatest people in kufr. If some of it happens from singers and those who listen to them, then they have a share and portion of this blame.

Allah Most High said: وَاسْتَفْزِزْ مَنِ اسْتَطَعْتَ مِنْهُم بِصَوْتِكَ

“And incite whoever you can of them with your voice” (al Isra 17:64)

Mujahid (d. 104 AH) said: Your voice is singing and falsehood.

Ibn al Qayyim (d. 751 AH) said: This is an adding of special meaning, like adding horses and foot soldiers to him, so every speaker in other than obedience to Allah, or every one who makes sounds with a flute, or a mizmar, or a forbidden daff, or a drum, then that is the voice of Shaytan.

Everyone who walks towards disobedience of Allah on his feet is from his foot soldiers, and everyone who rides in disobedience is from his cavalry. The Salaf said that, as was mentioned from Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنه‎: His foot soldiers are every foot that walks in disobedience of Allah.

Allah Most High said: أَفَمِنْ هَذَا الْحَدِيثِ تَعْجَبُونَ وَتَضْحَكُونَ وَلَا تَبْكُونَ وَأَنتُمْ سَامِدُونَ (al Najm 53:59 to 61). Ikrimah (d. 105 AH) said from Ibn Abbas : “samidun” means singing in the language of Himyar. It is said: “Asmidī lana” meaning sing for us. He said: They used to sing when they heard the Quran, so this ayah was sent down.

Ibn Kathir (d. 774 AH) said: Sufyan al Thawri (d. 161 AH) narrated from his father from Ibn Abbas  that it means singing, and it is Yemeni: sing for us, entertain us. Ikrimah (d. 105 AH) said the same.

It is narrated from Abu Umamah (d. 86 AH) from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: “Do not sell singing girls, do not buy them, and do not teach them, and there is no good in trading in them, and their price is forbidden.”

And about this, this ayah was sent down: “and among people are those who buy idle talk to mislead from the path of Allah”. It was graded hasan.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “There will surely be people from my ummah who will make lawful zina, silk, wine, and musical instruments.”

It is narrated by al Bukhari (d. 256 AH) in a connected meaning without the full chain, and it was connected by al Tabarani (d. 360 AH) and al Bayhaqi (d. 458 AH), and it is mentioned in al Silsilah al Sahihah.

Ibn al Qayyim رحمه الله (d. 751 AH) said: This is an authentic hadith. Al Bukhari  brought it in his Sahih as proof and mentioned it without the full chain with firm wording. In the hadith is proof of the forbiddance of instruments of music in two ways.

The first is His saying “they will make lawful”, and that shows clearly that what is mentioned, including musical instruments, is forbidden in the Sharia, and those people will declare it lawful. The second is that musical instruments are placed with what is certainly forbidden, which is zina and wine. If musical instruments were not forbidden, they would not be placed with them.

Shaykh al Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) said: This hadith shows the forbiddance of musical instruments. Musical instruments are instruments of amusement in the language. This name includes all these instruments.

Ibn al Qayyim (d. 751 AH) said: In this matter there are narrations from Sahl ibn Sa’eed (d. 91 AH), Imran ibn Husayn (d. 52 AH), Abd Allah ibn Amr (d. 65 AH), Abd Allah ibn Abbas (d. 68 AH), Abu Hurayrah (d. 59 AH), Abu Umamah (d. 86 AH) al Bahili, Aishah (d. 58 AH) the Mother of the Believers, Ali ibn Abi Talib (d. 40 AH), Anas ibn Malik (d. 93 AH), Abd al Rahman ibn Sabit, and al Ghazi ibn Rabi‘ah رحمهم الله, then he mentioned them in Ighathat al Lahfan, and they show prohibition.

It is narrated from Nafi‘ (d. 117 AH): Ibn Umar (d. 73 AH) رحمهم الله heard a flute, so he put his two fingers in his ears and moved away from the road, and he said to me: O Nafi‘, do you hear anything? I said: No. He raised his fingers from his ears and said: I was with the Prophet ﷺ and he heard something like this, so he did this. This is in Sahih Abi Dawud.

Some claimed this hadith is not proof of prohibition, because if it were, the Messenger ﷺ would have ordered Ibn Umar (d. 73 AH) to block his ears, and he would have ordered Nafi‘ (d. 117 AH) also.

The answer is that Ibn Umar (d. 73 AH) was not listening with intent, rather he only heard it. There is a difference between one who hears and one who listens on purpose.

Shaykh al Islam said: What a person did not intend to listen to does not bring a prohibition or blame by agreement of the imams. Blame and praise depend on listening with intent, not just hearing. The one who listens to the Quran is rewarded, but the one who hears it without intent is not rewarded, because deeds are by intentions. Likewise, in what is forbidden from amusements, if he hears it without intending it, it does not harm

Ibn Qudamah (d. 620 AH) رحمه الله said: The listener is the one who intends to listen, and that was not found from Ibn Umar (d. 73 AH) رحمه الله.

What was found from him was only hearing. Also, the Prophet ﷺ had a need to know that the sound had stopped because he had turned away from the road and blocked his ears, so he would not return to the road or lift his fingers until the sound stopped. So it was allowed for a need.

Statements of the imams of Islam: al Qasim said: Singing is from falsehood.

Al Hasan Al Basri (d. 110 AH) رحمه الله said: If there is amusement in the walimah, then there is no invitation for them.

Shaykh al Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH)رحمه الله said: The madhhab of the four imams is that all instruments of amusement are forbidden. It is established in Sahih al Bukhari and others that the Prophet ﷺ informed that there will be people from his ummah who will declare lawful silk, wine, and musical instruments, and he mentioned that they will be changed into monkeys and pigs. No one from the followers of the imams mentioned any dispute about instruments of amusement.

Al Albani (d. 1420 AH) said: The four madhahib agree on forbidding all instruments of music.

Ibn al Qayyim (d. 751 AH) said: The madhhab of Abu Hanifah (d. 150 AH) in this is from the strictest madhahib, and his words in it are from the strongest.

His companions clearly said that listening to all amusements is forbidden, like the flute and the daff, even striking a stick. They clearly said it is disobedience that causes a person to be sinful and makes his testimony rejected. They went further and said: listening is sin, and taking pleasure in it is kufr, and these are their words.

They narrated a hadith about that but it is not sound as a raised report. They said: he must strive not to hear it if he passes by it or if it is near him.

Abu Yusuf (d. 182 AH) said: if there is a house from which the sound of instruments and amusements is heard, then enter upon them without their permission, because forbidding evil is an obligation, and if entering without permission were not allowed then people would prevent the obligation from being carried out.

Imam Malik (d. 179 AH) رحمه الله was asked about beating the drum and flute: it reaches you and you find pleasure in it while on the road or in a sitting. He said: let him stand up if he feels pleasure, unless he is sitting for a need, or he cannot stand. As for the road, let him go back or go ahead. He said: it is only done by sinners among us.

Ibn Abd al Barr (d. 463 AH) رحمه الله said: From earnings agreed to be forbidden are riba, the dowries of prostitutes, bribes, taking payment for wailing, for singing, for fortune telling and claiming knowledge of the unseen and news of the heavens, and for flutes and all false play.

Imam Ibn al Qayyim (d. 751 AH) رحمه الله said about the madhhab of Imam al Shafii (d. 204 AH): his knowledgeable companions clearly said it is forbidden, and they rejected anyone who attributed permissibility to him.

The author of Kifayat al Akhyar (Taqi al-Din Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad al-Hisni), from the Shafiis, counted amusements like flutes and the like as evil, and it is required from the one present to forbid it. He said: it does not fall away from him because corrupt jurists are present, because they corrupt the Sharia. He said: and the so called poor ones, meaning the Sufis because they call themselves the poor, they are ignorant followers of every caller, not guided by the light of knowledge, and they bend with every gain.

Ibn al Qayyim (d. 751 AH) رحمه الله said: As for the madhhab of Imam Ahmad (d. 241 AH), Abd Allah his son said: I asked my father about singing and he said: singing grows nifaq in the heart, I do not like it. Then he mentioned the words of Malik (d. 179 AH): it is only done by sinners among us.

Imam Ibn Qudamah (d. 620 AH) رحمه الله said, one who is relied on in the Hanbali madhhab: amusements are three kinds. Forbidden, and it is striking strings, flutes, all mizmars, the lute, the tanbur, the mi‘zaf, the rabab, and the like. Whoever keeps listening to them, his testimony is rejected. He said: if a person is invited to a walimah in which there is an evil act, like wine and flutes, and he is able to forbid it, then he attends and forbids, because he gathers between two obligations. If he cannot, then he does not attend.

Al Tabari (d. 310 AH) رحمه الله said: The scholars of the cities agreed on disliking singing and preventing it.

Only Ibrahim ibn Sa‘d (d. 183 AH) and Ubayd Allah al Anbari (d. 168 AH) رحمهم الله differed. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: stick to the greater group, and whoever leaves the group dies a death of ignorance.

The word “dislike” was used with the meaning of prohibition in earlier times, then it became used more for dislike without prohibition. It is carried here on prohibition because he said “preventing it”, and a person does not prevent something that is not forbidden, and because he mentioned the two hadiths and in them is strong warning.

Al Qurtubi (d. 671 AH) is the one who said this, and he said after it: Abu al Faraj said, and al Qaffal from our companions said: the testimony of the singer and dancer is not accepted.

Al Jaziri says: If it is established that this matter is not allowed, then taking payment for it is not allowed.

Shaykh al Fawzan said: What Ibrahim ibn Sa‘d (d. 183 AH) and Ubayd Allah al Anbari (d. 168 AH) allowed from singing is not like the common singing. It is far from them to allow this kind of singing that is the lowest and most vile.

Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) رحمه الله said: it is not allowed to make instruments of amusement. He said: instruments of amusement, like the tanbur, may be destroyed according to most jurists, and that is the madhhab of Imam Malik and the better known report from Ahmad.

He said: Ibn al Mundhir (d. 318 AH) رحمه الله mentioned the agreement of scholars on preventing hiring for singing and wailing, and he said: everyone I have preserved from the people of knowledge agreed on invalidating the contract of the wailer and the singer.

Al Sha‘bi (d. 103 AH), Al Nakha‘i (d. 96 AH), and Malik (d. 179 AH) disliked that. Abu Thawr (d. 240 AH), al Nu‘man, Ya‘qub, and Muhammad رحمهم الله said: it is not allowed to hire for any singing or wailing, and this is what we say.

He said: musical instruments are the wine of souls, they do to souls more than the wine of cups does.

Imam Ibn Abi Shaybah (d. 235 AH) narrated: a man broke a tanbur belonging to another man, so the case was brought to Shurayh رضي الله عنه‎ and he did not make him pay anything, meaning he did not require value because it is forbidden and has no valu

Imam Al Baghawi (d. 516 AH) gave a ruling of forbidding selling all instruments of amusement and falsehood like the tanbur, the mizmar, and all musical instruments, then he said: if the images are erased and the instruments are changed from their state, then selling their materials and bases is allowed, whether silver, iron, wood, or other than that.

(A true exception: what is excluded is the daff without jingles in Eids and marriage for women, and sound proofs show it. Shaykh al Islam said: the Prophet ﷺ allowed some types of amusement in weddings and the like, as he allowed women to strike the daff in weddings and happy times. As for men in his time, none of them used to strike a daff or clap with the hand.

It is established in the authentic narrations that he said: clapping is for women and tasbih is for men.

He cursed women who imitate men and men who imitate women. Since singing and striking the daff is from the actions of women, the Salaf used to call the men who do that “mukhannath”, and they used to call male singers “mukhannathun”. How many there are in this time. This is well known in their speech.

From this is the hadith of Aishah (d. 58 AH): when her father Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه‎ entered upon her on the days of Eid while two young girls were with her, singing what the Ansar said to each other on the day of Bu‘ath, and a sensible person understands what people say in war, Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه‎ said: is it the flute of Shaytan in the house of the Messenger of Allah?

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was turned away from them, with his noble face towards the wall. That is why some scholars said Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه‎ would not scold anyone or forbid anything in front of the Messenger ﷺ, but he thought the Messenger ﷺ was not aware of what was happening. Then the Prophet ﷺ said: leave them, O Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه‎, for every people has an Eid, and this is our Eid, the Eid of the people of Islam.

In this hadith is a clarification that this was not from the habit of the Prophet ﷺ and his companions to gather upon it.

That is why the Siddiq called it the flute of Shaytan, and the Prophet ﷺ approved this naming and did not cancel it, rather he said: leave them, for every people has an Eid, and this is our Eid. This shows that the reason for allowing it was that the time was Eid, so it is understood that prohibition remains in other than Eid, except what is excluded from weddings in other hadiths.

Al Albani explained this in his book Tahrim Alat al Tarab: the Prophet ﷺ allowed the young girls on Eid as in the hadith: so that the polytheists know that in our religion there is ease. In the hadith of the two girls there is no statement that the Prophet ﷺ listened to it with intent. Commands and prohibitions relate to listening with intent, not just hearing without choice, as with seeing, because it relates to intending to see, not what reaches a person without choice. So it is for women only.

Imam Abu Ubayd (d. 224 AH) defined the daff by saying: it is what women strike.

(A false exception: some excluded the drum in war, and some modern people attached military music to that, and there is no reason for that at all, for reasons. First, it is specifying the hadiths of prohibition without any specifying proof, only opinion and liking, and that is false. Second, what is required from Muslims in war is that their hearts turn to their Lord.

Allah Most High said:

يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْأَنفَالِ قُلِ الْأَنفَالُ لِلَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَأَصْلِحُوا ذَاتَ بَيْنِكُمْ (al Anfal 8:1).

Using music spoils that for them and turns them from remembering their Lord. Third, it is from the habits of the disbelievers, and it is not allowed to imitate them, especially in what Allah Most High has forbidden with a general forbiddance, like music.)

(Some used as proof the hadith about the Abyssinians playing in the masjid for the permissibility of singing. Al Bukhari (d. 256 AH) titled a chapter for this hadith in his Sahih: the chapter of spears and shields on the day of Eid. Al Nawawi (d. 676 AH) said: in it is the permissibility of playing with weapons and the like from war tools in the masjid, and included in it is what is like it from causes that help jihad. But as Ibn Hajar (d. 852 AH) said: whoever speaks outside his field brings strange things.)

Some used as proof the hadith of the two girls singing, and the speech about it has passed, but we quote the speech of Ibn al Qayyim (d. 751 AH) because it is precious: more amazing than this is your using as proof for allowing the listening that is made up of what we mentioned from the social form, with the singing of two small girls who had not reached puberty, in front of a young woman, on the day of Eid and happiness, with some lines from the poetry of the Arabs describing bravery, wars, noble manners, and good traits.

Where is this compared to what you do? It is strange that this hadith is one of the greatest proofs against them, because Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه‎ called that a flute from the flutes of Shaytan, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ approved this naming, and he only allowed it for two young girls who were not responsible and where there was no harm in their singing or in listening to them. Does this prove the permissibility of what you do and teach of listening that contains what is well known? Glory be to Allah, how minds and understandings went astray.

(Ibn al Jawzi (d. 597 AH) said: Aishah رضي الله عنها was not small at that time, and nothing is narrated from her after she reached adulthood and gained knowledge except blame of singing.

Her nephew al Qasim ibn Muhammad used to dislike singing and prevent listening to it, and he took knowledge from her.

Ibn Hajar (d. 852 AH) said: a group of Sufis used as proof the hadith of the two girls for the permissibility of singing and listening with an instrument and without an instrument. I

t is enough to reject that that Aishah رضي الله عنها said in the narration that comes after it: they were not singers. So she removed from them, in meaning, what was thought from the wording. So it is limited to what came with a report in time and manner, to lessen the original basis.

Some dared to attribute listening to singing to the Sahabah and the Tabi‘in, and that they saw no harm in it. Shaykh al Fawzan said: we demand that he produce authentic chains to those Sahabah and Tabi‘in proving what he claimed about them. Then he said: Imam Muslim (d. 261 AH) mentioned in the introduction to his Sahih from Abd Allah ibn al Mubarak (d. 181 AH) that he said: the chain is from the religion, and if not for the chain, whoever wished would say whatever he wished.

(Some said: all hadiths that forbid singing are deeply weak, and no hadith is safe from criticism among the jurists. Ibn Baz (d. 1420 AH) said: no, the hadiths about forbidding singing are not deeply weak as you claimed. Rather, among them is what is in Sahih al Bukhari, and among them is hasan and among them is weak. With their many narrations and different paths, they are clear proof and a strong evidence for forbidding singing and instruments of amusement. The imams agreed on the authenticity of hadiths about forbidding singing and instruments except Abu Hamid al Ghazali (d. 505 AH), and al Ghazali did not know hadith knowledge, and Ibn Hazm (d. 456 AH).

Al Albani clarified the mistake in the clearest way.

Ibn Hazm himself said that if any of them were authentic then he would say it. But in this time their authenticity has become clear to them because of the many books of the people of knowledge and what is well known from them of grading these hadiths as authentic, but they turned away from it. They are far worse than Ibn Hazm and are not like him. They are not qualified and they did not return to the people of knowledge.

Some said: scholars only forbade singing because it was connected to gatherings of wine and forbidden staying up late. Al Shawkani (d. 1250 AH) answered: connection does not show that the forbidden matter is only the gathering together, otherwise it would mean zina, which is clearly mentioned in the hadiths, is not forbidden except when wine is drunk and instruments are used, and this necessary result is false by consensus, so what it comes from is also false.

Also it would mean from His saying that a person was not believing in Allah and did not encourage feeding the poor, that not believing in Allah is not forbidden except when not encouraging feeding the poor, and this is false. If it is said: the forbiddance of those matters is known from other evidence, then it is answered: the forbiddance of instruments is also known from other evidence as already mentioned.

Some said: “lahw al hadith” is not meant to be singing, and the answer to that has already passed. Al Qaradawi (d. 1445 AH) said: this saying, meaning that it is singing, is the highest and strongest of what was said about this ayah.

Ibn Masud (d. 32 AH) swore by Allah, besides whom there is no god, three times that it is singing, then he mentioned the imams who said that, and he mentioned other sayings, then he said: the first saying is the strongest of what is said in this matter because of the raised hadith and the speech of the Sahabah and Tabi‘in.

Ibn al Qayyim (d. 751 AH) said after mentioning this explanation: al Hakim Abu Abd Allah (d. 405 AH) said in the book of tafsir from al Mustadrak: the explanation of a Companion who witnessed revelation and sending down is, according to the two shaykhs, a connected hadith. He said elsewhere in his book: it is, according to us, like the ruling of a raised report.

Even if there is discussion on that, there is no doubt it is more worthy of acceptance than the explanation of those after them. They are the most knowledgeable of the ummah about what Allah meant in His Book. Upon them it was sent down. They were the first addressed by it. They saw the tafsir from the Messenger ﷺ in knowledge and action. They are the truly eloquent Arabs. So a person does not leave their explanation if he can avoid it.

Some said: singing is obedience if the aim is to draw near to obedience to Allah.

Ibn al Qayyim (d. 751 AH) said: how amazing. What iman, light, insight, guidance, and knowledge comes by listening to lines with tunes and beats, most of which are built on what is forbidden and hated by Allah and His Messenger and punished for?

How can one with even a little insight and life in the heart draw near to Allah and increase in iman, closeness, and honour with Him, by what is hated by Him and detested by Him, and He detests its speaker and the one pleased with it.

Shaykh al Islam said about the state of those who become used to it: because of this, the one who becomes used to it and is fed by it is not moved by hearing the Quran, and does not rejoice in it, and does not find in hearing the ayat what he finds in hearing poetry. Rather, if they hear the Quran, they hear it with distracted hearts and useless tongues. If they hear the whistling and clapping, voices become humble, movements become still, and hearts submit.

Some promote music and instruments by saying they soften hearts and feelings and grow emotion, and this is not true.

They stir desires and passions. If they did what they claim, the hearts of musicians would become soft and their manners would become refined. Most of them are known for bad manners and bad conduct. End. A summary of the treatise “striking with backgammon” for whoever allows instruments by desire, by Shaykh Sa‘d al Din ibn Muhammad al Kabbi.

(We also quoted Ibn al Hajj (d. 737 AH) here, because he is counted among the Sufis, and the matter of listening is considered their symbol. Ibn al Hajj (d. 737 AH) said in al Madkhal: it was mentioned that some people wrote a fatwa, and that was in the year 661, and he circulated it among the four madhahib.

Its wording was: what do the noble jurists, imams of the religion, and scholars of the Muslims say, may Allah grant them success in obeying Him and help them in pleasing Him, about a group of Muslims who returned to a town and went to the masjid, and began clapping, singing, and dancing, sometimes with the hand, sometimes with daffs and a reed flute, is that allowed in the masjids in the Sharia? Give us a fatwa and you will be rewarded, may Allah have mercy on you.

The Shafiis said: listening is amusement, disliked, resembling falsehood, and the one who does it has his testimony rejected. The Malikis said: it is required on the rulers to stop them, discipline them, and remove them from the masjids until they repent and return.

The Hanbalis said: the one who does that is not prayed behind, his testimony is not accepted, his judgement is not accepted if he is a judge, and if he performs a marriage contract then it is invalid. The Hanafis said: the mat that they dance on is not prayed upon until it is washed, and the ground they dance on is not prayed upon until its earth is dug out and thrown away.

Al Qurtubi (d. 671 AH) said in his tafsir when he spoke about the story of al Samiri in Surah Ta Ha: Imam Abu Bakr al Tartushi (d. 520 AH) was asked: what does our jurist say about the madhhab of the Sufis, may Allah guard him, that a group of men gather, increasing the remembrance of Allah and the remembrance of Muhammad, then they chant poetry with tapping a stick on leather, and some of them stand and dance and act as if they are overcome until he falls unconscious, and they bring something to eat, is attending with them allowed or not? Give us a fatwa, may Allah have mercy on you.

And they say: stop from sins before separation and slipping, and do good for yourself as long as deeds benefit you, as for youth it has passed, and the grey hair of your head has come down. He answered: may Allah have mercy on you, their madhhab is idleness, ignorance, and misguidance. Islam is only the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger.

As for dancing and acting as if overcome, the first to bring it were the companions of al Samiri when he made a calf for them, a body with a lowing sound, and they stood dancing around it and acting as if overcome.

It is the religion of disbelievers and the worshippers of the calf. As for the stick, the first to bring it were the heretics, to distract Muslims from the Book of Allah. The Prophet ﷺ used to sit with his companions as if birds were on their heads because of their calm.

So it is upon the ruler and his deputies to prevent them from attending the masjids and other places. It is not lawful for anyone who believes in Allah and the Last Day to attend with them or help them in their falsehood.

This is the madhhab of Imam Malik (d. 179 AH), Abu Hanifah (d. 150 AH), al Shafii (d. 204 AH), Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241 AH), and others from the imams of the Muslims, and Allah gives success.

Al Tartushi (d. 520 AH) also said in his book called “the forbiddance of songs”: people in the past used to hide their sin if they fell into it, then seek forgiveness and repent. Then ignorance increased, knowledge decreased, and the matter weakened, until a person began doing sins openly. Then matters became worse until we reached a point that a group of our Muslim brothers, may Allah guide us and them, Shaytan drew them and took their minds in loving songs, amusement, and hearing tapping sounds. They believed it is from the religion that draws them near to Allah, and groups made it open in front of the Muslims, and they made it oppose the path of the believers, and they opposed the scholars and jurists and the carriers of the religion. “And whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him, and follows other than the path of the believers, We will turn him to what he turned to and burn him in Jahannam, and an evil destination.”

Imam Malik (d. 179 AH) was asked about what the people of Madinah allowed of singing, so he said: it is only done by sinners among us. He forbade singing and listening to it.

As for Abu Hanifah (d. 150 AH), he disliked singing and counted it among sins. This is also the madhhab of the people of Kufah, Sufyan, Hammad, Ibrahim, and Al Sha‘bi (d. 103 AH), with no difference between them. You do not know any difference among the people of Basrah in disliking that and preventing it.

As for al Shafi’i (d. 204 AH), he said in the Book of Adab al Qada: singing is amusement, disliked, and resembles falsehood and nonsense.

As for listening to a woman who is not a mahram, then the companions of al Shafii agreed that it is not allowed in any case, whether she is uncovered or behind a covering, whether she is free or a slave.

Al Shafi’i said: the owner of a slave girl who gathers people to listen to her is foolish, and his testimony is rejected, and he spoke strongly about it. He said: it is a matter of religion. Whoever does that is sinful.

Al Shafi’i used to dislike tapping with a stick and he said: the heretics brought it to distract Muslims from the Quran. As for the lute, tanbur, and all amusements, then they are forbidden, and the one who listens is a sinful person.

He said: whoever leaves the group dies the death of ignorance. This group opposes the group of Muslims, because they made singing religion and obedience, and they saw making it open in the masjids and the great masjids, and it used to.

al-Fiqh ‘aid al-madhahib al-arba’a by al-Jaziri (2/306-314)