Is

Music Prohibited or Permitted?

It was narrated that Naafi’ who said: Ibn ‘Umar heard a woodwind instrument, and he put
his fingers in his ears and kept away from that path. He said to me, O Naafi’, can you hear
anything? I said, no. So he took his fingers away from his ears and said: I was with the
Prophet (pbuh) and he heard something like this, and he did the same thing. (Saheeh Abi
Dawood).
Narrated Abu Amir or Abu Malik Al Ashari: He heard the Prophet saying, "From among my
followers there will be some people who will consider illegal sexual intercourse, the wearing of
silk, the drinking of alcoholic drinks and the use of musical instruments, as lawful. And there will
be some people who will stay near the side of a mountain and in the evening their shepherd will
come to them with their sheep and ask them for something, but they will say to him, 'Return to
us tomorrow.' Allah will destroy them during the night and will let the mountain fall on them, and
He will transform the rest of them into monkeys and pigs and they will remain so till the Day of
Resurrection."[Sahih Al-Bukhari Vol.7 Hadith No.5590]
The only musical instrument that is permissible for them is the daff, and not others such
as the tabl. The difference between them is that the tabl is covered on both sides
whereas the daff is open on one side and covered on the other.
Allah says: “[Allah said to Iblees:] and befool them gradually those whom you can
among them with your voice (i.e. songs, music, and any other call for Allah’s
disobedience)...” [Al-Israa’ 17:64]
Music usually intoxicates a person and takes one away from the path of Allah (swt). Music
engages a persons mind and takes him/her away from the remembrance of his/her Creator and
from realizing and focusing his/her attention on the purpose of his/her creation. In musical
songs, most of the times the listeners even appreciate illogical, incorrect and blasphemous
matter and content. A person will realize this when he starts pondering over the meaning of
many Hindi and English songs, lyrics and ghazals. Here we find that it is because of music that
the persons mind is intoxicated and the person deviates from the straight path. And Allah Knows
the Best.

Bint A.Shakoor