Limitations Of Music

Phoyage

Junior Member
Limitations Of Music / Nasheeds

Haraam issues in modern anaasheed and the conditions of nasheed being permissible
Are the modern nasheeds permissible ‘video clips’? Is it not similar to the normal songs of ‘kuffar’? Are these video clips permissible although it includes women wearing makeup and showing their faces and hands, many sound effects and men without beards. Is it permissible for all this to be displayed? Please answer in details. May Allah reward you!.

Praise be to Allaah.

Firstly:

Nasheeds have changed from what they were at first.

Unfortunately nasheeds and munshids (nasheed-“singers”) have sunk to this level. Whereas nasheeds used to have meanings of faith, jihad and knowledge, they have now – in many cases – become akin to the songs of evildoers, with softening of the voice, putting a picture of the munshid on the cover of the tape, and making video clips to accompany the nasheed, which contain haraam things such as the presence of women or evildoers, and using musical instruments. The best of them nowadays are those that use sound effects that mimic the sound of musical instruments. No attention is paid to the meaning, rather all the attention is focused on the tune and other sound effects. Otherwise tell me how a munshid can produce a nasheed in English which the [Arab] listeners enjoy listening to so much even though they do not understand a single word of it?!

Nasheeds have overtaken other kinds of educational and beneficial audio material and nasheed groups have proliferated in the Muslim world. These groups do not hesitate to publish pictures of their groups in newspapers and magazines wearing identical clothing, and their faces often proclaim their going against the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), as they have shaved their beards. Some Qur’aan readers whom Allaah has blessed with beautiful voices and talent in reading that makes one weep have followed in their footsteps. Some of them became very keen to go down that path and released some recordings which do not befit their status. So you may find one of them producing a recording with some clean-shaven evildoers and pictures of women appearing in the video clip with the nasheed. The camera zooms in on the face of the munshid when he is looking his best and he stares soulfully into the camera and behaves like a pop singer.

We are not exaggerating, and we are not talking about things that do not happen. These munshids who publish their pictures and mobile phone numbers know that women are tempted by them, and they know what effect their movements and looks and images have on that weak section of mankind. Unfortunately we only see them producing more of these nasheeds with images.

Hence some of the prominent Shaykhs who permitted nasheeds at first were upset by what nasheeds and munshids have become – and this was before they found out about the video clips – so they retracted the view that it is permissible or they stipulated conditions for it to be said to be permissible. Among these prominent Shaykhs are: Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him).

1. He said (may Allaah have mercy on him):

I think that Islamic nasheeds have changed from what they were before. They were done with voices that were not enchanting, but now they are done with enchanting voices, and they are also accompanied by evil and corrupting tunes and they say that they are accompanied by the duff, but all of this means that one should keep away from these nasheeds. But if a man comes to us and sings anaasheed that have a sound meaning, and which do not include any nonsense, and uses his voice only with no musical instruments, there is nothing wrong with that. Hassaan ibn Thaabit used to recite poetry in the mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

Duroos wa Fataawa al-Haram al-Madani, 1416 AH, question no. 18.

2. He also said (may Allaah have mercy on him):

There has been a lot of talk about Islamic nasheeds. I have not listened to them for a long time. When they first appeared there was nothing wrong with them. There were no duffs, and they were performed in a manner that did not involve any fitnah, and they were not performed with the tunes of haraam songs. But then they changed and we began to hear a rhythm that may have been a duff or it may have been something other than a duff, and they began to choose performers with beautiful and enchanting voices, then they changed further and began to be performed in the manner of haraam songs. Hence we began to feel uneasy about them, and unable to issue fatwas stating that they were permissible in all cases, or that they were forbidden in all cases. If they are free of the things that I have referred to then they are permissible, but if they are accompanied by the duff or performers are chosen who have beautiful and enchanting voices, or they are performed in the manner of indecent songs, then it is not permissible to listen to them.

Al-Sahwah al-Islamiyyah (p. 185).

3. Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

As for that which is called Islamic nasheeds, they have been given more time and effort than they deserve, to such an extent that they have become an art form which takes up space in school curricula and school activities, and the recording companies record huge numbers of them to sell and distribute, and most houses are full of them, and many young men and women listen to them, and it takes up a lot of their time, and they are listened to more than recordings of Qur’aan, Sunnah, lectures and useful lessons.

Al-Bayaan li Akhta’ Ba’d al-Kuttaab (p. 342).

4. Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

I remember full well that when I was in Damascus, two years before I migrated here to ‘Ammaan, some of the Muslim youth started to sing some anaasheed that had sound meanings, intending thereby to counteract the Sufi songs like the Busayri poems and others, and they recorded that on tapes, but soon it was accompanied by beating the duff! At first they used it in wedding parties, on the basis that the duff is permissible in such parties, then the tapes became widespread and copies were made of them, and they started to be used in many homes, and they started to listen to them day and night, whether there was an occasion or not. That became their way of relaxing. But that is due only to their whims and desires and their ignorance of the shaytaan’s tricks, so he diverted them from paying attention to the Qur’aan and listening to it, let alone studying it, and it became forsaken by them, as it says in the verse (interpretation of the meaning): “And the Messenger (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) will say: ‘O my Lord! Verily, my people deserted this Qur’aan (neither listened to it nor acted on its laws and teachings)’” [al-Furqaan 25:30].

Tahreem Aalaat al-Tarb (p. 181, 182).

It is regrettable that some of those who appoint themselves to issue fatwas have reached such a level that they issues fatwas to adult women allowing them to perform nasheed in front of men, and even on satellite channels in front of millions, and these female performers use musical instruments which are forbidden in sharee’ah, but are permitted by this so-called mufti.

Secondly:

The guidelines and conditions of permissible nasheeds:

By studying the words of the scholars and trustworthy Shaykhs we may compile a list of guidelines and shar’i conditions which must be fulfilled for the nasheed to be permissible. That includes:

1. The words of the nasheed must be free of haraam and foolish words.

2. The nasheed should not be accompanied by musical instruments. No musical instrument is permitted except the duff for women on certain occasions. See the answer to question no. 20406.

3. It should be free of sound effects that imitate musical instruments, because what counts is what appears to be the case, and imitating haraam instruments is not permissible, especially when the bad effect is the same as that which happens with real instruments.

4. Listening to nasheed should not become a habit which takes up a person’s time and affects his duties and mustahabb actions, such as affecting his reading of Qur’aan and calling others to Allaah.

5. The performer of a nasheed should not be a woman performing in front of men, or a man with an enchanting appearance or voice performing in front of women.

6. One should avoid listening to performers with soft voices who move their bodies in rhythm, because there is fitnah in all of that and it is an imitation of the evildoers.

7. One should avoid the images that are put on the covers of their tapes, and more important than that, one should avoid the video clips that accompany their nasheeds, especially those which contain provocative movements and imitations of immoral singers.

8. The purpose of the nasheed should be the words, not the tune.

There follow some of the comments of the scholars which include the guidelines and conditions mentioned above.

1. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

To sum up, what is well known in the Islamic religion is that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not prescribe for the righteous, devoted worshippers and ascetics of his ummah to gather to listen to poetic verses recited to the accompaniment of clapping or the beating of a duff. It is not permissible for anyone to deviate from following him and following that which he brought of the Book and wisdom, whether that has to do with inward or outward matters, either for an ordinary man or a member of the elite. But the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) granted concessions allowing some kinds of entertainment in weddings and the like, and he allowed women to beat the duff during weddings and other celebrations.

As for the men of his era, not one of them used to beat the duff or clap, rather it is proven in al-Saheeh that he said: “Clapping is for women, and tasbeeh is for men” and he cursed the women who imitate men and the men who imitate women.

Because singing, beating the duff and clapping are things that women do, the salaf used to call a man who did those things effeminate, and they called men who sang effeminate, and this is well known among their sayings. End quote.

Majmoo’ al-Fataawa (11/565, 566).

2. Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

Islamic anasheed vary. If they are sound and contain nothing but calling people to what is good, and reminding them of what is good, and obedience to Allaah and His Messenger, and calling people to defend their homelands against the plots of the enemy, and preparing to face the enemy and so on, there is nothing wrong with that. But if they are something other than that, and they promote sin and and are performed before mixed audiences of men and women, or audiences in which women are uncovered in the presence of men, or any other evil action, then it is not permissible to listen to them. End quote.

Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz (3/437).

3. He also said (may Allaah have mercy on him):

Islamic nasheeds are like poetry: if it is sound then it is sound and if there is anything objectionable in it then it is objectionable.

The conclusion is that you cannot pass one judgement on all types of nasheed, rather each should be examined on its own merits. There is nothing wrong with sound nasheeds, but nasheeds which contain anything objectionable or promote anything objectionable are objectionable and evil. End quote.

Shareet As’ilah wa Ajwabah al-Jaami’ al-Kabeer (no. 90/A).

4. The scholars of the Standing Committee for Issuing Fatwas said:

It is permissible for you to replace these songs with Islamic nasheeds which contain words of wisdom and exhortation and lessons, which promote keenness to follow Islam and invoke Islamic feelings, which put one off evil and the things that promote it, and which motivate the one who “sings” them and the one who hears them to obey Allaah and discourage them to disobey Him or transgress His limits; they make one keen to protect His sharee’ah and strive in jihad for His sake. But you should not take that as a habit which one persists in, rather that should be something that is done only sometimes, on special occasions such as weddings or when travelling for jihad and so on, and when one feels low, in order to revive the spirit and motivate oneself to do good, or when one feels inclined towards evil, so listening to such nasheeds may ward that off. End quote.

Fataawa Islamiyyah (4/533); we have quoted the fatwa in full in the answer to question no. 47996 and 67925.

5. Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

There may be another sin involved in that [i.e., nasheeds], which is that they may be performed in the manner of immoral songs and performed according to the rules of eastern or western music which makes the listeners enjoy it and makes them dance and behave in a foolish manner. So the aim becomes the tune and the enjoyment thereof, and not nasheed per se. This is a new error, and it is an imitation of the kuffaar and immoral people. That may lead to a further error, which is imitating them in turning away from the Qur’aan and forsaking it, and being included in the general meaning of the complaint of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “And the Messenger (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) will say: ‘O my Lord! Verily, my people deserted this Qur’aan (neither listened to it nor acted on its laws and teachings)’” [al-Furqaan 25:30]. End quote from Tahreem Alaat al-Tarb (p. 181).

6. He also said:

If these anaasheed contain Islamic meanings and are not accompanied by any instruments such as the daff, tablah drum and so on, then there is nothing wrong with them, but we must point out an important condition of their being permissible, which is that they should be free of anything that goes against sharee’ah, such as exaggeration and the like. Then there is another condition, which is that they should not become a habit, because that distracts the listeners from reading Qur’aan which is encouraged in the Sunnah, and it also distracts them from seeking beneficial knowledge and calling people to Allaah. End quote.

Majallat al-Asaalah (issue no. 2, 15 Jumaada al-Aakhirah 1413 AH).

7. In the answer to question no. 11563 we mentioned a number of guidelines, which we will mention again here, because they are useful:

Not using forbidden musical instruments in nasheed.

Not doing it too much or making it the focus of the Muslim’s mind, occupying all his time, or neglecting obligatory duties because of it.

Nasheed should not be recited by women, or include haraam or obscene speech.

They should not resemble the tunes of the people of immorality and promiscuity.

They should be free of vocal effects that produce sounds like those of musical instruments.

They should not have moving tunes which make the listener feel “high” as happens to those who listen to songs. This is the case with many of the nasheeds which appear nowadays, so that the listeners no longer pay any attention to the good meaning of the words, because they are so entranced by the tunes.

We have too high an opinion of our brothers who perform nasheeds and recite Qur’aan to think that they could be a cause of fitnah for young men and women, and a cause of their being distracted from obedience to Allaah. They know how great an effect their voices and pictures may have on males and females; if you go to chat rooms you will see very weird things. You will see a woman who is infatuated with a munshid or one who cannot sleep unless she is listening to the voice of So and so, and those who call themselves ‘aashiqat fulaan (lover of So and so – a munshid) and you see men and women venerating those munshids, giving them titles and high status, even though some of them are not religiously committed at all, and some of them have fallen into the trap of singing immoral songs, and if you go to some websites that have these nasheeds, you will be surprised at how often these nasheeds are downloaded and how many people have no interest in listening to Qur’aan and useful lectures.

We ask Allaah to set the affairs of all of us straight.

And Allaah knows best.
Islam Q&A
 

Salem9022

Junior Member
akhi You posted so many threads about Music now in the past day and a half, we gave you the answer. No Need to force the Issue, when the Matter is already made clear.

And Yusuf Qaradawi is not a source that we Muslims take because this Individual himself have many grave mistakes.

Try www.islamqa.com for your answers
 

samiha

---------
Staff member
Assalamu alaykum, you're article wasnt correct, so I replaced it with a better and more beneficial article insha'Allah tala! :)

You see on the issue of Music people have become so adamant, so angry, so determined to prove it Halaal. WHY? Has it become such a thing in you that THOUGH you say you dont love it, you defend it from all those who say it's not allowed! This includes scholars throughout the ages, who were much much more knowledgable than both you and I. So what then is it but love? A love blind to scholars and evidence so that one seeks any outlet for the permissability of Music.

So that who cares if the opinion is only supported by one person, a person whom others have said have mistakes; as long as it allows music the heart is content.

This I find such a low fleeting pleasure, how long will Music last? It will never defend you on the Day of Judgement when you stand before your Lord. It wont be there to say that you gained ajr from it. And something with no benefit you want by your side?

You want to waste your time on it?

You know, you may say "There's nothing wrong - it reminds you of Allah!" - Do the Christians not say the same thing? Having their churchs now just full of Music? We Muslims arent like that, we Muslims have a purpose in life we must fulfill, and if one wants to waste pointless time listening to Music and living a happy - go - lucky life all the time - then by ALL Means, just do not post these kinds of articles again.

May Allah put the Fear of Him in our hearts, May He guide us and ALL our affairs.

wasalam
 

aishajor

Junior Member
it does my head in when people try and false there views on people.....

everyone know music is haram we dont need it rubbed into our faces...

its between that person and allah if he choose to listen to music..

allah knows best
 

Phoyage

Junior Member
Assalamu alaykum, you're article wasnt correct, so I replaced it with a better and more beneficial article insha'Allah tala! :)

You see on the issue of Music people have become so adamant, so angry, so determined to prove it Halaal. WHY? Has it become such a thing in you that THOUGH you say you dont love it, you defend it from all those who say it's not allowed! This includes scholars throughout the ages, who were much much more knowledgable than both you and I. So what then is it but love? A love blind to scholars and evidence so that one seeks any outlet for the permissability of Music.

So that who cares if the opinion is only supported by one person, a person whom others have said have mistakes; as long as it allows music the heart is content.

This I find such a low fleeting pleasure, how long will Music last? It will never defend you on the Day of Judgement when you stand before your Lord. It wont be there to say that you gained ajr from it. And something with no benefit you want by your side?

You want to waste your time on it?

You know, you may say "There's nothing wrong - it reminds you of Allah!" - Do the Christians not say the same thing? Having their churchs now just full of Music? We Muslims arent like that, we Muslims have a purpose in life we must fulfill, and if one wants to waste pointless time listening to Music and living a happy - go - lucky life all the time - then by ALL Means, just do not post these kinds of articles again.

May Allah put the Fear of Him in our hearts, May He guide us and ALL our affairs.

wasalam

:salam2:
It is not that sister...
I know what you mean by if you listen to it all day it will become bad and neglect you from Salah and Quran and Islam.
It is just that too much time I have heard in my life this is haram.
Chess is haram they say.
Taking pictures is haram...
Lots of people saying this is making me angry.
So i just wanted to defend my position.
Second thing sister it is just like any other past time.
Like soccer/football ( I prefer soccer )
if you take it too far it will become bad.
But like if you watch one game a week or something it will be healthy.
Same thing with music.
If you let it take over your life then your lost.
But if you control it and balance the 2 , insha-Allah everything will be healthy.
 

samiha

---------
Staff member
wa alaykum salaaam

I had to come to say that - it's a very incorrect analogy, because in regards to soccer, Islam promotes good health and well being, and exercising is part of that, and there is no text forbidding soccer and no scholar has said anything wrong against sports. Contrary to that, there is text against Music, and scholars (great ones) have warned against it. If you choose to ignore what they say, and just take a wrong opinion supported by what has mistakes.... then there is something wrong. I'm not one for majority rules, but when the majority are well known and knowledgable scholars, when the majority has evidence... then why in the world would we take a minority which has no good evidence and a faulty scholar?

And it's not just listen to it all day. Every heard the expression "It got stuck in my head!" - I have and I've experienced it as well. You get an infuriating tune stuck in your head and it plays over and over and over all day long, no matter what you did, even though you only listened for a while. You're in Salaah, all of a sudden you have flashback to that time, and then there goes that tune again!

Just because you say you dont listen to it all day, does not mean it's effects arent lasting.

In any case, of many people who listen to Music, I can find that they treat the Qur'aan the same as their Music. They say that its fine we're listening to Music because we listen to Qur'aan too. ... in fact it's not fine! Qur'aan should be higher, you should memorize more, you should love it so much that it becomes your companion.

A knowledgable speaker uncle once told my father something I believe in, "Music and Qur'aan cannot stay in the same heart"

If your heart inclines to Music, it wont incline the way it should to Qur'aan. It's like an intoxication. Akhi, let me ask you what the difference between having Music and not having Music is? .... come tell me .... why do these singers add Music if there's no difference?

Because Music evokes the senses, it makes you feel things that you may not feel at that time. It can be like an intoxication. You feel bad, you feel sad, you put on some good Music and suddenly you're happy - what caused this, the Music! And people dont realize that they are losing themselves to this, that you no longer at that time had control over your own senses, but put it in the hands of Music.

Akhi, the principle is that everything is halaal until proved haraam. So even if these things are haraam, can you not look towards the wide world Allah has made for you and find some halaal things? Are we so restricted that we cannot sacrifice such leisure time pleasures?

Islam means submission for a reason. It's not always easy, and nobody should claim it will be, as it says in surah yusuf :

".... Verily, the (human) self is inclined to evil, except when my Lord bestows His Mercy (upon whom He wills). Verily, my Lord is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (12:53)


Our nafs doesnt leave us alone, it wants us to do bad, but we've got to fight against it with all our wills, because whatever we leave for the Sake of Allah, He will replace it with better, either in this life or the hereafter.

Make dua for the correct guidance and for Allah to make it easy to leave what is not good, and always evaluate yourself. I love the following so I also hope you'll stop to read it also:

A delayed response to dua

While talking to himself Ibn Al-Jawzi was blaming his soul in a gentle way. He said: I found myself in trouble, and so I made Du'aa consistently, all the while requesting relief and comfort. The response to my Du'aa seemed to be delayed, and so my soul became disturbed and worried.

However, I rebuked it saying, "Woe unto you; look attentively at yourself, are you the one possessed or are you the possessor? Are you the one that is controlled or are you the controller? Are you not aware that this world is the abode of tests for you? If you desire that your goals be fulfilled and become impatient when they are not, then, where is your test? Is it not the ultimate test when you get the opposite of whatever you desired?

"So, (dear restless soul) try to understand the meaning of the word 'Abd, and whatever is dear to you will become worthless, and whatever is difficult will become easy." After it deliberated over what I said, it became a little appeased.

I informed it that I had a second argument for it, and so I said, "Allah (SWT) is a necessary requirement in order for any of your aims to be fulfilled; yet you do not exhort yourself to work for His (SWT) pleasure. This is ignorance, as the matter should have been opposite to what you desire, primarily because you are the one possessed. (You should note) that the mindful 'Abd should make sure that he fulfills the rights due to the Master, and that it is not necessary that He (SWT) gives to Al-'Abd whatever he desires or loves."

It made it quieter yet I then mentioned that I had a third argument for it, and so I said, "You are under the impression that the response to your Du'aa has been slow; yet you were responsible for this because you closed the door of response (to your Du'aa) because of your constant sinning. If, however, you open the door [by developing Taqwa for Allah (SWT)], then the response (to your Du'aa) would arrive quicker, because having Taqwa for Allah (SWT) is the cause of all comfort." Allah (SWT) said:

"...And whoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him (Taqwa), He will make a way for him, to get out (from every difficulty), and will provide for him from sources that he never could imagine…" [At-Talaaq:2-3]

Therefore, understand that if you do not develop this Taqwa for Him (subhana wa ta'ala), the result will be different from what you expect. Woe is me from the drunkenness of mindlessness which became stronger than any other drunkenness in confronting the soul's aims to prevent them from reaching its hopes. It (the soul) knew that this was the truth, and so it became more tranquil still.

I said to it, "I have a fourth argument for you, and it is that you seek a particular answer (to your Du'aa); yet you are not aware of the consequences that would result (if you were granted what you desire) because what you seek might be to your detriment. In this state you are like a feverish child asking for candy.

"(O soul) be conscious that your Master is more aware about your well-being than you are." As He (SWT) said: "... And maybe you will dislike something that is good for You…" [Al- Baqarah:2161

When this became clear to the soul, it became more tranquil still. I then said to it, "I have a fifth argument for you, and it is that your demands would lessen your rewards and would reduce your status (with Allah). However, if you would request that which is good for your eternal abode (Al-Aakhirah), it would be better for you. (O soul) it is crucial that you understand what I have explained."


wasalam
 

Salem9022

Junior Member
Because Music evokes the senses, it makes you feel things that you may not feel at that time. It can be like an intoxication. You feel bad, you feel sad, you put on some good Music and suddenly you're happy - what caused this, the Music! And people dont realize that they are losing themselves to this, that you no longer at that time had control over your own senses, but put it in the hands of Music.

I Agree with what sister samiha said. Music in it self is an Intoxicant, It's like a Drug. It's the same as Taking Marijuana, or Meth Because what it does it lessens the sensitivity of the Person.

Music also has the Power to desensitize a whole society Matter of Fact and it is a Powerful in controling peoples emotions and delays the reaction of their Thinking. It also makes people unaware of their surroundings. Music is a Powerful Stimulant that effects the Brain.

Imagine going to the club where they are drinking and dancing, Imagine you walk in and there is no Music being played or anything but people are only dancing and drinking, can you Imagine thinking that? No without Music people can not become indifferent to their surroundings and they need Music in order to give the feeling inside of them of a Non-Reactional Mood.

Also they tell you on TV that If you swith to such and such Radio station where they are playing music it will make the work day go faster. What they are realling telling you is that the effect of Music will make you feel as if you are in a floating station and the Person will become Un-Aware of their surroundings the same effect which Meth and Marijuana has.

Music is also a Powerful tool in the Army, Music has the power to delay the thinking of the Person. That is why A Long Time Ago there were Marching Bands and People who Played Music with the fighting Army in order to Give them SuperNatural Strenght also so they won't be effected by their Surrounding. Even today the Army Uses Music inorder to Induce people into thinking like this especially in the Airforce. They Play Load Music in their Planes when they are Bombing people so they become Indifferent to what they are doing.

There are so many other examples I can give you of what Music does to you and the whole society. But insha'Allah you already got your answer from Sister Samiha and it is a sufficant answer.

And the last thing I want to add is a Verse from the Qur'an that Squashes all of this Non-Sence called "Islamic" Music:

Surah Luqman 31:6 And of mankind is he who purchases idle talks (i.e.music, singing, etc.) to mislead (men) from the Path of Allah without knowledge, and takes it (the Path of Allah, the Verses of the Quran) by way of mockery. For such there will be a humiliating torment (in the Hell-fire).

31: 7 And when Our Verses (of the Quran) are recited to such a one, he turns away in pride, as if he heard them not, as if there were deafness in his ear. So announce to him a painful torment.

As-Salaam 3laikum Wa Ra7matullahi Wa Barakatu
 
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