is it true all music leads to zina or incites us to haram activities?
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Respected brother in Islam,
Nothing has been prohibited by Allah Ta’ala except that which is harmful to the welfare of a Muslim individual and the society as a whole. Shar’iah has considered music as prohibited. Consider the following narrations:
إن الله حرم علي، أو حرم الخمر، والميسر، والكوبة
Translation: Verily, Allah has prohibited liquor, gambling, and the musical drum.[1]
ان ربي حرم علي الخمر والكوبة والقنين يعني العود
Translation: Verily, my Lord forbade me from wine, the drum and the lute.[2]
The divine wisdom behind the prohibition of music can be understood by pondering upon the detrimental aspects of music.
Musical instruments have pernicious effects with regard to numbing of the nerves; it excites the outward passions of man which are regarded as a hedonistic and potentially addictive distraction that drives man away from his true purpose and makes him susceptible to the invitations of his base self (nafs) and shaytaan, and are thus prohibited.[3]
In a psychology experiment, it was found that listening to moderate type of music increased one`s normal heart beat, whilst listening to rock music the heart beat increased even further, yet people claim that music has no effect.[4] Experiments have confirmed that music does not only affect the brain, but each and every organ of one`s body. It is also proved that music affect`s one`s emotions, increases arousal and excitement and also leads to various physiological changes in the person.
Irrespective of the above researches, for us as Muslims, our source of guidance is Shari’ah. Rasulullah (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) expressly prohibited music in many Ahadith.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Fahad Abdul Wahab
Student Darul Iftaa
USA
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
[1] ابو داود، ج٣،ص٣٣١، المكتبة العصرية
[2] مصنف ابن أبي شيبة، دار قرطبة، ج١٢ ص٢٧٠
[3] قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: ليكونن من أمتي اقوام يستحلون الحر والحرير والخمر والمعازف (صحيح البخاري، فتح الباري، دار السلام، ج١٠ ص٦٥)
وقال: صوتان ملعونان فى الدنيا والآخرة: مزمار عند نعمة ورنة عند مصيبة (مسند البزار، قال الهيثمي: رواه البزار ورجاله ثقات، مجمع الزوائد، دار الفكر، ج٣ ص١٠٠)
وقال: بعثت بهدم المزمار والطبل (الفوائد لتمام الرازي، مكتبة الرشيد، ج١ ص٤٩، وتلبيس إبليس لابن الجوزي، دار القلم، ص٢٢٦، بسند حسن)
قال الإمام البغوي: واتفقوا على تحريم المزامير والملاهي والمعازف (شرح السنة، المكتب الإسلامي، ١٢:٣٨٣) فلا يعتد بقول من شذ من الصوفية والظاهرية
[4] http://www.inter-islam.org/Prohibitions/Mansy_music.htm