MUSIC! IN THE LIGHT OF ISLAM

MUSIC! IN THE LIGHT OF ISLAM

Why is music not allowed in Islam? People told me it is a sound of the devil, but seriously I never find there any diabolic thing. People told me it is not allowed because it makes you forget God. But why, do we remember God in every second of our life? If it were like that, existence would be perfect. But it isn’t. And frankly music makes me remember the glory of God more than a lot of other things. And many composers as well were inspired by the love for Him and as a result gave us wonderful masterpieces. Why we shouldn’t listen to them?

Islam is not just about making something haram (prohibited) and the other halal(allowed). Islam addresses every issue before categorizing it as this or that. Take music for instance, Music lexically means art of combining sounds of voice or instruments to achieve beauty of form and expression of emotion. So we can say that music is a pleasant sound, regardless of where it comes from. It’s one of the purest and most beautiful things in the universe. Thus, whenever we hear a pleasant sound that makes one fascinated, we simply feel we should praise Almighty Allah, Who sets the tone and rhythm of every sound in the universe.

Thus, music constitutes an important part of our daily life. Music is there in our day-to-day life: the pleasant sound of birds, the melodious mew of cats, the unique coo of doves, etc. All these are forms of music. No one can deny this. This is even reflected in our daily activities and habits: crying, laughing, yelling and so on.

 Then, when it comes to conceptualizing music from an Islamic perspective, Muslim scholars make it clear that love for singing and melodic voices are part of man’s instincts. This reminds me the words of Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, who says: “We can observe an infant lying in his cradle, soothed and sleeping by the sound of a lullaby. Mothers and nannies are always in the habit of singing for babies and children. Moreover, birds and animals respond to nice voices and rhythmic melodies. Thereupon, if singing is thus a human instinct, it is not for Islam to defy humankind’s instincts. Islam came to refine and promote the human instinct.”



So, in the light of this, we come to know that Islam has no objection to music and singing, as a form of art. This is as long as one abides by the noble principles of Islam. As we know that art is a form of expression and communication. It covers religious, intellectual, and cultural aspects of each society. Thus, Islam does not go against art, as long as it conforms to Islamic guidelines. This is whether it is expressed in literature, architecture, drawings, photography or film.

For some scholars (i) Music is a useless activity which in fact, is a state of passiveness (ii) The benefits and pleasure taken from music involves a meaning of deep slavery in passion but for me, I don’t see any argument among scholars on the permissibility of music in Islam. The same applies to other forms of art. This is because the argument of those who oppose music is that it’s a form of laghw (idle talk). Meaning that it normally distracts believers from observing religious duties, and it corrupts the mind. So what they are saying is that a Muslim should not lend his ears to what will distract him from observing his religious duties and should not listen to what will corrupt his mind or distort his heart. This is exactly the same condition stipulated by scholars, who maintain that music is permissible. They never say that a Muslim should indulge himself or herself to any form of entertainment, which would take him as far as neglecting his religious duties.


See, this is a clear-cut evidence that Islam does not consider music as something haram. It just stipulates for music to keep its permissibility, it should not involve anything haram, it should not be taken as a means of committing unlawful things. Music should not be used as a form of stirring desires in man. This will definitely open the door for Satan, and this is what Islam goes against. So music can be lawfully or maliciously used.

Thus, what I want to make clear is that music can be corrupted just as what people do to fresh air and water. But this corruption does not make all music haram (prohibited). Just as the pollution people cause to some water or fresh air, it does not make all the water and air haram.

That’s something good, and that’s the purpose music and songs tend to serve. To refresh the mind and relax the soul, hence giving praise to the Great Lord that shows us signs of His Perfection in everything He creates!