That the Prophet said to him’ "O Abu Musa! You have been given one of the musical wind-instruments of the family of David .’
Narrated Abu 'Amir or Abu Malik Al-Ash’ari
that 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 willstay 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 themduring 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.”
Does that mean that certain musical instruments are allowed?
In addition to the above saying ascribed to the Prophet about Abu Musa’ Al-Ash`aree there exist other sources which actually substantiate the above such as the Qur’an in Al-Anbiaa 21: 79
"And verily, We did favour some of the prophets over others, and to Dawood We gave the Psalms.
Ibn Kathir, in his explanation of Al-Anbiaa 21: 79 writes:
“… when he * used to sing the psalms…”
It is true that the psalms were revealed by God. However, it also true that Dawood (pbuh) * used to recite these psalms in the accompaniment of a flute like instrument called Mizmaar of some other instrument. This fact is not only evident from the psalms themselves but also through a number of other sources. For instance, at the beginning of the fourth psalm, the Bible clearly says
“For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David.” (New International Version)
and at the beginning of the fifth psalm it says:
“For the director of music. For flutes. A psalm of David.”
According to “Lisaan al-Arab”, [an Arabic dictionary] the psalms of David were called “Mazamir” because they were, usually sang with a flute. According to Al-Nihayah [an Arabic dictionary], “Mizmaar” and “Mazmoor” both refer to the same thing, i.e. the flute.
In view, of all the above facts, it would seem quite unreasonable to refute that Dawood (pbuh) did not use any musical instruments during his recitation, as some people may imply. After all, what exactly would be the basis of their refutation?
An interesting aspect of the words ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh) in this narrative is that the prohibitions mentioned include “Hirr” (i.e. a woman’s private parts) and “Hareer” (i.e. silk), besides liquor and musical instruments. We know that both “Hirr” and “Hareer” do not belong to the category of absolute prohibition in Islam. The prohibition of “Hirr” is in the case of fornication and the prohibition of “Hareer” is for men only. Similarly, it can safely be said that the music and the drinks that are referred to in this narrative belong to the particular category of music and drinks which are morally prohibited.
They shoot partypoopers, don’t they?
[This message has been edited by Mr Partypooper (edited January 29, 2001).]**
Islam is not against happiness and pleasure. Good, clean, wholesome, and healthy entertainment is not only allowed but also encouraged in Islam. Singing, chanting and reciting poetry are all-acceptable in Islam as long as the songs or poems have good meanings and they do not make people forget their religious and social obligations. There is nothing wrong in listening to songs, but one must be very careful in selecting the songs. Do not listen to songs that praise sinful deeds or excite people to commit sin or to indulge in immoral behavior. Do not listen to the songs that turn you away from the path of Allah. Do not get addicted to songs that you keep on listening to them day and night. Unfortunately there are a lot of songs now a day that lead to sin and shameful deeds and they are very addictive. It is for this reason many conscientious Muslims forbid listening to songs.
We cannot forbid all songs and poetry. Good songs and poetry have been in Islamic culture since the time of the Prophet -peace be upon him. The Prophet -peace be upon him- himself listened to good poetry and encouraged Hassan bin Thabit, who was known as “the Poet of the Prophet” to say the poetry in the praise of Allah and in the honor of His Religion and His Messenger. When a woman was married to an Ansari (a man of Madinah) the Prophet said to his wife 'Aishah, “Did they have any entertainment? The Ansar are fond of entertainment.” (Al-Bukhari) Ibn 'Abbas -may Allah be pleased with him- reported that when 'Aishah gave one of her female relatives in marriage to a man from the Ansar, the Prophet -peace be upon him- asked her, “Did you send a singer along with her?” “No”, said 'Aishah. The Prophet -peace be upon him-then said, “The Ansar are a people who love poetry. You should have sent along someone who would sing, ‘Here we come, to you we come, greet us as we greet you.’” (The Prophet even gave the words of a local song.) On the day of Eid, two girls came to the Prophet’s house and they along with his wife 'Aishah played hand drum and sang a song. When Abu Bakr -may Allah be pleased with him- wanted to stop them, the Prophet -peace be upon him- said, “Leave them, Abu Bakr. These are the days of Eid” (Bukhari and Muslim).
Concerning the music the opinions differ. There are some Muslim scholars who have the opinion that all music is haram in Islam. They say that the Qur’an has forbidden “laghw and lahw” (idle things and things that distract, see Al-Mu’minun 32:3; Luqman 31:6). They say that music is part of the laghw and lahw that Allah has forbidden. They also quote some Ahadith, which prohibit music, or claim that, the Prophet -peace be upon him- said that he came in order to destroy to instruments of music.
But there are some other scholars and jurists who do not agree that all music is necessarily laghw and lahw. They say that reading some books could be also idle and distracting thing, while some music is soothing and relaxing and it does not mislead the people from the path of Allah. Imam Ibn Hazm was of the opinion that all those Ahadith that say that music was forbidden and prohibited were fabricated (mawdu’) and unacceptable. Imam Shawkani in his famous Nail al-Awtar (vol. 8 pp. 260-271) has mentioned that some Sahabah, the Companions of the Prophet, used to listen to music. He even wrote a book with the title, “Ibtal Da’wa Al-Ijma’ ‘ala Tahrim Mutlaq al-Sama’” (The Refutation of the Alleged Claim of Consensus on the Absolute Prohibition of Music and Songs).
While it is not right to say that all music is prohibited in Islam, it is important to use great discretion in the case of music. A lot of music that is available in the markets now days are very dangerous and harmful. Muslim youth should be extremely careful. There are, however, some Muslim groups in different countries who are developing songs that are very good enjoyable, entertaining, and have good positive message.