The religious ban on music is promoted by Muslim scholars in Saudi Arabia such as Shaykh Munajjid who runs an “Islam Question & Answer” website which declares that music – even ring tones on mobile phones – are totally forbidden according to Islam:
"It is not permissible to use musical tunes for telephones or any other devices, because listening to musical instruments is haram, as is indicated by the evidence of sharee’ah."
What is controversial for Islamic scholars is instrumental music, serious metered songs, pre-Islamic and non-Islamic music. Depending on the interpretation of the Hadith this ‘controversial’ music can be labelled halal (allowed), makruh (blameworthy) or else haram (forbidden).
The second split is between what is haram (forbidden) and what is halal (allowed), the latter on a sliding scale which includes makruh (blameworthy). In Islam, for example, divorce is ‘blameworthy’ but it is also halal, so certain form of music can fall within grades of halal. Women singing at religious feasts may be either makruh (blameworthy) but still halal, (allowed) or, in other cases, haram, (forbidden).
The question is where does heavy metal, rock, rap, hip-hop, jazz, rai, cha’abi (folk, popular) and pop fit into this pattern? Is a style problematic in itself or is it the contents of the lyrics? And what about highly commercialised and sexualised video clips?
The ultimate premise for a theologian is based upon the Qur’anic command, ‘Never forbid what God has allowed. Never allow what God has forbidden.’ It is an individual’s duty to adhere to the four grades of hisba (Al amr bi’l-ma’ruf wa’l-nahy ‘an al-munkar, ‘the commanding the good and the forbidding of evil’
to prevent fitna (strife), the breakdown of society. He cites the civil war in Algeria, strife in Palestine and the emergence of the Taliban as examples of Islamist movements which have legitimated their aggressions against opponents by claiming they protect society from fitna.
In Iraq a religious scholar even accepted the showing of a film showing young people being brutalised and killed for listening to music and dancing in a public park as legitimate warning to people committing fitna.
Otterbeck encouraged people to go to various sources for further knowledge on this debate: Islam Online and, for example, the home pages of Yusuf Al-Qaradawi and Muhammad Nasir Ad-Din Al-Albani.
Finally, Otterbeck noted that when we look at public actions taken, it is important not to focus entirely on religion.“The discourse in itself is seldom the only motive for action. Other motives might be economical, political, social, protectionist, moral panics, and so on,” he said.
Music – halal or haram?
“There is no ban on music in the Qur’an, and those talking about which music is haram and which music is halal have very weak evidence” Shaikh Ibrahim Ramadan Al-Mardini, from the Beirut Studies and Documentation Centre in Lebanon, told the conference.
He said that “a music culture is necessary for people to develop themselves,” adding that “any limitation on the arts is the opposite of what religion calls for.”
Al-Mardini said that “music doesn’t know male or female,” and that it is not for religious scholars to control people but to guide them. “The individual has to rule his or her own life through their own judgement,” he said, noting that Islamic scholars in the last century often had a very good knowledge of culture and art, and that “culture is something owned by everyone, and not something that a few persons should decide upon.”
The religious scholars interpret the rules and correct people when they go astray. Justifying some forms of music, Al-Mardini quoted the Prophet saying to one of his Companions, “You came with a very good ear.” The mufti (Shari’a judge) is entrusted with disclosing the judgements of God, basing his views on the Qur’an, the Hadith and the Sunna. Music is not banned in Islam; strong counter-evidence exists showing that it is allowed. In Islam reading was traditionally accompanied by music.
Shaikh Al-Mardini questions the sources invoked to ban music. For example, 80 Hadiths were used to prove it unlawful but of these seventy were dhaif (weak) or very weak.
There is no Qur’anic text banning music, he insisted.
In Islam the Sultan only intervenes when humans deviate from God’s judgement; the Sultan and the faqih (Islamic jurist) are symbiotic.
Censorship, Shaikh Al-Mardini noted critically, exists to preserve regimes.
“Censorship has turned into a totalitarian tool which is preserving the existence of regimes – we see this all over the world. Who can impose a just censorship without being biased?” the Shaikh asked.
Shaikh Al-Mardini said that he completely rejects censorship, arguing that it is not the mission of the faqih to condemn things; his job is merely to guide the faithful. A fatwa is no good unless it develops. It must not be static. The faqih has to be flexible. The faqih must be with the times and understand them.
Any constraints on arts is against religion, he said, and concluded that music is a universal discourse; it is the language of this discourse and anyone can express himself, whether he is right or wrong. Those who have said that Islam forbids music are completely false; the evidence is not correct, he said.
From the earliest history in all cultures we have seen people who wanted to ban music but societies have always co-existed with music.
Mentally in former centuries
Jonas Otterbeck wondered how the Shaikh looked upon so-called sensuous music or music using satanic symbols. “Lyrics can be provocative but it is not forbidden – they can be good or bad – but music in itself cannot be banned,” the Shaikh replied.
Concluding the session the Shaikh noted that fundamentalism does not have a region.
“We find this in all societies”, he said, “some religious scholars are living mentally in former centuries and are issuing fatwas according to former times. Fatwas have to be issued according to the changes of society.”
He referred to books indicating that there are issues where faqihs cannot intervene.
“Muslim youth are influenced by Sufi poets such as Rumi who wrote that the spirit of the believer is like the nay; when he is far from his country he is filled with nostalgia. Innovation is the basis of arts; if you ban innovation you stop art. Music is a universal discourse, without nationality, sex, identity or religion. It should be expressed freely whether it is right or wrong.”
Finally the Shaikh noted that music culture is necessary to develop culture. In former centuries the Shaikhs had a very good knowledge of arts, he said.
This article is based on information from
www.freemuse.org and from the publication ‘All that is Banned is Desired’ (which is a summary of the Conference on Freedom of Expression in Music in Beirut 2005) which can be downloaded in pdf-format from this website. (See link below)
Freemuse: The burning music question in Islam: prohibited or not?
