Music in Islam Examined

by Saleem Smith

Is music forbidden in Islam? This article will consider this question.

It is often said that music is prohibited in Islam. Upon hearing this statement most people doubt that such an absurd claim could possibly be true.

If the religion of Islam actually does forbid music, even the majority of devout Muslims would probably find this to be very strange and a cause for concern. Why in the world would a religion prohibit Music? Do any other minor or major religions prohibit music? What did Muhammad have to say about this matter? This article will also consider the many benefits of music.

Let’s examine what the Islamic texts and traditions have to say about this subject. The first two hadith that we will be considering have been selected from what are believed by Muslims to be the canonical texts of Islam. Hence, Muslims must believe them to be the authentic utterances of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and should therefore be obeyed.

Hadith: Sahih Bukhari: Volume 7, Book 69, Number 494v: 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 will stay 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 them during 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.”

Hadith: Sunan Abu-Dawud: Book 41, Number 4909: Narrated Abdullah ibn Mas’ud: Salam ibn Miskin, quoting an old man who witnessed AbuWa’il in a wedding feast, said: They began to play, amuse and sing. He united the support of his hand round his knees that were drawn up, and said: I heard Abdullah (ibn Mas’ud) say: I heard the apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) say: Singing produces hypocrisy in the heart.

Hadith Qudsi 19:5: “The Prophet said that Allah commanded him to destroy all the musical instruments, idols, crosses and all the trappings of ignorance.”

Muhammad also said:
(1) “Allah Mighty and Majestic sent me as a guidance and mercy to believers and commanded me to do away with musical instruments, flutes, strings, crucifixes, and the affair of the pre-Islamic period of ignorance.”
(2) “On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will pour molten lead into the ears of whoever sits listening to a songstress.”
(3) “Song makes hypocrisy grow in the heart as water does herbage.”
(4) “This community will experience the swallowing up of some people by the earth, metamorphosis of some into animals, and being rained upon with stones.” Someone asked, “When will this be, O Messenger of Allah?” and he said, “Whe songstresses and musical instruments appear and wine is held to be lawful.”
(5) “There will be peoples of my Community who will hold fornication, silk, wine, and musical instruments to be lawful ….” —‘Umdat al-Salik r40.0

What puritanical nonsense! If a person were to dig deep enough into the dung heap of Muhammad’s wacky utterances and bizarre behaviour nearly everything could be banned! (except of course warfare, and the all those nauseating and useless Islamic rituals that are part and parcel of the cult of Mohammedanism). The above passages are indeed bizarre and quite an insight into the strange world of Islam. Keep folks in the dark, and keep them afraid, frustrated and obedient, that was the tune that Muhammad sang. The more ignorant and primitive the Muslim, the better Muhammad could readily use them for his own ends — as foot soldiers to acquire “booty of all types.” Not only was Muhammad a mass murdering brazen thief and a slave trading pedophile, he was also some kind of strange puritanical nut-case opposed even to music Why all the abnormal behaviour?! How sick was this guy?!

Muhammad preferred not to be asked difficult questions and often ended such inquiries abruptly. From the above hadiths and Islamic traditions we can see that Muhammad’s priority was to keep his followers focused solely on the details of his religion and then use them to kill and die for it when the time called for more booty. One of the reasons that Muslims are so obsessed with Islam and busy trying to promulgate it is because Muhammad has denied or restricted their abilty to enjoy so many of the healthy and common activities of life — such as music. This is plainly obvious when one studies the reality of how Islam plays out in the real world. When Muhammad was forced to address some of the challenging questions posed to him by his followers, his answers, or verdicts, were often patently ridiculous. Even folks who call themselves Muslims must get a real chuckle out of the some of the absurdity contained within Muhammad’s Islam.

Tragically, the condemnation of music in Muhammad’s Islam has many profoundly negative consequences. Muhammad was truly disturbed and his prohibition of music is just more proof of this. Pastimes such as music and many other social customs that are known to be good for human health are not to be partaken of or enjoyed by Muslims. Many ex-Muslims, such as myself, leave Islam upon learning the truth about this man Muhammad and his incredulous religion. We see Muhammad not as an honest man telling the truth but a deranged warlord and criminal gang leader. The fact that he claimed to be the messenger of God, delivering the one and only perfect religion is just that, a claim. One only needs to look at how Muhammad lived his life and the error-ridden and inhumane documents that he left behind to understand that he was merely a very sick liar and a fraud. Any honest person can plainly see that the founder of Islam, Muhammad ibn Abdullah, was through and through crooked and crazy. A mad criminal who attempted to fool his followers with threats and promises.

In truth, to express one’s self openly and honestly is fundamental to the human experience. For centuries music has been a healthy outlet for such expression. In fact music has played a very beneficial role in human development and the civilizing of mankind. With every passing year scientists are discovering more evidence that music enhances intelligence and that it has many positive effects on human health. It is a fact that humanity in general has derived many benefits from music throughout the ages. Throughout history music has been a rich and profound cultural element to nearly all of man’s diverse cultures and billions of individuals can attest to the fact that great enjoyment and rewards can found in both the creating and listening to music. In reality, due to Muhammad’s illness(es), basically he really only cared about himself and fulfilling his selfish desires, so all of this was lost on the pathetic little fool. As we can plainly see, if one is to submit to Muhammad’s Islam they must also submit their common sense and much of their basic self-honesty.

In conclusion, Muhammad’s ludicrous attitude towards music is very revealing. More obvious nonsense contained within his erroneous theology. No doubt some Muslims and Islamic apologists would be quick to point out that other passages from the Islamic texts and traditions make music Halal. Due to the fact that Islam is full of contradictions and inaccuracies this is no surprise. This proves that Muhammad was not the perfect man and that his Islam is over-flowing with utter nonsense and lies. From the above texts we see that music is actually Haram in Islam. Nonsense such as this should awaken any Muslim of sound mind to the fact that Islam in totality is a ridiculous and harmful fraud, and that its creator was simply a clever con man and a very, very sick liar. Islam’s aversion to taboos regarding music are just more proof of this.

Saleem Smith is a Canadian Ex-Muslim. He has his own site in which he expresses his views on Islam and other issues. Here is a link to his site: http://www.considerationsofacanadianex-muslim.org

Source: http://www.faithfreedom.org/2009/08/21/music-in-islam-examined/

IHS