Harms of music

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:

Translation: Verily, Allah has prohibited liquor, gambling, and the musical drum.[1]

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

www.Daruliftaa.net