Is all the music haram? [duplicate]

Question

Is today's music forbidden but is there any kind of halal music? and what are its conditions? Apart from hearing only instruments without anyone singing is haram? And if this is haram then watch the news, videos or anything else is haram? Because today everywhere (news, videos etc) there are instruments. Thanks for your answer.

Answer 1

Salamalaikum Ismael,

In order to understand how Islam/Quran/Allah addresses any matter is to understand first that Allah's direction to Humans is "Siraat Al-Mustaqeem" (The middle path) avoiding the two opposite extremes.

Now coming to getting involved in any activities where you are the content recipient such as:

• Watching Music Videos
• Watching Movie
• Watching News
• Watching Lectures
• listening Music
• listening Audio Books (Novel, Lectures etc.)
• Reading Books
• Reading Comics (graphics)

You need to make sure that the content it includes does not violate any principles set by Allah such as - men/women revealing body, immoral language etc. so that those practices do not influence in a way that you start following them.

And then Once the above is clear, we come to the principle which has mostly influenced Muslims to call Music/TV haram and this has to do with verse 31:6:

Verse Translation: "But there are, among men, those who purchase amusing tales, without knowledge (or meaning), to mislead (men) from the Path of Allah and throw ridicule (on the Path): for such there will be a Humiliating Penalty"

So if you are paying to receive any content which (even though you are unaware of that) then misleads people from the Quranic path or ridicule the path then it is a big sin.

This would also include forgetting salah and other mandatory practices when you are involved in that amusement.

So this would be one extreme where you are involved too much.

The other extreme is you boycotting any involvement in any amusement - all music, movie, TV etc. Which would again be wrong interpretation because music & dancing was allowed by Prophet himself on big occasions such as weddings and Eid etc.

So Entertainment has a place in Islam so dont boycott it completely and Entertainment has a limit too in Islam so dont overdo it.