Does Pressing “Like” On Something Prohibited (Haram) Constitute Disbelief?


Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Question:
I have a Spotify account, and there is a section called “liked songs.” Every time you hit the “like” button on a song, it downloads it and goes into that section. I know the majority opinion is that music is haram, but my question is about the content of the music. Does me hitting “like” on the songs to download them imply my approval of the haram lyrics in the music? For example, if a song has blasphemous lyrics, vulgar language, etc.
Answer:
Walaikum assalam,

I hope you’re doing well, insha’Allah. While pressing “Like” on something prohibited does not constitute disbelief, it compounds the sin of engaging in the haram.

The Issue of Music

The majority opinion only permits singing—accompanied by duff or similar.

https://seekersguidance.org/answers/general-counsel/is-listening-to-music-haram/

The minority opinion would only permit music with instruments if (1) the lyrics are permissible; (2) the values are permissible; (3) the context of performance is permissible; and (4) it doesn’t lead one to other impermissible matters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVq-MRoBOdw

Caution and the Health of Your Heart

The Beloved Messenger of Allah (peace & blessings be upon him & his folk) called us to choose the way of caution, to strive to keep one’s distance from things that can lead to the prohibited—and emphasized that engaging in the dubious and the unlawful affects one’s faith and the health of one’s heart.

Abu Abd Allah, al-Nu’man ibn Bashir (Allah be pleased with him) relates that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say:

“Indeed, the lawful is clear, and the unlawful is clear. Between the are unclear matters that most don’t know about. So whoever avoids the unclear has safeguarded their religion and honor.
“And whoever falls into the unclear falls into the unlawful. This is like a shepherd who grazes their flock around a sanctuary, such that is it feared that this folk will end up trespassing. Truly, every king has a sanctuary, and Allah’s sanctuary is His prohibitions.

“Truly, in the body is a morsel of flesh that, if sound, the entire body is sound; and if corrupted, the entire body is corrupted. Truly, it is the heart.” [Related by Bukhari and Muslim]

And Allah is the giver of success and facilitation.

[Shaykh] Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Faraz Rabbani spent ten years studying with some of the leading scholars of recent times, first in Damascus and then in Amman, Jordan. His teachers include the foremost theologian of recent times in Damascus, the late Shaykh Adib al-Kallas (may Allah have mercy on him), as well as his student Shaykh Hassan al-Hindi, one of the leading Hanafi fuqaha of the present age. He returned to Canada in 2007, where he founded SeekersGuidance in order to meet the urgent need to spread Islamic knowledge–both online and on the ground–in a reliable, relevant, inspiring, and accessible manner. He is the author of Absolute Essentials of Islam: Faith, Prayer, and the Path of Salvation According to the Hanafi School (White Thread Press, 2004.) Since 2011, Shaykh Faraz has been named one of the 500 most influential Muslims by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center