Are the Hadiths regarding Music Authentic or Not?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
I heard a scholar saying that all the hadiths about music being haram are not sahih, but there are scholars who say there are sahih hadiths about music being haram; my question is: how can I know if the hadiths are sahih or not? Is there any evidence?
I’m not asking if music is haram or not, but for evidence that the hadiths about music is sahih or not.
Answer
It is safe and closer to being mindful to follow the opinion of its prohibition. Otherwise, we live in an age of the internet; one can find any opinions to follow one’s whims. Through taqlid, following sound scholarship, we can stop religion from becoming a game and achieve closeness to Allah, His pleasure, and His Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace).
Below few are mentioned:
- Abu Malik al-Ash’ari (Allah be pleased with him) reports that he heard the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) say: “There will appear people in my Ummah, who will hold adultery, silk, alcohol and musical instruments to be lawful.” [Bukhari]
- Abu Malik al-Ash’ari (Allah be pleased with him) narrates a similar type of hadith but with a different wording. He reports that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: “Soon there will be people from my Ummah who will consume alcohol, they will change its name (by regarding it permissible. m), on their heads will be instruments of music and singing. Allah will make the ground swallow them up and turn them into monkeys and swine.” [Ibn Hibban, Ibn Majah, with a sound chain of narration)
- Imran ibn Husain (Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: “This Umma will experience the swallowing up of some people by the earth, the metamorphosis of some into animals, and being rained upon with stones.” A man from amongst the Muslims asked: “O Messenger of Allah! When will this be?” He said: “When female singers and musical instruments appear, alcohol will (commonly) be consumed.” [Recorded by Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah in their respective Sunan collections, and the wording here is of Sunan Tirmidhi]
- Abdullah ibn Mas’ud (Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: “Song makes hypocrisy grow in the heart as water does herbage.” [Bayhaqi, Al-Sunan]
Related
- On Music: Permissible and Impermissible – Birgivi’s Tariqa Muhammadiyya (youtube.com)
- music Archives – SeekersGuidance
- Is Listening to Music Haram? – SeekersGuidance
- Slippery Stone: An Inquiry into Islam’s Stance on Music (Khalid Baig) (islamicbookstore.com) (book)
SeekersAcademy (seekersguidance.org)
I pray this helps answer your question.
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received traditional education in various countries. He started his schooling in the UK and completed his hifz of the Quran in India. After that, he joined an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied secular and Aalimiyya sciences. Later, he traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to further his education. Mawlana has served as an Imam in the Republic of Ireland for several years and taught the Quran and other Islamic sciences to both children and adults. He also worked as a teacher and librarian at a local Islamic seminary in the UK for 12 years. Presently, he lives in the UK with his wife and is interested in books and gardening.
