Music, classified as a branch of fine arts, is the
art of expressing feelings and thoughts in terms of sounds and movements
composed in polyphony, harmony and rhythm. It was said by ancient Prophets of Heavenly Religions that there is music in
Paradise, and so was it believed by the ancient Egyptians, Chinese and Greek
philosophers including Buddhists, and Brahmin kâfirs, who were the followers of
distorted forms of Heavenly Religions. The origin of the word “music” has
connections with the name Mousa given to the nine statues which were believed
to be the statues of the daughters of Zeus, the great idol of the ancient
Greeks. It is written in Durr al-munteqâ
that music is a grave sin according to all revealed religions. That afterwards
priests instilled music, which was prohibited by the Injîl, into the Christian
religion is written in detail in the fifth volume of Zarqânî’s (rahmatullâhi
ta’âlâ ’alaih) commentary to Mawâhib al-laduniyya.
Since a corrupted religion could not nourish their souls, they thought music had
a spiritual affect, whereas in fact it is just a pleasure for the nafs. Today’s
western music originated from church music. Music became a kind of worship in
all corrupt religions all over the world. With music, the nafses are pleased,
the voluptuous animal instincts are soothed, whilst the holy ’ibâdât which
nourish the soul and purify the heart are forgotten. It is written at the end
of the ninetieth and ninety-ninth letters of Makâtîb-i
sherîfa: “Do not listen to songs, to music very much. Music will kill
your heart and cause mischief.” And ninety-sixth letter says, “Listening to
poetry increasing love for Allahu ta’âlâ in the heart is permissible provided
that there should not be any musical instruments or sinners.” Music motivates a
man to lead an indolent life like that of alcoholics and drug addicts, and thus
causes the kâfirs to be deprived of endless bliss. To protect man against this
calamity and endless disaster, Islam has made distinctions between different
kinds of music and has prohibited the harmful ones.
In the last chapter of the book Qurrat al-’uyűn are quoted some of the hadîths
which describe the music in Paradise and the kind of music which is harâm for
both men and women in this world. This book is printed on the margin of Mukhtasar-i
tedhkîra–i
Qurtubî[1] published in Istanbul,
in
It is written in Hadîqa:
“It is written in the Fatwâ book Tâtârhâniyya:
‘It is harâm in every dîn to read with taghannî, that is, with a melodious
voice, poems that satirize others or describe indecency, alcoholic drinks, and
incite lust. Those things that cause harâms to happen are harâm, too.’ One who
says, ‘How beautifully you have read’, for something which is certainly harâm
becomes a kâfir. The same applies for harâms, such as adultery, usury,
hypocrisy and drinking wine. It is permissible to recite with taghannî the
poems and ilâhîs that are conveying Islamic preachings, wisdom, good advice, or
beautiful moral qualities. It is mekrűh to occupy oneself with these
continually. It is a more serious harâm for the false tarîqat followers to
excite the lust of people by reciting ilâhîs, dhikr or tasbîh in mosques or
takkas. One should not attend gatherings that are certainly known to be so.
Such places have ceased to be places of ’ibâdat and become gatherings of fisq
[immorality, sinning]. However, one should not have a bad opinion of them
unless one knows for certain. According to the unanimity [of savants], it is
harâm to recite with teghannî the Qur’ân-i kerîm,
dhikr, prayers or azân. Taghannî distorts the letters and words, and spoils the
meaning. It is harâm to change these intentionally, advertently. It is not
harâm when it is spoilt by mistake, by taghannî or inadvertently for those who
are trying to learn where it will be spoilt and where it will not. For this, it
is necessary to learn tajwîd. It is mustahab to recite the Qur’ân-i kerîm, the dhikr and the ilâhîs with a
beautiful voice provided that it does not spoil the meaning. And this is done
by reciting compatibly with the tajwîd. The effect of this on the heart and the
soul is tremendous. Reciting with a beautiful voice does not mean making melody
and moving ones chin; it means reciting with the fear of Allah. Anbiyâ
(salawâtullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaihim ajmâîn) and Awliyâ (rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaihim
ajmaîn) used to
---------------------------------
[1] An abridged version rendered by Abd-ul-Wahhâb Sha'rânî 'rahmatullâhi ta'âlâ
'alaih', (d. 973 [1565 A.D.] for the book Tedhkira-i-Qurtubî, which in
turn had been written by an Andalusian Islamic Mâlikî scholar named Abű
Abdullah Muhammad bin Ahmad Qurtubî 'rahmatullâhi ta'âlâ 'alaih', (d. 671 [1272
A.D.].
recite with a beautiful
voice. It was prohibited by a hadîth-i sherîf to
recite with a sad voice and to listen to it like the fâsiqs and the Ahl-i
kitâb. To spoil the tajwîd by elhân,
that is, by keeping up with a musical tune, is an ugly bid’at and to listen to
it is a grave sin.
To give a complete explanation of taghannî and
music, the eighth article of the first chapter of Kimyâ-yi
sa’âdat is translated below. There is detailed information on
singing on page 182 of the book Akhlâq-i ’alâ’î
and in the last chapter of Tibb-un-nabawî
by Muhammad ibn Ahmad Zahabî. Imâm-i-Ghâzâlî’s account is as follows:
“There is a force called qalb or inclination in
the heart. Beautiful and harmonious sound sets this hidden force into motion,
like a piece of steel when it hits flintstone generates spark, as a spark will
be generated when flintstone is struck against a piece of steel [and as a glass
or a bakelite rod when rubbed with wool attracts pieces of paper]. Beautiful
sounds penetrate into one’s heart, despite one’s will, because the qalb (heart)
and rűh (soul) have a connexion with the ’âlam
al-arwâh, which is above the ’Arsh. This non-material and
immeasurable ’âlam is the ’âlam of ‘husn al jamâl’ or beauty, and the basic
element of beauty is tanâsub (harmony). Every kind of beauty in this world
comes from the beauty of that ’âlam. Beautiful, rhythmic and harmonious sounds
resemble that ’âlam. The hearts of those who obey the Sharî’at become pure and
strong. Such hearts have a strong connexion with the ’âlam al-amr, and music influences and sets them into motion
in the direction of their inclinations or orientations as the wind sets the
glowing fire into flames. If there is love for Allahu ta’âlâ in the heart, a
beautiful voice causes that love to increase, and, therefore, it is beneficial.
Contrary to this is the case of a person whose heart is corrupt and whose nafs
has become stronger because he does not obey the Sharî’at but follows his nafs,
instead. The sick heart of such a person cannot enjoy music because his nafs is
excited by music, and music, therefore, is harmful and harâm for him. Those who
cannot understand that there can be love for Allahu ta’âlâ in the heart say
that any beautiful voice is harâm. They say man can love his like and man’s
heart cannot have any relation with anything which is not of his kind, and,
therefore, they do not believe in love for Allahu ta’âlâ. When they are told
that the Sharî’at orders man to have love for Allahu ta’âlâ, they say this
means that we should obey His orders lovingly.
“A beautiful sound does not bring to the heart
anything from
the outside. It excites
the halâl ‘connexions’ in the healthy heart, and, therefore, it is halâl to
listen to taghannî (singing) for a heart that is not sick. If there is no
inclination (or connection) in the heart, his enjoying a beautiful voice is
similar to his listening to birds, singing, or his looking at green plants,
beautiful streams and flowers. As these refresh the eyes, fragrant scents are
pleasurable to the nose, delicious food gives delight to the mouth, scientific
knowledge and discoveries are sweet to the intellect, so a beautiful voice is
pleasurable to the ears and is mubâh as they are.
“The nafs of a person with a sick heart fancies a
nâ-mahram girl or boy. This desire in his or her nafs becomes more intense when
he or she listens to music. Since it is harâm for him or her to be with her or
him, listening to any kind of taghannî (singing) causes harâm activities.
“He whose heart is not sick does not enjoy hearing
the voice which is describing girls, lust and desire; on the contrary, he feels
uncomfortable. But if the heart happens to be sick, the nafs enjoys it and is
excited towards the harâm. Therefore, it is harâm for such people to listen to
music. All young people, both boys and girls, are in this category. Anything
that enrages the fire of the nafs, which the Sharî’at has ordered to be
extinguished, is harâm. And it is only under certain conditions and within
limitations that it becomes mubâh for a healthy heart to listen to the sounds
that increase the love for, or the inclination towards, the halâl.
“It is mubâh, even blessed, for the will-be hajjis
to listen to songs about Ka’ba, hajj, Mekka and Medina, and for soldiers to
listen to songs about warfare and bravery.
“In Al-mawâhib
al-laduniyya, it is written that when Rasűlullah (sallallâhu ’alaihi
wa sallam) entered the city of Mekka, Ibn Rawâha was walking in front of the
procession and reciting couplets. ’Umar (radiyallâhu ’anh) said, ‘Is it
appropriate to recite poems in front of Rasűlullah?’ Thereupon, Rasűlullah
declared: ‘Let him do it, o ’Umar; do not prevent
him! These couplets are more detrimental to the kâfirs than arrows.’
This shows that it is jâ’iz (permissible) to read poems that harm the morale of
the enemy and make them feel sad, whereas it is not jâ’iz to read poems that
excite the nafs.
“It is a blessing to feel sorry and to repent by
reading qasîdas and ilâhîs about faults, sins and the torment in Hell. But, it
is harâm to feel sorry while listening to poetry against death, qadâ
and qadâr. [Therefore,
we should not read the chapter on death in Mawlîds.]
“It is mubâh to make merry with halâl sounds on
happy occasions when it is necessary to be joyful, such as at weddings, feasts,
sunnats (circumcision ceremonies), ’Iyds and returns from safars (journeys).
These sounds strengthen not the nafs but the qalb. It is self-deception for
those with stained hearts to say there is love for Allah in their hearts and
then to listen to songs or ilâhîs. Only a murshid kâmil (rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ
’alaihim ajma’în) can diagnose whether the qalb is pure, strong and has
defeated the nafs or if the qalb is sick and the nafs has overpowered it. [It
was for this reason that Imâm-i Rabbânî (quddisa sirruh) did not approve of
young people reciting ilâhîs at meetings, as written in his 266th letter.] A
beautiful voice or naghma (song) does more harm than good to the devotees of
tasawwuf whose hearts have not attained ahwâl, or whose hearts have not been
redeemed from shahwa (lust), though they may have ahwâl,” elucidates Imâm-i
Ghazâlî in Kimyâ-yi saadet.
Hadrat Sa’d ad-dîn al-kâshgârî reports from
Khawâja Muhammad Pârisâ (quddîsa sirruhumâ) in Rashâhât:
“The most harmful of the curtains separating man from Allahu ta’âlâ is the
settling of worldly thoughts in the heart. These thoughts come from bad
companions or from watching unnecessary things. One should try very hard to
expel them from one’s heart. Reading frivolous books [or novels, newspapers,
magazines, stories] and talking about unnecessary or trivial subjects increase
such thoughts. Watching women or their pictures [in photo-novels, films or on
television] and listening to songs and music [with voices of women] cause such
harmful thoughts to settle in the heart, all of which take a man away from
Allâhu ta’âlâ. Sickness of the heart is its forgetting Allâhu ta’âlâ. Please
see the final part of the forty-sixth chapter in the first fascicle! Those who
want to approach Allâhu ta’âlâ should avoid this and abstain from anything
which incites a malignant imagination. Allâhu ta’âlâ’s habit is such that He
does not bestow the blessing (of approaching Him) upon those who do not work,
endure hardships and give up their joys and desires.”
[The qalb (heart) is the home of joy and love. Any
qalb without them is said to be dead. Either love for Allahu ta’âlâ or love for
the world is in one’s qalb. The word ‘world’ here means things that are harâm.
When you expel love for the world from
your qalb by performing
dhikr and worship, it will be purified. Love for Allâhu ta’âlâ will be infused
into this purified qalb automatically. When you commit sins, the qalb becomes
dark and ill. Consequently, love for the world settles in the qalb instead of
love for Allâhu ta’âlâ. An example of this is: If you fill a bottle with water,
the air in it will be expelled automatically. When the water is poured out, air
will come into the bottle again automatically.]
Mahműd Anjîr Faghnawî (rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ
’alaih), a great tasawwuf leader, declares: “For the dhikr al-’alaniyya (the
audible dhikr) to be useful [and therefore, permissible], the heart should be
in a state of lewn (deep sorrow,
bleeding), that is, there should not be the stain of lying or backbiting in the
heart, nothing harâm or mushtabih should have passed through one’s throat, and
one’s mind should be free from riyâ’
(hypocrisy) and sum’a (desire for fame)
and inclinations towards anything but the sirr-i Hadrat Haqq.” For such people
only is taghannî (singing) or simâ’ beneficial. For those who have not attained
such a state, the fiqh ulamâ’ (fuqahâ) say taghannî is harâm. The following
couplets, which are translated from Persian, indicate the state of those who
practise tasawwuf and taqwâ:
Wandering hand-in-hand with my honey,
My eyes caught a flower, unknowingly.
‘Aren’t you ashamed!’ she said, and
added,
‘How can you see the rose while I am with thee?’
The following five conditions should be observed
in order for taghannî to be mubâh.
1 - It is harâm for every [nâ-mahram] man to
listen to the voice of women, girls or beautiful boys when he is with them and
looking at them. A pure heart is distressed at the sight of such scenes, and is
stained; the nafs enjoys them, gets stronger and becomes excessive. The Shaytân
helps the nafs and shahwa. Although it is jâ’iz to listen to the voice of an
unattractive boy, it is harâm to listen to even an ugly girl while near her.
Nâmahram men listening to girls or women reading or singing something
permissible, such as mawlid or ilâhî, without seeing them [for example, from a
record-player or radio-receiver], is similar to their looking at a boy’s face.
That is, it becomes halâl or harâm depending on the thought or intention;
listening to a mawlîd is permissible, while listening to the voice is harâm.
One should
abstain from doubtful
actions.
It is written in Al-hadîqa
that it is harâm for men to talk with nâmahram women unless there is darűrat[1] (necessity); it is
jâ’iz (permissible) to talk only as much as necessary in cases such as buying
and selling.
2 - No musical instruments, such as the lute, the
violin, the reed, the saxophone or the flute should be played while listening
to the voice of the reciter. It is harâm to play or listen to any musical
instrument for pleasure or for merry making. It is the habit of those who drink
alcoholic beverages. And alcohol incites the malignant desire of the nafs, that
is, the shahwa. However, it is permissible for every Muslim to play band music
to strengthen the morale of the soldiers in war and to improvise during
peacetime to get ready, and to play the drums and tambourines at wedding
parties. [Political congresses are regarded as battlefields in this respect.]
Playing musical instruments is harâm, not the
instruments themselves.
3 - Muslims should not read with a beautiful voice
or listen to poems about indecency, women or alcoholic drinks. It is harâm to
listen to anyone who blames Muslims or the ’ulamâ’ of the Dîn.
4 - There should not be beautiful boys or nâmahram
women among an audience. Fisq (debauchery), obscenities, sodomy and adultery
are all the lusts, the shahawât, of the nafs; they should not be called love or
affection. It is the heart where love and affection dwell in and they are
valuable.
5 - Although it is permissible to listen to a
beautiful voice for pleasure for those who have no worldly love in their hearts
or no shahwa of the nafs, this must not become habitual. It is lahw (amusement, entertainment), la’b (playing, game) and absurdity to do or to
use some mubâhs frequently. These are ways of killing time, which is harâm.
[The profound ’âlim in zâhirî sciences and ’ârif
(he who knows Allah) and kâmil (perfect) Hadrat Mazhar-i Jân-i Jânân
(rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih) said, “Simâ’, that is, qasîda, ilâhî or mawlîd,
fills a heart that is not ill with compassion and make it tender. Allâhu ta’âlâ
pities and looks with compassion on those with tender hearts.
---------------------------------
[1] 'Darűrat' is defined at various places of this book, especially in the chapter dealing with 'Ghusl and Ablution'.
Why should something be
harâm while it causes Allâhu ta’âlâ’s compassion? It is unanimously understood
that instrumental music is harâm. However, it is said that at wedding parties,
playing tambourines [and drums] is mubâh and playing reeds is mekrűh.
Rasűlullah (sallallâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) plugged his ears with his fingers
when he heard the sound of a reed when passing by, but he did not order
’Abdullah bin ’Umar, who was with him, to do so. This means that to avoid
hearing the sound of a reed is taqwâ’ (fear of Allâhu ta’âlâ) and ’azîma (a
high moral quality). There is a difference of opinion about simâ’ (singing).
There are those who say it is permissible, as well as those who say it is not.
It is better not to do something on which there is a disagreement. It was for
this reason that those who had taqwâ did not perform an audible dhikr; they
performed dhikr silently.” These words of Hadrat Mazhar-i Jân-i Jânân are
written in Maqâmat-i Mazhariryya.]
On the fourth page of Durr
al-ma’ârif[1], it is written: “Simâ’
is permissible only for those who have turned towards Allâhu ta’âlâ and who
know that everything is from Allâhu ta’âlâ. Involuntary dancing is called wajd, and voluntary dancing is called tawâjud. There was simâ’ in Hadrat Nizâm ad-dîn
Awliyâ’s (rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih) majlis (lecture, gathering, meeting), but
there was no musical instrument, women or boys; there was not even the clapping
of hands. A voice without instrumental music is called simâ’ [that is, taghannî].
The human voice accompanied with instrumental music is called ghinâ’ [that is, music].
Ghinâ’ is harâm according to the unanimity of the ’ulamâ.’ There are ’âlims who
said that the 64th âyat of sűrat al-Isrâ declared ghinâ’ harâm. The hadîths-i
sherîfs, ‘Shaytân was the first one to make
taghannî,’ and ‘Ghinâ arouses discord in
the heart,’ prove that ghinâ’ is harâm. The ’ulamâ’ disagreed on
whether simâ’ is harâm or not, while there is no dispute that ghinâ’ is harâm.
The voice of women or young boys is also classified as ghinâ.’ The ’ulamâ’ who
said that simâ’ is halâl also stated the conditions for it to be halâl. When
these conditions are not fulfilled, simâ’ is harâm according to the unanimity.”
The above extract from Durr al-ma’ârif
shows that there is no music or musical instrument in Islam. The term Islamic music, which has been coined recently,
has no connection with Islâm. A person who says “halâl” for something harâm
---------------------------------
[1] Written by Sayyid Abdullah Dahlawî 'rahmatullâhi ta'âlâ 'alaih', (1158
[1744 A.D.], Punjab-1240 [1827], Delhi.)
becomes a kâfir.
Moreover, it should be understood that those who mix the harâm into their
ibâdât become kâfirs like the zindîqs who try to demolish and corrupt the image
of Islam. Therefore, it is a dangerous bid’at to recite the Qur’ân-al-kerîm, the takbîr, and the eulogies with
musical instruments like reeds, for instance. The Qur’ân
al-kerîm should be recited with a beautiful voice and with tajwîd.
It is harâm to recite it by modifying the words to keep up with tune.
It is ghinâ’, and therefore harâm, for young hâfiz
qurrâs to recite the Qur’ân al-kerîm,
mawlîds or ilâhis to an audience of young women and girls. If a person looks at
something with lust his heart also becomes busy with it; the heart gets stained
and falls ill. The nafs gets stronger and becomes impetuously violent.
Although we said it is permissible to listen to a
beautiful voice for those with only love for Allah in their hearts, providing
they recite in accordance with the above-mentioned conditions, we should also
note that the Sahâba (radî-Allâhu ta’âlâ anhum ajma’în) and the Tâbi’űn
(rahmatullâhi ta’âla ’alaihim ajma’în) never did such things. Though taghannî
is obviously a bid’at, we said it was jâ’iz because it has some uses. Hasan
Basrî states at the end of Siyar-ul-aqtâb,
“A person who listens to simâ’ with love of Allah becomes a siddîq. A person
who listens to it by following his nafs becomes a zindiq.”
When the Qur’ân
al-kerîm is recited on the radio or through a loudspeaker, the
original sounds, that is, the original articulation of the letters are
distorted most of the time and the meaning of the âyats change. The Qur’ân al-kerîm recited then becomes a common
composition of a meaningless waves of sound, and a means of sentimental
pleasure like the melodies of a song. In addition, as written in Radd al-mukhtâr, Majma’
al-anhur and Durr al-munteqâ,
and also on the 2361st page of the third volume of the tafsîr by Elmalýlý Hamdi
Efendi (rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih): “Recital of the Qur’ân al-kerîm is its recital by a person conscious enough to
recognize what he is reciting is the Qur’ân al-kerîm.”
Mosques are built primarily to perform salât inside them. There is no quiet
corner left for praying when the voice of a wâ’iz or hâfiz qurrâ’ fills the
whole mosque by means of radios and loudspeakers. Those who are praying in the
mosque become confused. Ibni ’Âbidîn
wrote that it is sinful for the imâm to be so loud as to disturb others when it
is wâjib to recite aloud. Those who recite through loud-speakers are sinning
from this point of view as well.
In the beginning of the section where he described
a ghusl in his Fatâwâ’ al-kubrâ, Hadrat
Ibni Hâjar al-Makkî (rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih) wrote, “Reciting the Qur’ân al-kerîm in a mosque is a valuable qurba.
But, it is necessary to silence the children who recite loudly and who confuse
those who are performing salât. If the teacher does not keep the children
quiet, the authorities should send the children and the teacher out of the
mosque.”
[Question:
A loud-speaker makes it possible for the azân to be heard from distances;
Believers can hear the azân. Therefore, is the loud-speaker not useful and
beneficial?
Answer: If the assumption that
the azân should be heard over a large area were true, this question then would
have a meaning and value. If it had been necessary for the azân to be recited
with a voice louder than that of a normal human being, Rasűlullah (sallallâhu
’alaihi wa sallam) would have given a solution for this since it was his duty
to preach and see that everything necessary in Islam was learnt and done.
Although there had been those who proposed that prayer times should be
announced by ringing bells like Christians or by blowing horns like Jews to
make it heard from distances, he did not accept any of these ideas. “We shall not do it that way. Mount a high place and call
the azân,” he declared. Thus, it became clear that it was not
necessary to make a single azân heard everywhere. We know that any alteration
in ’ibâdât is a bid’at and a grave sin, and it is an even more detestable
bid’at and a more disgusting sin to mix an ’ibâdat with something which was
never approved of and even refused by Rasűlullah (sallallâhu ’alaihi wa
sallam). It is written in the nineteenth letter of the thirty-fourth chapter in
the first volume, “Even if bid’ats seem to be bright, glorious and beneficial,
all of them must be abstained from. Not one bid’at contains an advantage.” The
186th letter in the book Müjdeci Mektuplar
states: “Since the hearts of today’s men have been darkened, some bid’ats
appear to be beautiful and useful, but on the Rising Day, when the hearts will
be awakened it will be understood that all the bid’ats were harmful without
exception. Rasűlullah (sallallâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) declares: “Any renovation in the religion is harmful. You should throw
them out.” In the 216th verse of sűra Baqara, Allâhu ta’âlâ
declares: “It may happen that you love something
which is bad for you.” As it is seen, (See chapter 4, Endless Bliss,
Third Fascicle) it does not befit a Muslim to propound the bid’at of calling
the azân through a loud-speaker. In addition to this, in Durr al-mukhtâr in the section on yamîn (oath)
where the nazr (vow) is
explained, it is
declared: “It is wâjib for the government to build a mosque in every town and
locality. It is necessary to get it built with funds from the Bayt-ul-mâl. If
the government does not build it, then it becomes wâjib for the Muslims to
build it.” On the 480th page of the first volume, it is written, “It is harâm
to leave a mosque while the azân is being called. However, it is permissible to
leave it in order to join the jamâ’at of one’s own locality because it is wâjib
to pray in the mosque of one’s own locality.” In summary, it is ordered that
there should be a mosque in every Muslim ward, that the azân should be called
at every mosque, and that one should hear the azân called at the mosque in
one’s locality or market and join the jamâ’at there. There must be a mosque in
every ward of a town; the azân must be called at each and every mosque, and
everyone must hear the azân. There is no need to make the azân heard over great
distances. If loud-speakers are used, the result is interference and confusion,
and the azân will have been made a play-thing. Therefore, it is unecessary and
harmful to use loud-speakers to amplify the azân. If, following the order of
the Sharî’at, every muazzin calls the azân in accordance with the Sunnat from a
minaret, every Muslim will hear clearly the azân closest to his home without
the need of a loud-speaker calling it over a distance. Using loudspeakers to
make the azân audible over great distances is a manifestation of the wish to
have the azân called at one single mosque only and not at other mosques.
In a hadîth quoted in Kunűz
ad-daqâiq on the authority of al-Baihaqî[1], Rasűlullah
(sallallâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) declared: “There will
come a time after you when the most miserable and the most debased of Muslims
of the time will be the muazzins.” This hadîth prophesied that there
will be people who will do taghannî and will not recite or call the azan in
accordance with the Sunnat, and who will mix bid’ats into the ’ibâdât. May
Allâhu ta’âlâ protect our muazzin brothers from being like the muazzins
condemned in the above hadîth! Amîn.
In our time, it is difficult to see any mosque
where the azân is being called on the minaret in accordance with the Sunnat.
The practice of not calling the azân on the minaret has spread in both towns
and villages. Thankfully, the [Turkish] Authority of
---------------------------------
[1] Abu Bakr Ahmad bin Husayn of Beyhek, Nishâpűr 'rahmatullâhi ta'âlâ
'alaih', (384 [994 A.D.]-458 [1066].)
Religious Affairs has
made all Muslims happy by announcing, in the circular sent to the muftîs dated
December 1, 1981 and numbered 19, which orders muazzins to call the azân on
minarets, that they are resolved to give an end to this ugly bid’at.
It is necessary for Muslims to know that the
muazzin is a Muslim, ’âqil (sane) and sâlih (pious). Therefore, the azân on a
tape-recorder or radio is not sahîh. It is not compatible with the Sunnat even
if an ’âqil and sâlih Muslim calls the azân on the minaret and yet through a
loudspeaker. Please see the final part of the eleventh chapter. ’Ibâdât should
be distinguished from ’âdât (customs). A radio and loudspeaker are of course
used in functions other than ’ibâdât and no one will have any reason to protest
it. But anyone who makes the slightest alteration in ’ibâdât becomes a man
without a Madhhab.
It is written in all books of fiqh, e.g. in the
Persian book Terghîb-us-salât, as
follows: “It is makrűh for a person without an ablution or without a ghusl,
(for a person who is junub), for a drunk person, for a fâsiq (sinner), for a
child, for a woman or for an insane person to perform the azân. There is a
consensus (of Islamic scholars) on that it is necessary to reperform an azân
called by a drunk or junub or insane person. If a disbeliever calls the azân at
a prayer time, it must be concluded that he has become a Muslim. For, the azân
is a sign, a characteristic of Islam.” Performing the azân knowing, believing
in and loving its meaning is a symptom of being a Muslim. A person who commits
a grave sin is called a fâsiq. A person
who drinks alcohol or gambles or makes friends with (nâmahram) women and girls
or does not perform the five daily prayers of namâz, is a fâsiq. It is harâm
for women to let (nâmahram) men to hear their voices by calling the azân,
reading or reciting the Qur’ân-al-kerîm, or by
performing mawlids or ilâhîs aloud. And it is makrűh if they do it through
loudspeakers, radio or television. These instruments are instruments of
merriment, (âlat-i-lahw), at places
where it is customary to use them for pleasure. It is not permissible,
therefore, to perform acts of worship with them, e.g. to perform the azân with
a loudspeaker, which, in this case, would be like having a fâsiq to perform the
azân. It is written in Durar that it is
harâm to perform the azân in a manner similar to that of people committing fisq
(grave sins).
Many examples can be given of the fact that a
phonetical distortion made while reciting the Qur’ân
al-kerîm results in an alteration of its meaning and thereby causes
kufr. One of many
such examples is given
below to illustrate the subject: The last phrase of the 81st âyat of sűra Yâsîn
means: “Those He has created are very many. He is
who knows everything.” He is the Creator of incalculable things. And
He has knowledge of all things. However, when this same âyat is recited on a radio
or through a loud-speaker the guttural ‘kh’ of the word “khallâq” is
transformed usually into ‘h’, and the word becomes, “hallâq”, which means
barber. Then, the new meaning of the phrase becomes “He is the barber, and He
has knowledge of all things.” Those who read the âyat that way and the ones who
hear and approve or like it all become kâfirs. In the Islamic letters (Arabic)
the words “Khallâq” and “Hallâq”[1] are two different
words both in spelling and pronunciation; they mean creator and barber respectively.
Another example is the three z sounds of the Arabic language. Each one of them
requires different sounds. The first is the emphatic “Zý”, the second is “Ze”,
the third is “Zel.” Ibni ’Âbidîn, on the
332nd page, wrote: “One should say ‘azim’ with ‘Zý’ in the rukű tesbîh which
means ‘My Rabb is Great.’ If, instead, it is pronounced with ‘Ze’, it means,
‘My Rabb is my enemy’, and the salât (namâz) is broken.” A Muslim who reads and
learns the Qur’ân al-kerîm transliterated
into Latin characters will hardly be able to distinguish these three
consonants, and, therefore, his salât will not be sahîh.
It is not permissible to transliterate the Qur’ân al-kerîm into the Latin characters. This is
noted in the chapter on Najâsa in Ibn Hâjar’s Al-fatâwâ’
al-kubrâ and in the fatwâ on page 62 of the book Al-Hady al-Islâmî published by Al-Jâmi’at
al-Islâmiyya in Libya, in
The Qur’ân al-kerîm
recited on the radio or through a loud-speaker, like the Bibles and Torahs of
today’s Christians and Jews, is not the Word of Allâhu ta’âlâ. It is written on
the 115th page of the book Al-hadîqa
that it is not permissible to insult or show contempt for, to ridicule or to
read or to listen to the Divine Books that have been abrogated by Allâhu ta’âlâ
and the texts of
---------------------------------
[1] The voiceless glottal fricative, /h/, and the voiceless pharyngeal fricative, / ħ /, are two different phonemes in the Arabic language.
which have been altered
by man. For example, it is kufr to make merry by listening to the Qur’ân al-kerîm or Mawlîd on the radio in public
houses, gambling-rooms, playgrounds, or in places where sins are being
committed. And those who cause kufr become kâfirs.
There may be those who listen reverently to the Qur’ân al-kerîm or Mawlîd on a radio and cry as a
result of being touched by the naghma (melodious voice) of the qâri’ (reciter).
The beautiful voice and the naghma influences the nafs of the sick-hearted; it
nourishes the nafs, and the nafs makes the person cry. However, reciting the Qur’ân al-kerîm is a sunnat, and it is a basic
rule in fiqh that a sunnat which brings about a harâm or even a mekrűh should
be abandoned. Therefore, it is better not to recite the Qur’ân al-kerîm or a Mawlîd on the radio.
Nevertheless, it is necessary to broadcast the human word on the radio about
the teachings of Islam and the soul-nourishing words of the Ahl as-Sunnat
’ulamâ’, which fill with admiration the learned minds of the world. Such
broadcast (and publications) are certainly very useful and very blessed.
Question: It is true that the
sound on the radio is not clear when tuned to the radio stations in distant
countries. But, the reception from a local radio-station is perfectly similar
to that of the qâri.’ Besides, the meaning also is clear. Would such a sound
heard from a radio-receiver, a tape-recorder or a loud-speaker still not be
regarded as the Qur’ân?
Answer: Scientifically
speaking, the sound heard from a radio-receiver is neither aqs as-sadâ (reflection of sound) nor naql as-sadâ (transmission of sound). Naql means
transmission or the transfer of the sound itself without any transformation.
For example, heat may be transferred by conduction as well as by radiation and
convection. An iron rod conducts heat without transforming it. Heat is
conducted from one iron crystal to the next one and thus from one end of the
rod to the other. The voice of the reader is heard by transmission, that is, Naql as-sadâ, by the people within earshot. The
vocal chords in the larynx in the throat become tense and the air blown from
the lungs sets them (the two fleshy chords) into vibration when we talk.
Vibrations of these chords set into vibration the air molecules surrounding
them, and this vibration is transmitted by other air molecules to our ears, and
thus we hear the voice of someone talking. Sound propagates in the form of
spherical pressure waves in air. Air transmits sound; it does not travel (or
carry sound) itself. Sound travels
340 metres per second
in dry air. Water molecules also conduct sound. Velocity of sound in water is
about
Sound waves propagating in air or water change
their direction when they hit a solid smooth surface like a wall or a rocky
cliff. The reflected waves give a second sound of similar qualities. This
second sound is called aqs as-sadâ or
“echo.” Although the reflected sound, the echo, is similar in quality to the
orginal sound, it has been stated that it is not necessary to perform sajdat
at-tilâwat (to prostrate) when one hears the echo of an âyat as-sajda even if
one understands the âyat clearly. That is, the echo of Qur’ân is not the Qur’ân
al-kerîm. This sound is not called the Word of Allahu ta’âlâ. The
voice on the radio is neither the naql (transmission without transformation)
nor even the aqs (echo) of the voice of the qâri.’ It is a sound different from
and only similar to the voice of the qâri.’ Looking at the reflections of women
in a mirror or water, or the pictures of women on paper or a screen is not the
same as looking at them directly. The sound that reaches the microphone is no
longer a sound wave when it is converted into, first, electrical impulses and
then into electromagnetic waves. The sound heard from the radio is a
reproduction through an inverse process: the electromagnetic waves received by
the antenna of the radio-receiver are converted into electrical impulses and
then into a new sound. A loud-speaker is defined as an apparatus that converts
electrical impulses into audible sound waves. (See, for example, the French
dictionary Larousse for hautparlour.)[1] How can a transmission
of the Qur’ân al-kerîm which involves
transformations or conversions into another sound be called the Qur’ân while
even an echo of the Qur’ân is not?
Question: The voice on the radio
is not the voice of the hâfiz qurrâ’, as proved scientifically, but it is still
completely similar in all its harmonics. And the meaning is not distorted,
either. Why should it not be permissible to listen to it?
Answer: Something similar to
something else is not that thing itself. For example, brass bracelets may be
similar to gold ones, but they are never the same; brass does not count as
gold. The
---------------------------------
[1] Also ‘loudspeaker’ in Macmillan Contemporary Dictionary, 1979, Mac Millan Publishing Co. Inc., New York.
sound from a
radio-receiver or a loud-speaker may be very similar to that of the qâri’, but
it is not the human voice. It is a metallic sound. Its quality, pitch, volume
and harmonics are different. Picture of a woman may be very similar to her, but
it is never the woman herself, nor is it something which has a connection with
her. This is why it is not harâm to look without desire at the ’awrat of a
woman in her picture, while it is harâm to look at her very body. Nevertheless,
because the picture of a woman is like her, it is mekrűh to look at the
picture. Similarly, it is necessary to respect the like of a respected being
because of its close proximity, even if it is not the same.
It is written in valuable books that it is kufr to
recite the Qur’ân al-kerîm accompanied
with instrumental music, like the kâfirs’ singing hymns in a church with organ
music. Please see the fourtieth chapter in the second part of the Turkish
version. It is kufr also to profane in this manner the Qur’anic recitation on
the radio or through a loud-speaker, which is very similar to the Qur’ân. If the Qur’ân
al-kerîm is recited without any instrumental music, and if it is
recited with tajwîd on the radio just for a few minutes after hours of music
and other shahwa-inciting programmes, and then the usual sinful broadcasting
starts again, this case is similar to that of people in a fisq majlis with
gambling, drinking, playing and immodestly dressed women reciting some Qur’ân al-kerîm in an interval between the harâm;
it is a sin. In the commentaries of Multaqâ,
it is written: “It is a sin to say tesbîh, tahlîl, dhikr, takbîr or to read
hadîth, fiqh and the like in a gathering of debauchery or to those who profane.”
The reason for this is that our Prophet
(sallallâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) forbade reciting the Qur’ân
in such gatherings or without proper reverence. For example, in the book Kimyâ-i sa’âdat, it is written, “Rasűlullah
(sallallâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) went to Rabî bin Su’űd’s house. Small girls were
playing tambourines and singing in the house. They stopped singing [and playing
thambourines], and started lauding Rasűlullah. ‘Do
not mention my name! [Go on with what you have been reciting
already!] Eulogizing me [reciting mawlîd
or ilâhî] is an ’ibâdat. It is not permissible to
perform ’ibâdat when playing tambourines [musical instruments], making merry and playing,’ he declared.” It is
written in Jawâhir al-fiqh that he who
recites Qur’ân al-kerîm while playing a
tambourine or any other musical instrument, or while playing any other thing or
game will become a kâfir. It is written in the chapter on ablution in Mizân-i Sha’rânî: “The ’ulamâ’ of Islam
declared that the
person who recites the Qur’ân al-kerîm
after saying unpleasant words is like that person who puts the Qur’ân al-kerîm into dirt. There is no doubt about
his kufr.”
It is written in Al-hadîqa
in the chapter on the inflictions of the tongue that a hadîth declared: “Announce nikâh to the public! For this purpose, perform the
ceremony in mosques and play tambourines!” Imâm Munâwî, explains
this hadîth-i sherîf and writes, “Tambourines
are not to be played in mosques. This hadîth does not order that the
tambourines should be played in mosques; it orders that only nikâh could be
done in mosques.” It is clear as explained in Al-hadîqa
that it is never permissible to play any other musical instrument in mosques
while it is prohibited to play even tambourines which are otherwise certainly
permissible outside the mosque.
In the hadîths quoted in Mukhtasar at-tadhkîra, it is declared: “In the latest time ignorant men of dîn and fâsiq hâfiz
qurrâ’ will be on the increase. There will come such a time that men of
religious profession will be more rotten and putrid than a donkey’s carcass.”
This hadîth-i sherîf prophecies that as the
Rising Day nears fâsiq and corrupted men of dîn will appear. We have heard that
in Russia they put a turban and gown on communist spies and anarchists trained
with special methods and call them the muftî of Turkmanistan, Azarbaijan, or
hadrat so and so. We have seen their photographs in their periodicals published
to further their internationl propaganda. They are sending these spies in the
guise of religious men to African and Arabic countries where people are
Muslims. Through these spies they are sowing the seeds of anarchy and are
making brothers enemies to one another. They have thus gotten hold of countries
called “Socialist Islamic Republic.” We see with gratitude that in our pure
country there are no such corrupted men of religion among our honourable
nation.
Recording the Qur’ân
al-kerîm on magnetic tapes or gramophone discs is like writing it on
paper. There can be no arguments against doing this based on the objection that
tapes and dics are used for recording music, songs, games and amusements,
because paper also is used for printing picture-novels, obscene pictures,
amusements and pornographic magazines. The Qur’ân
al-kerîm is called a Mus’haf
when it is writen on paper. A Mus’haf is valuable because it is the cause and
means whereby people read and learn and memorize the Qur’ân al-kerîm. For this reason, it is very meritorious to
write or print Mus’hafs and
distribute them as
gifts. Tapes and discs are also used as means for learning and memorizing the Qur’ân al-kerîm for they sound like something very
similar to it. A tape or a disc on which the Qur’ân
al-kerîm is recorded should be esteemed like a Mus’haf ash-sherîf,
and nothing else should be recorded on them; they should be kept somewhere
high, and nothing else should be placed on them; they should not be touched
without a wudű’, or given to kâfirs or fâsiqs; they should not be put together
with tapes and discs on which other things are recorded; and they should not be
played at places where there is fisq (debauchery), games, gambling and
entertainment. The record player or the tape-recorder used for listening to the
Qur’ân al-kerîm should in no circumstance
be taken to a fisq majlis (gathering for debauchery), and should never be used
for playing harâm and indecent recordings. It is not permissible to play the Qur’ân al-kerîm on a record-player or
tape-recorder which is used also for playing music because it is like listening
to the Qur’ân al-kerîm recited by a fâsiq
hafîz qâri’ who also sings songs and lyrics which are not permissible as stated
above. In short, the tapes and discs on which the Qur’ân
al-kerîm is recorded are held in high regard and valued like
Mushaf-i sherîfs, and disrespecting or dishonoring them causes kufr. However,
listening to these recordings of the Qur’ân al-kerîm
is a way of listening to something very much like the Qur’ân al-kerîm, but it is not the same as
listening to the hâfiz qurrâ’ reciting it. One cannot obtain the blessings of
listening to the Qur’ân al-kerîm from it.
For, the tilawat of al-Qur’ân al-kerîm
(recital of the Qur’ân) is its recital by
someone (a Muslim) who is conscious about the fact that he is reciting the Qur’ân al-kerîm[1] . This fact is written
on the five hundred and sixteenth page of Radd-ul-mukhtâr.
However, it is fard to listen to any recitation which sounds like the Qur’ân al-kerîm. It is written on the three
hundred and sixty-sixth page of Radd-ul-muhtâr
that the Qur’ân al-kerîm recited by a
small child who is not conscious of what he is reciting should also be listened
to respectfully.
If the radio is always used for listening to
useful things and things causing thawâb and never used for listening to things
prohibited by the Sharî’at, it is permissible to listen to recitals of Qur’ân al-kerîm performed amidst these useful
things or to listen for the purpose of learning to those recitals of Qur’ân al-kerîm performed during the preaches,
lessons and other programs on tapes at home provided these programs be proper
---------------------------------
[1] Radd-al-muhtâr, page 516.
and suitable for
Muslims. However, it is written in page 2361 of the third volume of the book of
Tafsîr by Hamdi Efendi of Elmalý that this does not mean to listen to Qur’ân al-kerîm. It is a worship to recite (or
read) Qur’ân al-kerîm as was done by our Prophet ‘sallallâhu alaihi wa sallam’ and the
As-hâb-i-kirâm. To recite it in another manner or to listen to such recitals
means to change a worship, which is a bid’at. And bid’at, in its turn, is the
gravest sin. [Please read the twenty-second chapter in the second fascicle of
Endless Bliss!]
It was written in a letter from India that the
Wahhâbis in a certain town performed salât without an imâm in some mosques.
These mosques were connected with a wire to the central mosque and the jamâ’ats
followed the imâm by hearing his voice through loud-speakers. That the salât is
not sahîh if performed by following the voice of an imâm through a loud-speaker
is written in chapter 19. It is stated in Fatâwâ-i-Hindiyya,
“One of the hindrances against following an imâm is the existence of a stream
as wide as to let a boat pass or a road wide enough for a cart (car) to pass
or, when the namâz is performed in an open space of ground, an empty space of
two lines. In mosques, it is permissible to follow the imâm behind a large
empty space. Another hindrance is the existence of a wall big enough to prevent
the person performing the namâz in or outside the mosque from hearing the imâm
or one of the jamâ’at or from seeing the movements of the imâm or one of the
jamâ’at. [The voice heard through a loudspeaker is not the voice of the imâm
himself. Likewise, the pictures seen on a television screen are not their
originals; they are their visions]. It is not permissible for a person
performing the namâz in the mosque or behind the wall to follow someone except
the imâm or one of the jamâ’at. If the mosque is full up to the entrance, it is
sahîh for a person performing the namâz at a place adjacent to the mosque to
follow the imâm. If it is not full up to the entrance, it is sahîh if the
distance between him and the last line is not large enough to let a cart (or
car) pass. If the distance is larger, his following the imâm is not sahîh [even
if he hears the imâm]. It is stated in Qâdihân
that it is permissible for a person performing the (same) namâz in a building
adjacent to the mosque to follow the imâm. It is not permissible if this person
is in this adjacent building or in a building which is not adjacent to the
mosque.” This plain fact shows that those men of religion who are making
Muslims perform namâz in jamâ’at without an imâm
are leading them not to
worships but to disasters.
Unbelievers are trying to convert Muslims into
Christians and mosques into churches. To do this insidiously, they disguise
themselves as Muslims. They attempt to elevate the place of sajda (where the
head is laid in prostration) to pave the way for the future introduction of
desks into mosques. “A head should not be laid on places trodden on by feet,”
they say, “for it causes infection.” They have in mind a plan of evolving these
higher places of sajda into desks by making them higher and higher year by
year. To introduce music and an organ into mosques, they start first by
introducing loud-speakers and tape-recorders to prepare people gradually for
worship accompanied with music and musical instruments. However, it is a basic
fiqh rule that doing a mubâh, which is not a sin, becomes harâm if there is the
danger of this mubâh being mistaken for an ’ibâdat. Doing such a mubâh then
becomes a grave sin. Therefore, Muslims should be very vigilant, indeed, and
should be extremely careful to worship like the Sahâbat al-kirâm, as their
grandfathers did. Because it is bid’at and will give way to other alterations
in ’ibâdât, loud-speakers, tape-recorders and the like should not be allowed in
mosques, though they may seem good and useful. Also, Muslims should be careful
not to be caught in the traps or used in the plans of enemies of Islam. In the
216th âyat of Sűrat-ul-Baqara, it is declared:
“There are many things that you approve of and like but which are [in fact] harmful for
you!” One should abstain from the slightest alteration in ’ibâdât,
no matter how useful they may appear. An azân called through a radio or
loud-speaker is not sahîh. A salât is not sahîh if it is performed in jamâ’at
by following a voice from a radio or loud-speaker, without hearing the voice of
the imâm or the muazzin himself. This fact is explained in the nineteenth
chapter.
In Targhîb-us-salât
it is written, “In a hadîth quoted in the pamphlet Kitâb
al-qirâ’a, Rasűlullah (sallallâhu ’alaihi wa sallam), describing the
signs of the Rising Day, declared: “Judges will
take bribes and decide unjustly. Murders will increase. The younger generation
will not care or respect his parents and kin. The Qur’ân will be recited with
mizmâr, that is, with musical instruments. People will not listen to those who
recite beautifully with tajwîd; they will listen to those who recite with music
like songs.” In his book Musâmara,
Hadrat Muhyiddîn-i ‘Arabî (Qaddasallâhu sirrahul’azîz) wrote that in a hadîth-i sherîf
narrated by Abu Huraira
(radiyallâhu ’anh), it is declared: “There will be
such a time that the Muslims will disunite, break into groups. They will
abandon the Sharî’at and follow their own ideas and judgements. They will
recite the Qur’ân al-kerîm with mizmârs, that is, with instruments, as if singing
songs. They will recite not for Allah’s sake but for fun. There will be no
blessings for those who recite so. Allahu ta’âlâ curses them. He will punish
them.” In many such hadîth-i sherîfs
Rasűlullah (sallallâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) foretold that the Qur’ân al-kerîm will be recited through an
apparatus, such as radios, magnetic tapes, records and loud-speakers, which are
used for playing music. He declared that it will be sinful to recite in such a
manner. In the translation of the collection of the forty hadîths by the
profound ’âlim, Shaikh-ul-Islâm Ahmad bin Suleyman bin Kemâl Pâshâ, in the
thirty-ninth hadîth it is declared: “I have been sent
to break mizmârs and to kill pigs.” In the translation, this hadîth
is explained: “mizmâr means flute or all musical instruments.” By this hadîth
he means. “I am ordered to forbid every kind of musical instrument and the
eating of pork.” In another hadîth, it is declared: “Recite
the Qur’ân with the Arabic dialect and the Arabic phonetic! Do not recite like
fâsiqs and singers!” It is harâm for a person who recites like
singing a song to be the imâm (lead the salât). The namâz performed behind him
is not sahîh. The reason for this is that in order to tune up or make a melody,
he adds syllables, which changes the recitation into human language and not the
Qur’ân al-kerîm.]
WARNING: All that is explained
above is about reciting and listening to the Qur’ân al-kerîm
on the radio. No mention of using or listening to the radio in general has been
made. The general use of a radio should not be confused with its use in
’ibâdât. Comments on the use of a radio in general will be made later.
In Kimyâ-i sa’âdat,
it is declared: “It is very meritorious to learn how to read the Qur’ân al-kerîm. But, those who read and the hâfiz
qurrâ’ should revere the Qur’ân al-kerîm.
And to do this, they must obey the Qur’ân al-kerîm
in every word and action of theirs. They must adopt the âdâb (rules and
manners) of the Qur’ân al-kerîm. They
must keep away from what it prohibits. If they do not act in this manner, the Qur’ân al-kerîm becomes an enemy (and hates
them.). Rasűlullah (sallallâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) declared: “Most of the munâfiqs of my Ummat will be of those who
recite the Qur’ân al-kerîm.” Abű Sulaiman Dârânî said, “The Zebânîs, the
angels who will do the tormenting in Hell,
will attack the hâfiz
qurrâ’ who do not obey the Sharî’at before they do anything to the idolatrous
kâfirs. The hâfiz qurrâ’ who recite mawlîd for money and those who recite
melodiously are of this kind. It should be realized quite well that the Qur’ân al-kerîm is not for reciting only, it was
sent for man to follow the way, the Sharî’at preached in it.” In the commentary
of Shir’at al-Islâm, it is written, “It
is the ugliest and most loathsome bid’at to recite the Qur’ân al-kerîm as if singing a song. Those who
recite in such a manner are to be punished.”
In Riyâd an-nâsihîn,
it is written, “The Qur’ân al-kerîm will
intercede for the hâfiz of the Qur’ân al-kerîm
who obeys the Sharî’at. In a hadîth-i sherîf in
the book Muslim, it is declared: ‘The Qur’ân al-kerîm will be either the intercessor or
the enemy of its reciters.’ In a hadîth-i sherîf
it is declared: ‘There are many who recite the Qur’ân al-kerîm while
the Qűr’ân al-kerîm calls down curses upon them.’ It is necessary
for one to have a wudű’ (ablution) when reading the Qur’ân
al-kerîm, to hold it in the right hand, not to leave it lower than
one’s knees, not to leave it open after reading but to close and put it
somewhere high [and clean], not to talk when reading it, and if one does talk,
one should say the A’űdhu again and then start reading or reciting. One should
take (or hand) the Mus’haf [and also the tape on which the Qur’ân al-kerîm is recorded] standing as one is.
And those who listen to the Qur’ân al-kerîm on the radio should at least put
the radio-set somewhere high, should not busy themselves with anything else,
and should sit facing the Qibla. It is an irreverence to the Qur’ân al-kerîm (or the Mawlîd) to listen to
music, songs or other kufr and harâms before or after the Qur’ân al-kerîm. The Qur’ân
al-kerîm calls curses upon those who do not revere it when it is
recited. Actions and behaviours that are sins for those who are reading or
reciting are also sins for those who make or have it read or recited.
Listeners who cause the hâfiz to recite the Qur’ân al-kerîm on the radio are, in some
respects, like those who watch an acrobat: If the acrobat falls down during the
show and dies, the spectators will have committed a sin because the acrobat
would not have been in the show and would not have died if the spectators had
not been there to watch. It is true that victims die because man is mortal and
the time for death has come; however, the killer is punished.
It distorts the meaning and is harmful to recite
the Qur’ân al-
kerîm, the Mawlîd and the
Azân with music (melodiously) and taghannî. For example, “Allâhu akbar” means
Allâhu ta’âlâ is the Greatest. If it is recited as ‘Aaaallâhu akbar” with a
long “A”, it means “Is Allâhu ta’âlâ (really) great?” This injects a tone of
doubt, which is kufr. Therefore, it is obvious that those who say “Allâhu
akbar” with a long initial ‘A’ become kâfirs.
In fiqh books, for example, in Halabî as-saghîr on page 252, it is written, “The
’ulamâ’ said that it is mekrűh to recite the Qur’ân
al-kerîm with naghma (melodiously), even if it does not cause any
phonetical distortion. The basis for this is that it is a simulation of the
fâsiqs’ singing, and it is harâm if there is phonetical distortion. It is
mekrűh to listen to something which is mekrűh to read, and it is harâm to
listen to something which is harâm to read. It is wâjib (necessary) to do amr
bi’lma’rűf (to remind someone of the rules of the Sharî’at) to the hâfiz qurrâ’
who recite the Qur’ân al-kerîm with
taghannî (melody). If reminding them is likely to arouse perversity or enmity,
one should not listen and should leave that place.” In
Halabî on page 297, it is written, “It is necessary to re-perform
those salâts prayed behind an imâm who recites melodiously.” On another page it
is written, “It is a sinful action to recite the Qur’ân
al-kerîm loudly where people are working (or studying) or lying down
resting.”
On page 496 of Al-Halabî
al-kebîr, it is written, “It is permissible to recite the Qur’ân al-kerîm through one’s heart while lying
down on one’s side with one’s legs put together, or to recite when walking,
working, taking a bath or sitting beside graves. It becomes a sin to recite the
Qur’ân al-kerîm loudly near those who are
reading, writing or working while they are not listening. It is tahrîmî mekrűh
for a few people to recite the Qur’ân al-kerîm
loudly in a chorus. One of them should recite and the others should listen
quietly. It is not fard to listen for those who have work to do. It is fard-i
kifâya to listen to the Qur’ân al-kerîm,
and listening to the Qur’ân al-kerîm is
more meritorious than reciting it or doing any nâfila ’ibâdât (supererogatory
worship). A woman should learn from another woman how to read or recite the Qur’ân al-kerîm. A woman should not learn it from
a nâ-mahram man, even if he is blind. It is written in Berîqa and Al-hadîqa
that it is sinful to forget the Qur’ân al-kerîm
after one has learnt it. In Khulâsat al-fatâwâ,
it is written: “It is permissible to recite the Qur’ân
al-kerîm in the heart or mind while working or walking.”
There is no need to learn music to recite the Qur’ân al-kerîm
correctly and beautifully.
It is necessary to learn the ’ilm at-tajwîd
(the science of reciting the Qur’ân al-kerîm).
According to the majority of Islamic scholars, the Qur’ân
al-kerîm cannot be recited correctly, and the azân and salât (namâz)
will not be accepted when done without studying the ’ilm at-tajwîd, which
teaches the articulation places of the letters (makhârij al-hurűf) or correct
pronunciation, the madd, that is, the length of vowels and many other rules.
In Al-Halabî as-saghîr,
a few lines above the section on sajdat at-tilâwa, it is written, “It is a sin
to write the Qur’ân al-kerîm in an
illegibly small script or to get or own such small-sized copies of Qur’ân al-kerîm.” Allâhu ta’âlâ sent the Qur’ân al-kerîm to be recited, read, listened to
and its contents to be learnt and obeyed. It is an insult to the Qur’ân al-kerîm to write it in an illegibly small
script. The Khalîfa ’Umar (radiyallâhu ’anh) punished a man who wrote an
illegibly small copy of the Qur’ân al-kerîm.
Buying such Mus’hafs, carrying them in small golden boxes attached to a string
around the neck, as Christians do with their icons or crosses, is useless and
very sinful.
It is written in Al-Halabî
that it is tahrîmî mekrűh to write âyats or names of Allâhu ta’âlâ’ [and also a
picture of the Ka’ba] on things spread on the ground or on praying mats
(sajjada). It is written in Tahtâwî’s
annotation to Imdâd that it is mekrűh to
write such sacred words on coins or paper bills. The exalted ’âlim as-Sayyid
’Abd al Hakîm Arwâsî (quddîsa sirruh) states in one of his letters that during
the time of the Sahâbât al-kirâm and the Tâbi’în ’izâm (’alaihim ar-ridwân) no
sacred word was written on money. The rationale for this is that money is used
in buying and selling, and, therefore, it is not revered. It is permissible to
print pictures on it. The non-Sunnite governments, for example, that Fâtimîs
and the Rasűlîs, who belonged to the Mu’tazila and who bore the name Muslim but
who in reality did not follow the Sharî’at, had âyats and hadîths printed on
money. This was one of the tricks they played to deceive the people and hide in
a Muslim guise. The ’ulamâ’ of the Dîn [that is, the Fuqahâ-yî ’izâm] did not
permit writing blessed words even on grave-stones, let alone money. It is
written in Al-fatâwâ al-Hindiyya that it
is mekrűh to touch such money without an ablution. It is written in the
explanation of Shîr-at al-islâm that it
is necessary to bury or burn the old and ruined Mus’hafs.
’Ibâdât cannot be altered to please men. It is
very wrong to think that Allâhu ta’âlâ will be pleased with what man himself is
pleased with. If it
were so, then there would be no need for Prophets
to be sent; everyone would worship in a way he pleased and Allahu ta’âlâ would
be pleased with it too. However, in reality, for a worship to be acceptable, it
must be in conformity with the Sharî’at, though the human mind may not see the
reason or appreciate the benefit and use of it.
What has been written above may not please those
who have made the Dîn a means to earn earthly possessions. However, it is not
intended for them but for those who want to learn the truth.
Question: Is it sinful to listen
to the radio and watch television?
Answer: This question is
similar to asking whether it is sinful to go to the cinema or not. Let us
answer the two questions together.
Question: Is it sinful to go to
the cinema?
Radio, cinema and television are all media for
mass communication. They are like books, newspapers and magazines. They are all
means or tools like guns. It is sinful to use guns against faultless, innocent
and harmless people, but it is very meritorious to use them against enemy in
warfare. Therefore, it would not be correct to make a clear-cut judgement of
the matter by saying that it is all sinful or all definitely meritorious.
Similarly, if the radio programmes and films are
prepared by decent people and, therefore, their contents are of what Allahu
ta’âlâ approves of, such as the use and application of Islamic teachings,
ethics, trade, arts, factories and production, history, military training and
other useful religious or secular information, then it is not sinful but mubâh
to listen to such radio programmes or watch a television and cinema film. It is
even necessary for every Muslim to listen and to watch them as it is necessary
to read useful books and magazines. Please see the eighteenth chapter.
However, if such media are under the control of
the enemies of the Dîn and the programmes are tabled by morally indecent people
who propagate such ugly and harmful things as the ideas of enemies of Islam and
the promotion of harâm, then it is not permissible to listen to such radio
programmes or to watch such television programmes or to go to the cinemas where
they show such films. It is harâm like reading papers, books and novels with
similar harâm contents.
It is stated in the final sections of Hadîqa and
Berîqa, “It is
sinful to keep
tambourines or other sorts of musical instruments in one’s home or shop or to
sell them or to give them as presents or to hire them out, though one may not
be using them oneself.
If mubâh (permissible
things) and sins are mixed and if there is harâm where the programmes are
broadcast or where the radio, television or films are listened to or watched,
it is necessary to give up the mubâh or even the thawâb (merits) in it in order
to save oneself from the sins. As a matter of fact, although it is sunnat to
accept an invitation from a Muslim, one should not accept or attend an
invitation wherein there is harâm; one should give up a sunnat to avoid harâm
or mekrűh.
In the book Akhlâq-i
alâ’î[1], it is written:
“Poetry is metred words in verse form. It is certainly mubâh to listen to a
beautiful voice in which there is no melody or singing. Some said it is jâ’iz
(permissible) to sing to oneself to rid oneself of boredom or worries. But it
is harâm to do so to entertain others or to earn money. There are three kinds
of naghma, that is, metred sound:
1 - Human voice. (We have explained this kind of
naghma above in detail.)
2 - Animal voice, such as birds’ singing, is
certainly halâl to listen to.
3 - Sound made by percussion, wind and string
instruments [all musical instruments] is certainly harâm to listen to. It is
not sinful to listen to a stream of water murmuring, waves splashing, wind
blowing and leaves fluttering. It is useful to listen to such sounds, for it
helps to dissipate worries.”
It is written in Ashi’at
al-lama’ât, in the chapter Bayân wa
Shî’r, that a hadîth narrated by Â’isha (radiyallâhu anhâ),
declared: “Poetry is good when it is good and bad
when bad.” “That is, metre or rhyme does not make a word bad or
displeasing; it is the meaning which makes it so.”
It is written in Al-hadîqa,
“Music mixed with harâm pleases the nafses of fâsiqs, in the same way as that
taghannî into which no harâm is added pleases the pure hearts and souls of
pious men.” Neither the former nor the latter enjoy the other’s music; they
feel uncomfortable. This is because what tastes good to hearts and souls makes
the nafs uncomfortable, and what tastes
---------------------------------
[1] Written by 'Ali bin Emrullah 'rahmatullâhi ta'âlâ 'alaih', (916 [1509 A.D.]-979 [1571], Edirne, Turkey.)
sweet to the nafses
gives discomfort to pure hearts. This is why the places that offer a life of
Jannat (Paradise) to the kâfirs and fâsiqs are prisons to the Muslims, the
pious. The hadîth-i sherîf, “The Dunyâ [that is, places where there is harâm,
the majlis al-fisq] is a prison to Believers, and
Paradise to the kâfirs,” communicates this unchanging fact. With
this fact in view, everyone can judge the quality of his qalb (heart). Because
the nafses of most people have become strong by using the ’alâmats (signs) of
kufr and by committing harâms their nafses have suppressed their hearts and
souls; naghma (singing) excites their nafses causing them to become excessive.
And the soul or the heart is not influenced or moved because their talents and
attributes have been blunted and made insensible. Thus, people assume the good
taste felt by their nafses is also the same taste felt by their hearts and
souls, whereas the latter two have no share. As a matter of fact, animals also
enjoy naghma.”
In the tafsîr books (explanations of the Qur’ân al-kerîm), for example, in Tafsîr-i medârik[1], it is written that
the âyat Lehw al-hadîth in the Sűrat al-Luqmân is a prohibition against music.
In the Persian tafsîr book Mawâhib-i ’aliyya[2] this âyat is
interpreted: “Some people gossip, tell and write false stories and novels, and
pay songstresses to get them to sing for the public. By doing so, they are
actually trying to hinder people from listening to the Qur’ân al-kerîm, from reading and learning the
fard and the harâm, and from performing salât; in short, they are trying to
divert them from the way of Islam. Thus, they ridicule Muslims and insult
Allâhu ta’âlâ’s orders. They call Islam ‘regression’ and Muslims abnormal,
old-fashioned, sick men who are retrogressive or reactionary. When these
so-called intellectuals are told about Allâhu ta’âlâ’s orders or the words of
the Ahl as-Sunnat ’ulamâ’, they put on an air and turn away their faces
haughtily, full of conceit and take no notice as if they do not at all hear
what is being said. Give them the news of the fire of Hell and its very bitter
torments.” This tafsîr has been translated into Turkish under the title Mawâkib tefsîri. The book Durr-al-munteqâ declares: “It is harâm to recite
the Qur’ân al-kerîm with taghannî (that
is, melodiously) and to listen to it being
---------------------------------
[1] Written by
Abu-l-berekât Hâfiz-ud-dîn, Abdullah bin Ahmad Nesefî ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ
’alaih’, (d. 710 [1310 A.D.], Baghdâd.)
[2] Written by Husayn Wa’id-i-Kâshifî ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih’, (d. 910 [1505 A.D.], Hirât)
so recited. Burhân
ad-Dîn Merginânî (rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih) stated that a person will lose
his îmân if he says, ‘How beautifully you recite!’ to a hâfiz who recites the Qur’ân al-kerîm melodiously. He will necessarily
have to renew his îmân and nikâh (marriage). Hadrat Quhistâni also wrote the
same. If some people say, ‘We go into ecstasies by reciting qasîdas and ilâhîs
melodiously,’ they should not be believed. There is no such thing in our Dîn.
Dances in takkas and melodious recitals [of ilâhîs or mawlids] are all harâm.
It is not permissible to go to such places and listen to their un-Islamic
practices. The Tasawwuf leaders did not have such practices. They were invented
later. Our Prophet (sallallâhu ’alaihi wa
sallam) listened to poetry. But this is no implication of a permission to
listen to naghma (singing). Those who say our Nabî (sallallâhu
’alaihi wa sallam) listened to songs and went into ecstasies are liars.” [The
taghannî which is harâm is to recite or read (Qur’ân
al-kerîm) by tuning it up to musical notes. And the taghannî which
is sunnat is to recite or read by observing the rules of Tajwîd]. There is
detailed information on raqs and simâ’ (dancing and singing) in the last
chapter of ’Uqűd ad-durriyya.
On page 270 of the fifth volume of Durr al-mukhtâr, it is written, “It is
permissible and beautiful to recite the Qur’ân
al-kerîm with taghannî provided that no letter is added and the
words are not misspelt or mispronounced. Otherwise it is harâm. There is the
fear of kufr if one says, ‘How nicely you recite!’ to someone who performs
taghannî in a way that distorts the Qur’ân al-kerîm.”
Ibn Âbidîn explaining this statement in his commentary, writes, “It was said
that a person will become kâfir if he says, ‘How beautifully you recite!’ to a
hâfiz who recites with taghannî. This is because he who says ‘good’ for
something which is harâm, according to all four Madhhabs, will become a kâfir
(disbeliever). Also, he who says, ‘You recite beautifully!’ referring to the
distorted words becomes a kâfir, and certainly not the one who means his voice
or his reciting the Qur’ân al-kerîm
itself is beautiful.” Such a person will enjoy listening to the same hâfiz also
when he recites without performing taghannî, and will say, ‘He recites
beautifully.’ Nevertheless, one should not listen to a hâfiz who recites with
taghannî; it is harâm both to recite and to listen to. In Al-hadîqa, in the section on the afflictions
incurred by the tongue, it is declared: "It is harâm to recite the Qur’ân al-kerîm by keeping up with a tune and,
thereby, altering the harakas and meds (the vocalizations and the
prolongations), and
so is the case with
listening to this. Beautifying the recitation of the Qur’ân al-kerîm means reciting it in accordance with the rules
of tajwîd.”
On the 266th page of the book Kimyâ-i sa’âdat, in the paragraph concerning
child training, it is written, “Children should not be allowed to read or
recite poems about women, girls and love, and parents should not let their
children go to or learn from a teacher who says such poems are “nourishment for
the soul.” A teacher who says so [and teaches sex] to his students is not a
master but a shaytân because he is spoiling the hearts of children.” Our Nabî (sallallâhu
alaihi wa sallam) declared: “Ghinâ darkens the
heart.” That is, taghannî with human voice and instrumental music
stains the heart. [Ibni ’Âbidîn explains
this hadîth on page 222, volume five.] One should not fancy music or be taken
in by the taste of it. Not the soul but the nafs, who is the enemy of Allâhu
ta’âlâ, enjoys its taste. The wretched rűh (soul) has fallen prey to the hands
of the nafs and, therefore, thinks it is its taste. The taste of music is like
that of honey that is poisoned or the najâsat [dirt] that is sweetened and
gilded.
The aim of reporting that music is harâm and
harmful is not to brand thousands of music addicts as fâsiq and sinful; it must
certainly be pointed out that the sins of the author of these lines are much
more than those of his readers. Only Prophets
(’alaihimussalâm) are ma’thűm, that is, free from any sin. It is another sin
not to know the widespread sins. He who shamelessly commits any harâm which is
unanimously said to be a harâm, thinking that it is halâl, becomes a kâfir.
Thinking of how we are so sinful, we must always be in supplication with bowed
necks before our Rabb. We must make tawba every day!
The great walî Celâleddîn Rűmî (quddisa sirruh),
who was full of love for Allâhu ta’âlâ, never played reeds or any other
instrument. He did not listen to music, nor did he ever dance (raqs).
Commentaries have been written in every country in many languages to his Mathnawî (Mesnevî), which has more than
forty-seven thousand couplets that have been spreading nűr (light) to the
world. The most valuable and tasteful of these commentaries is the one by
Mawlânâ Jâmî which has also been commentated on by many others. And, of these,
56 pages, which covered only four couplets, of the commentary by Suleymân
Nesh’et Efendi was published during the time of Sultân ’Abd al-Majîd Khân by
the Matba’a-i Âmira in
Mathnawî [Listen to the
reed...] means a perfect and exalted human being brought up in Islam. Such
people have forgotten themselves and everything else. Their minds are always
busy seeking Allâhu ta’âlâ’s ridâ (approval, love). In the Persian language,
‘ney’ means ‘non-existent.’ Such people have become non-existent from their own
existence. The musical instrument called ‘ney’ is a plain pipe and the sound
from the ney is completely from the player. As those exalted men are emptied of
their existence, the manifestation of Allâhu ta’âlâ’s Akhlâq, Sifât and Kamâlât
(moral qualities, attributes of perfection) are observed in them. The third
meaning of the word ‘ney’ is reed-pen, which again means, or points to, an
insân-i kâmil (perfect human). Movements and writtings of a pen are not from
itself, nor are the actions and words of a perfect human; they are all inspired
to him by Allâhu ta’âlâ.” ’Abidîn Pasha ‘rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih’, the
governor of Ankara during the time of Sultan ’Abd al-Hamîd Khân the Second,
gave nine proofs in his Mesnevî Ţerhi to
show that ‘ney’ meant insân-i kâmil.
Also, the Mawlawî (Mevlevî) Shaikhs were learned
and pious persons. Osmân (’Uthmân) Efendi, one of them, wrote a book titled Tezkiya-i-Ahl-i-Bayt, in which he refuted the
Râfidî book Husniya with documents, thus
rendering a great service to Islam.[1] Later some ignorant
people thought the ‘ney’ meant ‘musical instrument’ and began to play musical
instruments such as flutes and drums and dance. Musical instruments were placed
in the mausoleum of that great master of Tasawwuf (Mevlânâ Celâleddîn Rűmî).
Certainly, poeple who have read the explanations of Mathnawî
(Mesnevî) and know that sun of truth well, will not be misled by such
falsifications.
Celâleddîn Rűmî (quddisa sirruh) did not even
perform loud dhikrs (to recite Allâhu ta’âlâ’s name loudly). In fact he
declared:
“Pes zi jân kun, wasl-i jânânrâ taleb,
Bî leb-u-bî-gâm migű, nâm-i Rabb!”
in his Mathnawî,
which means, “Therefore, with all your heart, you desire to reach the Beloved.
Without moving your lip and tongue, say [in your heart] the name of your Rabb!”
Later, people ignorant of Islam entertained their nafses by playing
instruments, such as the ney, saz and tambourines and by singing lyrics and
---------------------------------
[1] Please see the book Documents of the Right Word.
dancing. In order to
call these sins ’ibâdât and to make themselves known as men of din they even
lie; they say, “Mawlânâ also used to play and dance like this. We are Mawlâwîs;
we are following his path.”
Hadrat Abdullâh-i Dahlawî, a specialist in ’ilm
az-zâhir, an owner of high ranks in tasawwuf, a profound ’âlim, a great walî,
states in his 74th letter: “Taghannî, sad voice and poetry on the theme of love
for Allâhu ta’âlâ and the qasîdas telling the lifestories of the Awliyâ-i
kirâm, move the related connections and bonds in the heart. Making dhikr with a
low voice and listening to poetry not prohibited by the Sharî’at refines and
gives tenderness to the hearts of the followers of the Chishtiyya tarîqat.” In
the 85th letter, he declares: “Tasawwuf masters and leaders listened to
beautiful voices. But the voices were not accompanied by instrumental music,
and the listeners were not in the company of boys or girls, nor were they in
the company of fâsiqs. A great leader of the Chishtiyya tarîqat, Hadrat Sultân
al-Meshâyikh Nizâm ud-Dîn-i Awliyâ, listened to beautiful voices, but never to
instrumental music, as written in the books Fawâ’id
al-fuâd and Siyar al-awliyâ.
The Awliyâ’s listening to sima’, that
is, to beautiful voices, is for the purpose of converting the heart from the
state of discomfort to comfort. The ghâfils’ (those devoid of love for Allâhu
ta’âlâ) listening to a beautiful voice gives way to fisq. No instrumental music
is halâl. Although there were those who, when in a state of sekr (ecstasy),
said it was permissible, they are held excusable; one should not say jâ’iz
putting forth their word as an evidence. Silent dhikr (dhikr al-khafî) is more
meritorious (afdal), though it is permissible to make audible dhikr (dhikr
al-’alanî), observing the conditions compatible with the Sharî’at. It is not
permissible to play an instrument, such as a flute, violin, saz, ney, or to
listen to the songs of ghâfils, to dance [raqs], or to watch those who do so.”
In the 99th letter, he states: “To dissipate the qadb [discomfort] of the
heart, the Qur’ân al-kerîm, recited with
a beautiful voice and in accordance with the rules of tajwîd, should be
listened to. This is what the Sahâbat al-kirâm used to do. It was not their
habit to listen to qasîdas or poems. Listening to songs and musical instruments
and performing audible dhikr were introduced later. The great tasawwuf leaders
like Abű ‘l-Hasan ash-Shâdhilî and Hammâd ad-Dabbâs (qaddasallâhu ta’âlâ
esrârahumâ) categorically refused all such things. ’Abd al-Haqq ad-Dahlawî
(rahmatullâhi ’alaihim) relates this in detail. There were also those leaders
who,
without any
accompanying music, fâsiqs or ghâfils, listened to poetry about love for Allâhu
ta’âlâ. When they brought the ney and saz to Hadrat Shâh an-Naqshaband
al-Bukhârî, he stated: ‘We do not listen to these. But we do not deny the
mutasawwifs who listen. Rasűlullah (sallallâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) never
listened to a musical instrument. In the Tarîqat-i Mujaddidiyya, listening to
taghannî does not influence the heart. Listening to the Qur’ân al-kerîm gives ease to the heart and
increases its peace. To those in (the phase called) the sayr-i qalb, songs and
music give pleasure. The dhikr made with a low voice and sad taghannî increases
zawq (joy) and shawq (ardour). The dhikr with a loud voice full of pain and
sorrow, outside of one’s own control and option, is not prohibited. But it
should not be made a habit.”
In Ashi’at al-lamâ’at,
in chapter Bayân wa Shi’r, it is
written, “Nâfi’, a great Tâbi’, said, “Abdullah ibn ’Umar (radiyallâhu ’anhumâ)
and I were walking together. We heard the sound of a ney. Abdullah plugged his
ears with his fingers. We quickly walked away from that place. ‘Is the sound
still audible?’ he asked. ‘No, it can no longer be heard,’ I replied. He took
his fingers from his ears and, ‘Rasűlullah (sallallâhu ’alaihi wa sallam), too,
had done so,’ he said. Then, Nâfi’ added, ‘I was only a child then. This means
that he did not order Nâfi’ to plug his ears because he was a child.’
Therefore, it is not correct to deduce from this that listening to the sound of
a ney is tanzîhî mekrűh and not tahrîmî mekrűh, and to think that ’Abdullah
(radiyallâhu ’anh) plugged his ears with his fingers out of wara’ and taqwâ.
Nâfi’ added the explanation that he was a child then to prevent such misinterpretations.”
Itrî Efendi, who lived in the time of Sultân
Muhammad Khân the Third (rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ esrârahum), was not an Islamic
scholar. He was a master of music like Beethoven. By composing the Takbîr in
the segâh maqâm (tune), he did not perform a service to Islam but rather
introduced a bid’at into Islam. To keep up with a tune, the words are distorted
and the meaning is spoilt. People are carried away by the effect of naghma on
their ears and nafses, and, therefore, the meaning of the Takbîr and its effect
on the heart and the soul is lost. The same distortion of words and the
consequent spoiling of the meanings happen when the Qur’ân
al-kerîm and the Mawlîds are recited with naghma. No desirable
effect or blessing is left in such recitations. The Qur’ân
al-kerîm should be recited with a beautiful voice and tajwîd so that
it will be more effective and full of blessings.
In the book Berîqa,
ghinâ, that is, taghannî is explained and
discussed in detail as
the seventeenth of the afflictions incurred by the tongue (âfât al-lisân), and
Shaikh al-Islâm Abu’s-Su’űd Efendi’s (rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih) fatwâ is also
quoted. In this fatwâ, a distinction is made between the halâl and harâm kinds
of taghannîs only. And there is nothing written in the fatwâ about musical
instruments. Despite this fact, some people who play a ney and other musical
instruments put this fatwâ forward as a support and thus slander Abu’s-Su’űd
Efendi.
Ibni ’Âbidîn, in the fourth volume,
within the paragraph concerning those whose testimony is not acceptable,
declares: “It is unanimously understood that it is harâm to sing to people to
entertain or to earn money. It is a grave sin to play music and dance. It is
not a sin to sing to oneself to dissipate one’s worries. It is permissible to
listen to poetry in which there is wa’z (preaching) and hikmat (wisdom). As for
musical instruments, only women are allowed to play tambourines at wedding
parties.” But both sexes must not intermingle. There is detailed information on
taghannî and musical instruments in the last chapter of the second part of Al-mawâhib al-Ladunniyya. In Al-hadîqa, in the section dealing with the
afflictions incurred by the ear, it is written, “It is harâm to play or listen
to musical instruments with girls dancing in a function where there are fisq
and alcohol. These are the kinds of music and musical instruments prohibited in
the Hadîth. Although Rasűlullah (sallallâhu ’alaihi wa sallam) plugged his
blessed ears with his fingers upon hearing the shepherd’s flute, he did not
order ’Abdullah ibn ’Umar, who was with him, to do so. This shows that it is
not harâm to hear when passing by.” In the section on the afflictions of the
hand, it is stated: “It is harâm to play musical instruments for entertainment
with alcohol, playing, dancing and women. It was ordered in a hadîth to play
tambourines at wedding parties. It is true that this order includes men, too.
[But Ibni ’Âbidîn’s prohibiting
statement quoted above is preferrable.] It is permissible to play drums and
similar instruments on the way to hajj and in the army.” The last sentence
shows that it is permissible to have musical bands play at schools or at
national and political functions.
In the last chapters of Imâm-i Zahabî’s
(rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ ’alaih) Tibb-un-nabawî
and Ibni Âbidîn’s (rahmatullâhi ta’âlâ
’alaih) fatwâ book Al-’uqűd ad-durriyya,
the harâm and the permitted kinds of taghannî are explained in detail in
Arabic. The whole of the former was printed in the margins of the book Tas’hil al-manâfi’, and the chapter on taghannî
of the latter was
appended to the book Al-habl al-matin fî ittibâ’ as-Salaf as-sâlihîn.
These two books have been published by Hakîkat Kitâbevi in Istanbul.
Oh, do not get lured by the world, the
end will be ruination one day,
The moments that you now enjoy will surely be a lie one day.
Do not rely on property and post, only
the shroud is what you will take away,
And also that will rot in the soil, and you’ll become one with the earth one
day.
People will be resurrected from their
graves, some unveiled and some naked.
Bare-footed and bare-headed, all will wear their skins one day.
Deed-books will fall like snow, men
will shiver when they see.
All people will sweat to their shin, great council will be held one day.
Some of them are wholely stained, never
have they helped Islam.
He who follows the Sharî’at will smile happily one day.
-------------------------
HÜSEYN HiLMi IŢIK
'Rahmat-allahi alaih’
Hüseyn Hilmi Iţýk, 'Rahmat-allahi
alaih’, publisher of the Waqf Ikhlas Publications, was born in Eyyub Sultan,
Istanbul in 1329 (A.D. 1911).
Of the one hundred and forty-four books
he published, sixty are Arabic, twenty-five Persian, fourteen Turkish, and the
remaining translated books consist of French, German, English, Russian and other
languages.
Hüseyn Hilmi Iţýk, 'Rahmat-allahi
alaih' (guided by Sayyid Abdulhakim Arvasi, ‘Rahmat-allahi alaih’, a profound
scholar of the religion and was perfect in virtues of tasawwuf and capable to
direct disciples in a fully mature manner; possessor of glories and wisdom),
was a competent, great Islamic scholar able to pave the way for attaining
happiness, passed away during the night between October 25, 2001 (8 Shaban
1422) and October 26, 2001 (9 Shaban 1422). He was buried at Eyyub Sultan,
where he was born.