Amusing Song and Music (original author: Ibn Hazm)

Abū Muḥammad (ibn Hazm) said: Praise belongs to Allāh, Master of the Universe; the end
belongs to the pious; there is no enmity except against the tyrants; and may Allāh bless
Muḥammad, Seal of the Prophets. To proceed:

May Allāh empower you and me with His taufīq [success], and by His luṭf [kindness] may He
help us fulfill His rights, for you wanted me to present to you something about amusing
song, regarding whether it is mubāḥ [allowed, i.e. legal] or maḥẓūr [banned, i.e. illegal].
There have come some narrations indicating its restriction and there have come some
narrations indicating its permissibility, so I will mention the narrations of restriction and
explain their defects and I will mention the narrations of permissibility and explain their
authenticity, if Allāh wills, and Allāh guides to the correct answer.

As for the narrations of restriction:

1. Sa’īd ibn Abī Razīn related from his brother from Laith ibn Abī Salīm from ‘Abd Ar-Raḥmān

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ibn Sābiṭ from ‘Ā`išah, that the Nabī ‫ ﷺ‬said:

‫إن ﷲ حرم المغن ة و عها وثمنها وتعل مها واﻻستماع إل ه‬

“Verily Allāh made ḥarām: the songstress, her sale, her wage, her education, and listening to
her.”

2. Lāḥiq ibn Ḥusain ibn ‘Umar related that Ibn Abil-Wird al-Maqdisī said: Abul-Murajjā Ḍirār
ibn ‘Alī ibn ‘Umair al-Qāḍī al-Jīlānī told us: Aḥmad ibn Sa’īd told us from Muḥammad ibn
Kaṯīr al-Ḥimṣī from Faraj ibn Faḍālah from Yaḥyā ibn Sa’īd from Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥanafīyah
from ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib: Rasūl Allāh said:

‫إذا علمت أم خمس ع ة خصلة حل بها ال ﻼء إذا ان المال دوﻻ واﻷمانة مغنما والزاة مغرما وأطاع الرجل زوجته‬
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‫وعق أمه وجفا أ اه وارتفعت اﻷصوات المساجد و ان زع م القوم أذلهم وأ رم الرجل مخافة ه ول ست الح ر‬
‫واتخذت القينات والمعازف ولعن آخر هذه اﻷمة أولها فليتوقعوا عند ذلك ر حا حمراء ومسخا وخسفا‬

“When my ummah comes to know of fifteen practices they will be consumed by tribulation.
When wealth is plentiful, trust is plundered, charity brings loss, a man obeys his wife,
disobeys his mother and abandons his father, the voices are raised in the masājid, the
leader of people is their most lowly, a man is honored in fear of his evil, silk is worn,
(singing) slavegirls are taken, as are instruments, and the last of this ummah will curse its
first. They will then be afflicted by a red wind, deformation and humiliation.”

3. Abū ‘Ubaidah ibn Fuḍail ibn ‘Iyād related: Abū Sa’īd Maulā Banī Hāšim ‘Abd Ar-Raḥmān
ibn ‘Abd Allāh told us: ‘Abd Ar-Raḥmān ibn al-’Alā informed us from Muḥammad ibn al-
Muhājir from Kaisān Maulā Mu’āwiyah: Mu’āwiyah told us: Rasūl Allāh forbade nine things
and I forbid you from them as well: Alas! Verily from them are:

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‫الغناء والن ح والتصاو ر والشعر والذهب وجلود الس اع والخز والح ر‬

“Singing, wailing, statues, poetry, gold, skins of predatory beasts, silken-wear, and silk
itself.”

4. Salām ibn Miskīn related from an old man who witnessed Ibn Mas’ūd say, “Singing
cultivates nifāq [hypocrisy] in the heart.”

5. ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Ḥabīb related: ‘Abd al-’Azīz al-Uwaisī told us from Ismā’īl ibn ‘Ayyāš from
‘Ali ibn Zaid from al-Qāsim from Abū Umāmah: I heard Rasūl Allāh saying:

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‫ﻻ حل تعل م المغن ات وﻻ اؤههن وﻻ ي عهن وﻻ اتخاذهن وثمنهن حرام وقد أنزل ﷲ ذلك كتا ه ومن الناس من‬
‫ش ي لهو الحد ث ل ضل عن س ل ﷲ غ علم والذي نف ب ده ما رفع رجل عق ته الغناء إﻻ ارتدفه ش طانان‬
‫ان أرجلهما صدره وظهره ح سكت‬

“The teaching of songstresses is not permissible, nor is buying them, selling them, or
accepting them. Their wage is ḥarām. Allāh has revealed that in His book: (And of mankind is
he who purchases amusing speech to mislead from the path of Allāh without knowledge).
(31:6) By the One in Whose Yad is my soul, a man does not raise his voice in song except
that two shaiṭanain follow behind him kicking his chest and his back until he becomes
quiet.”

6. Also from ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Ḥabīb from al-Uwaisī from ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Umair ibn Ḥafṣ ibn
‘Āṣim that Rasūl Allāh said:

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‫سكت‬ ‫إن المغ أذنه ب د ش طان يرعشه ح‬

“Verily the singer’s ear is shaken by the hand of a shaiṭān until he becomes quiet.”

7. Also from ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Ḥabīb: Ibn Ma’īn told me from Mūsā ibn A’yan from al-Qāsim
from Abū Umāmah that Rasūl Allāh said:

‫إن ﷲ حرم تعل م المغن ات و اءهن و عهن وأ ل أثمانهن‬

“Verily Allāh forbade the teaching of songstresses, their purchase, their sale, and consuming
their wages.”

8. Al-Buḵārī mentioned: Hišām ibn ‘Ammār said: Ṣadaqah ibn Khālid told us: ‘Abd Ar-Raḥmān

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ibn Yazīd ibn Jābir told us: ‘Aṭīyah ibn Qais al-Kilābī told us: ‘Abd Ar-Raḥmān ibn Ghanam al-
Aš’arī told us: Abū ‘Āmir or Abū Mālik al-Aš’arī told me that he heard the Nabī ‫ ﷺ‬saying:

‫ل كونن من أم قوم ستحلون الحر والح ر والخمر والمعازف‬

“There will be a people from my ummah deeming permissible vaginae, silk, wine and
mandolins.”

9. Ibn Sha’bān related: Ibrāhīm ibn ‘Uṯmān ibn Sa’īd told me: Aḥmad ibn al-Ghimr ibn Abī
Hammād told me in Ḥimṣ and Yazīd ibn ‘Abd Aṣ-Ṣamad both said: ‘Ubaid ibn Hāšim al-Ḥalabī
Abū Nu’aim told us: ‘Abd Allāh ibn al-Mubārak told us from Mālik from Muḥammad ibn al-
Munkadir from Anas: Rasūl Allāh said:

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‫أذن ه اﻵنك يوم الق امة‬ ‫من جلس إ قينة صب‬

“Whoever sits (listening) to a singing slave woman, black lead will be poured into his ear on
Yaum al-Qiyāmah.”

10. Ibn Sha’bān also related: My uncle told me: Abū ‘Abd Allāh Ad-Dūrī told us: ‘Ubaid Allāh
al-Qawārīrī told us: ‘Imrān ibn ‘Ubaid told us from ‘Atā ibn al-Sā`ib from Sa’īd ibn Jubair from
Ibn ‘Abbās regarding the saying of Allāh ‫ﷻ‬:

َ َ ‫ﱠ‬ َ َ ْ َ ْ َ ‫َ َ ﱠ‬
ِ ‫و ِمن الناس َمن ش ي لهو الح ِد ِث ِل ُ ِضل عن س ِ ِل ا‬

And of mankind is he who purchases distracting speech to misguide from the path of Allāh…

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(31:6)

He said, “al-Ghinā [singing].”

11. Ibn Abī Shaibah Abū Bakr related: Zaid ibn al-Ḥubāb told us: Mu’āwiyah ibn Sālih told us
from Ḥātim ibn Ḥuraiṯ from Ibn Abī Maryam: ‘Abd Ar-Raḥmān ibn Ghanam visited us and
said: Abū Mālik al-Aš’arī informed us that he heard the Nabī ‫ ﷺ‬saying,

‫ب ع رؤوسهم المعازف والقينات خسف ﷲ بهم اﻷرض‬ ‫ب ناس من أم الخمر سمونها غ اسمها ت‬

“Some people from my ummah will drink wine calling it another name; mandolins being
struck and singing slave women will be on their heads; so Allāh will sink them into the

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earth.”

12. Another narration contains:

‫صوت نائحة وصوت مغن ة‬ ‫ملعون‬ ‫عن صوت‬ ‫ﷲ تعا ن‬

“Allāh ‫ ﷻ‬prohibited two accursed sounds: the sound of a wailing woman and the sound of a
songstress.”

There is no authenticity in any of these and all of them are fabricated.

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1. As for the narration of ‘Ā`išah ‫ر ﷲ عنها‬, it contains Sa’īd ibn Abi Razīn and his brother,
and no one knows who either of them are.

2. As for the narration of ‘Alī ‫ر ﷲ عنه‬, then all narrators up to Yaḥyā ibn Sa’īd are
unknown; and Yaḥyā ibn Sa’īd never related a single word from Muḥammad ibn al-
Ḥanafīyah, nor did he even meet him.

3. As for the narration of Ibn Mas’ūd ‫ﷲ عنه‬ ‫ ر‬then it contains an old man who is unnamed
and whom no one knows.

4. As for the narration of Mu’āwiyah then it contains Kaisān, who is not known, and
Muḥammad ibn Muhājir, who is weak. It also contains the prohibition of poetry, yet they

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(those who use this as evidence) allow it.

5, 6, 7. All of the narrations of ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Ḥabīb are corrupt.

5, 7. As for the narration of Abū Umamah then it contains Ismā’īl ibn ‘Ayyāsh and he is weak,
and so is al-Qāsim.

8. As for the narration of al-Buḵārī then al-Buḵārī did not relate it with a connected isnād,
but he only said “Hišām ibn ‘Ammār said.” Furthermore, it is not known if it was narrated by
Abū ‘Āmir or Abū Mālik, and Abū ‘Āmir is unknown.

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9, 10. All of the narrations of Ibn Sha’bān are corrupt. As for the narration of Anas then it is
rotten, as it was related by unknown narrators. None of Mālik’s trustworthy companions
narrated it from him. There is another related by Makḥūl from ‘Ā`išah, but he never met
her. It also contains unknown narrators like Hāšim ibn Nāṣiḥ and ‘Umar ibn Mūsā, and it is
has a broken chain. Furthermore, Abū Abd Allāh al-Duri is unknown.

11. As for the narration of Ibn Abī Shaibah then it contains Mu’āwiyah ibn Ṣāliḥ and he is
weak, and also Mālik ibn Abī Maryam and he is unknown.

12. As for the prohibition of two sounds then it is not known who related it.

So everything mentioned above is completely rejected.

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Regarding the explanation of the saying of Allāh ‫ﷻ‬:

َ ْ ‫ﱠ‬
‫َو ِم َن الناس َمن َ ش ي ل ْه َو ال َح ِد ِث‬

And of mankind is he who purchases distracting speech… (31:6)

[t]hat it means “singing”, then this is not reported from Rasūl Allāh nor is it established
from any of his companions. It is only the opinion of some of the exegetes, by whose
opinion proof is not established; as such, it is not correct to hold that opinion. Even if it was
established, it cannot be used for this issue because Allāh ‫ ﷻ‬mentions:

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 َ َ ‫ﱠ‬
ِ ‫ِل ُ ِضل عن س ِ ِل ا‬

…to misguide from the path of Allāh… (31:6)

[a]nd anything that is done to misguide from the path of Allāh is a sin and is ḥarām, even if it
includes buying a copy of the Qurʾan or teaching the Qurʾan, and with Allāh is success.

So nothing is essentially authentic regarding this subject, and He ‫ ﷻ‬has said:

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 َ َْ
‫َوقد ف ﱠص َل ل م ﱠما َح ﱠر َم َعل ْ ْم‬

…and He has detailed for you what He forbade for you… (6:119)

[a]nd He ‫ ﷻ‬said:

‫اﻷرض جم عا‬ ‫هو الذي خلق ل م ما‬

He is the One Who created for you all that is in the earth, (2:29)

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[a]nd Rasūl Allāh said by way of Sa’d ibn Abī Waqqāṣ, with an authentic chain:

‫ء لم حرم فحرم من أجل مسألته‬ ‫اﻹسﻼم من سأل عن‬ ‫إن من أعظم الناس جرما‬

“Verily the greatest of offenders in Islām is one who asks about something that is not
forbidden, then it becomes forbidden due to his question.”

It is thus known that He ‫ ﷻ‬has detailed for us everything that is forbidden, and whatever He
did not detail as forbidden is therefore permissible.

1. Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj said: Hārūn ibn Sa’īd al-Ayyilī told me: ‘Abd Allāh ibn Wahb told us:
‘Amr ibn al-Ḥāriṯ told us that Ibn Shihāb told him from ‘Urwah ibn al-Zubair from ‘Ā`išah,
Mother of the Believers, that Abū Bakr entered upon her while she had with her two girls
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singing and striking (an instrument) during the days of Mina, and Rasūl Allāh was covered by
his garment. Abū Bakr scolded the two girls, so Rasūl Allāh uncovered himself and said,

‫دعهما ا أ ا كر فإنها أ ام ع د‬

“Leave them Abū Bakr! Verily these are the days of an ‘īd.”

2. Also from Muslim up to Amr ibn al-Ḥāriṯ that Muḥammad ibn ‘Abd Ar-Raḥmān told him
from ‘Urwah from ‘Ā`išah: Rasūl Allāh entered while I was with two girls singing the Song of
Bu’āṯ, so he laid on the bedding and turned his face. Abū Bakr then entered, scolded me,
and said: The flute of Shaiṭān near Rasūl Allāh?! So he turned to him and said:

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 َ
‫د ْع ُه َما‬

“Leave them.”

If it is said that Abū Usāmah also related this narration from Hišām ibn ‘Urwah from his
father, who said therein, “and the two girls were not songstresses”; then let it be said that
‘Ā`išah said that they were singing. It is established that the act of singing was performed, so
her saying that “they were not songstresses” only means that they were not good at singing.

Rasūl Allāh heard the saying of Abū Bakr, “the flute of Shaiṭān,” and he rebuked him for
that, but he did not rebuke the two girls for their singing. This is the proof that no one is
able to dispute and submission must be given to it.

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3. Abū Dāwūd al-Sijistānī related: Aḥmad ibn ‘Ubaid al-’Adanī told us: al-Walīd ibn Muslim
told us: Sa’īd ibn ‘Abd al-’Azīz told us: Sulaiman ibn Mūsā told us from Nāfi’ that he said: Ibn
‘Umar heard a flute being played, so he placed his fingers in his ears and distanced himself
from the path. He said, “O Nāfi’! Do you hear anything?” I said, “No.” He then removed his
fingers and said, “I was with Rasūl Allāh when he heard something like this and he did as I
have done.”

If it was ḥarām then Rasūl Allāh would not have allowed Ibn ‘Umar to listen to it, nor would
Ibn ‘Umar allow Nāfi’ to listen to it. Rather, he disliked anything that did not bring him
closer to Allāh, just as he did not like eating while reclining, drying himself after ghusl with a
garment prepared for that purpose, or having a decorative cover on the awning of ‘Ā`išah or
ُ ْ
the door of Fāṭimah ‫ ;رض َوان ا ِ َعل ْي ِه َما‬just as he severely did not like to spend a night owning a
dīnār or dirham. But he was only sent to forbid vice and command virtue, so if that was
ḥarām he would not have fallen short by only plugging his ears and not commanding it be
abandoned and prohibited. He did no such thing. Instead, he silently consented to it and

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distanced himself from it; so it is clear that it is allowed and that leaving it is best, just like
the rest of the extraneous permitted things of the world. There is no difference.

4. Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj related: Zuhair ibn Ḥarb told us: Jarīr ibn Hišām ibn ‘Urwah told us
from his father from ‘Ā`išah, “Some Abyssinians came dancing playfully in the masjid on an
‘īd day, so Rasūl Allāh called to me and I placed my head on his shoulder. I watched them
play until I myself turned my sight away from them.”

5. Sufyān Aṯ-Thaurī and Shu’bah both related from Abū Isḥāq al-Subai’ī from ‘Āmir ibn Sa’d
al-Bajalī that Abū Mas’ūd al-Badrī, Qaraẓah ibn Ka’b, and Thābit ibn Zaid were at a wedding
along with (or listening to) singing. I said, “This and you are the companions of Rasūl
Allāh?!” So they said, “Verily he authorized us to sing at weddings and to weep for the dead
but not to wail.” Shu’bah said Thābit ibn Wadī’ah instead of Thābit ibn Zaid and he did not

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mention Abū Mas’ūd.

6. Hišām ibn Zaid related: Ḥassān told us from Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn that a man came to al-
Madīnah with some slave girls. He came across Ibn ‘Umar and there was a girl strumming (a
lute) amongst them. A man came to haggle but did not find anything he liked. He (Ibn
‘Umar) said, “Go to a man who is more likely to buy from you than this.” So he came to ‘Abd
Allāh ibn Ja’far and he showed them to him and then commanded a girl to proceed. She
proceeded until Ibn ‘Umar thought that he had seen enough, so he said, “You can have the
rest of the day to listen to the vocals of Shaiṭān.” They concluded the deal, but then the man
came back to Ibn ‘Umar saying, “O Abā ‘Abd Ar-Raḥmān! I have been cheated out of nine-
hundred dirham!” So Ibn ‘Umar brought the man to the buyer and said, “He was cheated
out of nine-hundred dirham, so either you give it to him or you return to him what you
bought.” He said, “Then I will give it to him.”

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This is ‘Abd Allāh ibn Ja’far and ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Umar. They heard song accompanied by the
lute. Even though Ibn ‘Umar did not like things that were not serious, he did not forbid it.
Instead, he traveled for the sake of purchasing a songstress as you see. If that was ḥarām,
he would definitely not allow it.

If someone said: Allāh ‫ ﷻ‬said:

َ ‫ﱠ ﱠ‬ َ َ َ
‫ف َماذا َ ْعد ال َح ﱢق ِإ الض ِل‬

So what is after the truth except misguidance? (10:32)

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So where is singing in this (i.e. is it from the truth or is it misguidance)?

They are told: What about relaxing in a garden, dying one’s clothes, or anything else from
lahw [amusement]? Rasūl Allāh said:

‫إنما اﻷعمال الن ات و نما ل ل امرئ ما نوى‬

“Actions are only by intentions and to each person belongs what he intends.”

So if someone intends relaxation and recuperation for taqwā [piety] in obedience to Allāh
‫ﷻ‬, then such is not misguidance. Abū Hanīfah said, “Whoever steals a flute or a lute, his

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hand is cut; and if he broke them, he is liable for them.”

It is not permissible to forbid something nor to permit it except with a text from Allāh ‫ ﷻ‬or
from His Rasūl as that would be giving information on behalf of Allāh ‫ ﷻ‬and it is not
allowed to give information on His behalf except with the text in which there is no doubt,
and Rasūl Allāh said:

‫ومن كذب ع متعمدا فليبوأ مقعده من النار‬

“Whoever lies against me intentionally, let him take his seat in the fire.”

ُ ْ
Abū Bakr ‘Abd al-Bāqī ibn Biryāl al-Ḥijārī ‫ َر ِ َ ا ُ َعنه‬said, as some of the great scholars of his
time told me, that: I took a textual copy in which were the related narrations about the
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dispraise of singing and the restriction from the sale of songstresses, and what Abū
ُْ
Muḥammad ‫ َر ِ َ ا ُ َعنه‬mentioned about them, and I took it to the imām and faqīh Abū
‘Umar Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr. I gave it to him for a few days and hoped that he would analyze it. So
the copy stayed with him for a few days. I returned to him and said, “What have you done
with the copy?” He said, “I have not found anything to add to it nor to take away from it.”

Source: Ar-Rasā`il, Ibn Ḥazm, 1/430-439.

Additional Notes:
His (ibn Hazm's) saying about the weak narrations that "all of them are fabricated" means
that they are not from the Nabī ‫ ﷺ‬. Unlike those who analyze ḥadīṯ on a very complex
grading system, with specific terminologies having isolated meanings, Ibn Ḥazm was very
loose in his words, i.e. something was either accepted or rejected. Anything he said in praise
of a narration means that he accepted it, while anything disparaging he said meant that he

26
rejected it. He also claimed that anything that was weak or contained any defect was itself a
lie against Rasūl Allāh ‫ﷺ‬, as it was lacking preservation and was therefore most certainly
not from the Revelation; Allāh ‫ ﷻ‬said,

‫إنا نحن نزلنا الذكر و نا له لحافظون‬

Verıly We sent down the Remembrance and verily We are preserving it. (15:9)

Regarding all of the narrations of 'Abd Al-Malik Bin Ḥabīb being corrupt, that is because 'Abd
Al-Malik himself is weak. His name is 'Abd Al-Malik Bin Ḥabīb Bin Sulaimān Bin Marwān Abū
Marwān As-Sulamī Al-Andalusī. He was a Mālikī scholar and forerunner of the Mālikī school
in Al-Andalus. He died in 238. Ibn Al-Farḍī (d. 403) mentions his defects from those who met
him. See: Tārīḵ 'Ulamā Al-Andalus, Ibn al-Farḍī, 1/101/816.

27
Regarding all of the narrations of Ibn Sha'bān being corrupt, that is partially because Ibn
Sha'bān is weak according to Ibn Ḥazm. His name is Muḥammad Bin Al-Qāsim Bin Sha'bān
Bin Muḥammad Abū Isḥāq Al-'Ammārī Al-Miṣrī. He was a Mālikī scholar and he was known
as Ibn Al-Quraṭī. He died is 355. Aḏ-Dhahabī mentions that Ibn Ḥazm declared him
untrustworthy due to an issue with his memory. See: Siyar A'lām An-Nubalā, Aḏ-Dhahabī,
16/78/60.

The "Song of Bu'āṯ" mentioned in the ḥadīṯ of 'Ā`išah was a poem in reference to the
famous battle between the Yaṯribī tribes of Al-Aus and Al-Khazraj in the Days of Jahiliya. The
battlefield was a place called Bu'āṯ in the southeast of Yaṯrib, i.e. Al-Madīnah.

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