In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Merciful.

Thank you for your inquiry.

The answer to your question has two aspects. One concerns singing without instruments (ghina), and the other concerns instruments (mazamir and/or ma’adhif) or music. There is disagreement among scholars about both.

Singing without instruments
Most of the jurists (fuqaha) of the four schools of jurisprudence, including the four Imams, agree that ghina is permissible. The condition is that its content is permissible in Islam, such as praising Allah, paying homage to our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him), his companions, the scholars, etc. Songs or poetry that have content that contradicts the teachings of the Sharia, such as shirk (idolatry), lying, things that arouse erotic feelings, praising women and alcohol, etc., are strongly disliked (makruh tahrimi) according to the four Imams. In some of their texts, the word haram is used. By this is meant haram that is dhanni or ijtihadi (analogous) and not qat’i. (Haram dhanni is the same as makruh tahrimi (strongly disliked). Makruh tahrimi means something that is not explicitly haram but is quite close to haram).

There are also some scholars who say that singing is absolutely forbidden. Shaykh Abdul Haq Muhaddis Dehlawi contradicts this and justifies it by saying that there is no evidence that ghina in its entirety is haram, as is the case with alcohol and adultery, for example. (Ashe’ah al-Lama’at (Urdu), vol. 2, p. 668, Farid Book Stall Lahore)

Hadrat Shaykh Nizam al-Din Awliya (may Allah be pleased with him) says that good poetry has a positive effect. Anything heard in the form of prose has more effect if it is expressed as poetry. One of his disciples said: “I am not touched by anything else as much as by sama’ (listening to songs).” Shaykh Nizam al-Din Awliya said that it is the good sense of the Sufis that sets fire (has such a deep impact). What would life be without it? It would be tasteless. (Fawaid al-Fuad, p. 219)

Music and Musical Instruments
According to numerous hadiths, it is forbidden to play or listen to music. There are some exceptions. At a wedding ceremony, a wedding feast and on Eid days, it is permissible to use some music. In these cases too, Allama Saeedi, citing Shams al-Din Sarkhasi and Badr al-Din ‘Aini, believes that only the daff (drum) is permissible. No other instruments may be used. (Sharh Sahih Muslim, 2/685-86)

There are some scholars who believe that since it is permissible to use the daff on the above-mentioned occasions, it must also be okay to play and listen to some music otherwise. This is a wrong line of thinking, says Allama Saeedi. First of all, because it is forbidden to use musical instruments, including the daff, according to several reliable hadith texts. Secondly, it is clear from the hadiths that this permission is related to the special occasions. The sahabah (companions of the Prophet) were also of the same opinion. (See, for example, Ibn Humam, Fath al-Qadeer, 6/486, Ibn Nujaim, Albahr al-Raiq, 7/88, Ibn Abideen Shami, Radd al-Muhtar, 5/305, Mulla Nizam al-Din, Fatawa Alamgiri (Hindiyyah), 5/351)

Relevant hadiths and texts by the scholars of the four schools of law, as well as a detailed treatise on the subject can be read in Sharah Sahih Muslim by Allama Ghulam Rasul Saeedi, volume 2, pp. 672-703, Farid Book Stall Lahore)

There are also some scholars who do not regard music, like ghina, as generally forbidden. According to them, both prohibition and commandment depend on the way it is used. Their main argument is that all hadiths concerning the prohibition of musical instruments are either not so authentic as to form the basis for establishing that music is haram [Ja’far Phulwari, Islam aur mausiqi (Islam and Music), p. 169], or they do not explicitly establish a general prohibition of music (ibid, p. 178). If these narrations were intended to declare music haram, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would never have heard the daff (drum) himself, as for example on an Eid day according to a hadith in both Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. Nor would he (peace be upon him) have permitted it for others on these occasions.

Conclusion
The scholars (ulama and fuqaha) who believe that music is forbidden far outnumber those who believe the opposite. There are some Sufis who allow some music during sama’ but they set strict requirements for it to be permissible.

According to Shah Muhammad Ja’far Phulwari, there are three different groupings of ulama on this topic:

1. Muhaddithin, the hadith experts, who believe that music is mubah, that is, permitted.
2. Fuqaha, legal scholars. These generally view music as haram.
3. The Sufis. Several of these believe that music is permitted, but they set strict requirements for its use, so that no one has the opportunity to misuse it. (Islam aur Mausiqi, introduction, p. b)

Taking all these points of view into account in a total assessment, it is not so difficult to conclude that it is best to avoid listening to music as much as possible. But on the other hand, this does not come under the list of the greatest sins, provided that it is free from all that is forbidden and that it is not abused.

And Allah Ta’ala knows best.

Written by Najeeb-ur-Rehman Naz in consultation with Allama Muhammad Ata-ul-Mustafa.