(Excerpt from the book: “500 Questions & Answers for Women” based on the Fatwas of the Scholars of the Two Holy Mosques, translated by Hafiz Abdullah Saleem)
What is the ruling on the nasheeds commonly circulated among youth, which they label as "Islamic nasheeds"?
If these nasheeds consist of Islamic meanings and concepts, and do not involve any instruments or musical tools such as duff, tabla, etc., then there is no harm in them.
However, it is necessary and obligatory to state an important condition for their permissibility, which is that these nasheeds must be free from any Shar‘i violations, such as idle or frivolous content.
Furthermore, another essential condition is that listening to these nasheeds must not become a habit, because habitual listening may distance listeners from reciting the Noble Qur’an, while the pure Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ encourages the recitation of the Qur’an. Similarly, constant engagement in listening to nasheeds may distract a person from acquiring beneficial knowledge and from calling others toward Allāh (da‘wah).
As for the use of the duff along with nasheeds, it is permissible for women among themselves excluding men, and even that is restricted to occasions such as ‘Eid and weddings.
— (Muḥammad Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī رحمه الله)
❖ Question:
What is the ruling on the nasheeds commonly circulated among youth, which they label as "Islamic nasheeds"?
❖ Answer:
If these nasheeds consist of Islamic meanings and concepts, and do not involve any instruments or musical tools such as duff, tabla, etc., then there is no harm in them.
However, it is necessary and obligatory to state an important condition for their permissibility, which is that these nasheeds must be free from any Shar‘i violations, such as idle or frivolous content.
Furthermore, another essential condition is that listening to these nasheeds must not become a habit, because habitual listening may distance listeners from reciting the Noble Qur’an, while the pure Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ encourages the recitation of the Qur’an. Similarly, constant engagement in listening to nasheeds may distract a person from acquiring beneficial knowledge and from calling others toward Allāh (da‘wah).
As for the use of the duff along with nasheeds, it is permissible for women among themselves excluding men, and even that is restricted to occasions such as ‘Eid and weddings.
— (Muḥammad Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī رحمه الله)
