Taken from: "Ahkam wa Masail in the Light of the Qur’an and Hadith", Volume 02
(With detailed references from Sheikh Salih al-Munajjid and classical scholars)
What is the Islamic ruling on music and musical instruments?
✦ Listening to music is a prohibited (ḥarām) act in Islam, as numerous Qur'anic verses and Hadiths support this prohibition. Classical scholars from all four schools of thought have also condemned music.
Allah ﷻ says:
“And among mankind is he who purchases idle talk (lahw al-ḥadīth) to mislead from the path of Allah without knowledge...”
(Surah Luqman: 6)
According to Ibn ʿAbbās and Mujāhid, “lahw al-ḥadīth” refers to music and singing.
(Reference: Tafsir al-Ṭabarī, 3/451)
Imam al-Saʿdi adds:
“Lahw al-ḥadīth includes all vain speech, music, instruments, immoral stories, and idle pastimes that distract from the path of Allah.”
(Tafsīr al-Saʿdi, 6/150)
Ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه said:
“By Allah, besides Whom there is no deity, it means singing and music.”
He repeated this three times.
(Tafsir al-Tabari)
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“There will be among my ummah people who will consider unlawful acts such as adultery, silk (for men), alcohol, and musical instruments as lawful...”
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Muʿallaq form; authenticated in detailed works)
Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنه plugged his ears upon hearing music, imitating the Prophet ﷺ who did the same.
(Sunan Abi Dawood)
➤ Ibn Qudāmah, Ibn al-Qayyim, and Ibn Taymiyyah all confirm that music is harām and corrupts the soul.
➤ Imam Mālik, Abu Ḥanīfah, al-Shāfiʿī, and Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal—all declared musical instruments as prohibited.
Ibn Taymiyyah states:
“The four Imams agree that all musical instruments are harām.”
(Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā, 11/576)
✔ Leads to moral decay, opens the door to zina (fornication)
✔ Weakens the heart and causes hypocrisy
✔ Distracts from the Qur’an and remembrance of Allah
✔ Comparable to the wine of the soul, causing spiritual intoxication
✔ Instrumental in spreading evil and heedlessness
① Music and musical instruments are clearly harām based on the Qur’an, Sunnah, and Ijmaʿ (scholarly consensus)
② Music is a gateway to immorality, heedlessness, and spiritual decline
③ Avoid all forms of music and protect your ears and heart from it
④ Seek halal alternatives like listening to Qur’anic recitation, Islamic nasheeds (without instruments), and remembrance of Allah
Wallāhu Aʿlam.
(With detailed references from Sheikh Salih al-Munajjid and classical scholars)
❀ Question:
What is the Islamic ruling on music and musical instruments?
❀ Answer:
✦ Listening to music is a prohibited (ḥarām) act in Islam, as numerous Qur'anic verses and Hadiths support this prohibition. Classical scholars from all four schools of thought have also condemned music.
✿ Quranic Evidence:
Allah ﷻ says:
“And among mankind is he who purchases idle talk (lahw al-ḥadīth) to mislead from the path of Allah without knowledge...”
(Surah Luqman: 6)
According to Ibn ʿAbbās and Mujāhid, “lahw al-ḥadīth” refers to music and singing.
(Reference: Tafsir al-Ṭabarī, 3/451)
Imam al-Saʿdi adds:
“Lahw al-ḥadīth includes all vain speech, music, instruments, immoral stories, and idle pastimes that distract from the path of Allah.”
(Tafsīr al-Saʿdi, 6/150)
✿ Hadith Evidence:
Ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه said:
“By Allah, besides Whom there is no deity, it means singing and music.”
He repeated this three times.
(Tafsir al-Tabari)
The Prophet ﷺ said:
“There will be among my ummah people who will consider unlawful acts such as adultery, silk (for men), alcohol, and musical instruments as lawful...”
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Muʿallaq form; authenticated in detailed works)
Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنه plugged his ears upon hearing music, imitating the Prophet ﷺ who did the same.
(Sunan Abi Dawood)
✿ Scholarly Consensus:
➤ Ibn Qudāmah, Ibn al-Qayyim, and Ibn Taymiyyah all confirm that music is harām and corrupts the soul.
➤ Imam Mālik, Abu Ḥanīfah, al-Shāfiʿī, and Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal—all declared musical instruments as prohibited.
Ibn Taymiyyah states:
“The four Imams agree that all musical instruments are harām.”
(Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā, 11/576)
✿ The Harm of Music:
✔ Leads to moral decay, opens the door to zina (fornication)
✔ Weakens the heart and causes hypocrisy
✔ Distracts from the Qur’an and remembrance of Allah
✔ Comparable to the wine of the soul, causing spiritual intoxication
✔ Instrumental in spreading evil and heedlessness
✔ Summary:
① Music and musical instruments are clearly harām based on the Qur’an, Sunnah, and Ijmaʿ (scholarly consensus)
② Music is a gateway to immorality, heedlessness, and spiritual decline
③ Avoid all forms of music and protect your ears and heart from it
④ Seek halal alternatives like listening to Qur’anic recitation, Islamic nasheeds (without instruments), and remembrance of Allah
Wallāhu Aʿlam.
