Music: permissible or not?


Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Today music has become so prevalent that many Muslims listen to it without questioning its position in Islam. Few people ask about the position of music in Islam. Is it halal or haram? If faith is nurtured in the heart of a Muslim, he or she will not have doubts regarding such issues. The fact that majority of people listen to music is not a justification to make music permissible.
Adolescence is a time of great stress, when the limbic system (the region of the brain which regulates our emotions) is already activated due to high levels of sex hormones. At this time, music and drugs both of which also act on the limbic system, may cause overstimulation. This is a point where teenagers are at a turning point in determining the future direction of their lives. This is also the point where teenagers listen to a lot of music about life, sex, drugs, etc which can have an effect on the decisions they make.
Contemporary music gives people an insight to the thoughts of the musician and this brings about some kind of connection between the listener and the musician. This is why people these days prefer to listen to a song about something than to actually learn about it. Adolescents give more credence to the opinion of musicians about life than that of their parents. An example is the issue of dating. Our parents tell us to be careful about intermingling with the opposite sex but we do it anyway, because our favourite musician says it’s okay.
Music has many effects on our minds and bodies. It affects our emotions. According to a research, listening to music causes more physical arousal than a novel or a beautiful picture. Music acts like an intoxicant because it affects our limbic system in the same way any drug would. This is the reason behind addiction to music as we have it today.
Today we find that zina (adultery) has become the order of the day. I can say without a doubt that music contributes drastically to this moral decadence. Abdurrahman Ibn al-Jawzi wrote: there are two harms added together in singing (music). On one hand, it diverts the heart from the remembrance of Allah: on the other hand, it persuades the heart towards material pleasures… therefore singing persuades the person towards adultery and fornication. There is a deep connection between music and fornication. Music is a temptation for the soul whereas fornication is the biggest pleasure of the body. Music which speaks to the youth about sex, violence, and suicide is very much prevalent in our society today. A great scholar in Islam Al Fudayl Ibn Iyad once said: “music is a prelude to adultery and fornication.” Music blurs the critical judgement abilities of the brain. This is why we find it easy to “move our bodies” the way a musician says we should.
Many scholars of Islam believe that music is haram. The Prophet (pbuh) in a hadith in Sahih Bukhari linked music to zina and alcohol. Dear brothers and sisters, we need to and we should try as hard as we can to stay away from music and focus more on becoming better Muslims. As long as we don’t get music out of our systems, we are leaving room for shaytaan to use his weapons of destruction against us. Many of us listen to music just to kill time, or for entertainment not knowing that what we do can have an adverse effect on our thoughts and subsequently our actions.
Another thing! The music videos we watch depict men as sexually insatiable and women as sexual objects. I consider this somewhat degrading to a Muslim. We all know that a Muslim is a servant of Allah and a true servant of Allah has a status beyond that of a mere sex object or a beast. We need to reflect on the effects music has on our lives and the changes we need to make. With the prevalence of music today, the wheel of jahiliyyah has come in full circle, bringing us face to face with the same ancient paganism. Music preaches to us all the things that Islam has made impermissible 1400 years ago. Music preaches gambling, drinking, sex, nudity, etc. All those things Allah has commanded us not to partake in as Muslims.
Do not call me a Buzz kill however, because there are times when some kind of music is permissible. On the occasions of eid and marriage, we have been allowed the singing and the round hand drum (duff). Sadly, Shaytaan has lured us into believing that all kinds of music are allowed for such occasions. That is why we have wedding ceremonies with men, and women and music altogether. Islam, the Prophet's (pbuh) Sunnah, and the laws placed upon us as muslims aren't in anyway placed upon us to depict any form of discomfort. When you do your research, I.e search through the Qur'an, Wallahi you would realise that there is wisdom behind EVERYTHING. And Allah is indeed the Greatest.
I leave you with one question which was asked by Imam Qasim. When Allah is going to separate the right from wrong on the day of judgement where is He going to put music and singing?
May Allah guide us all. Ameen.

A very dear friend helped a lot with this particular topic. May Allah reward her abundantly.