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.

Haya [SHYNESS]

    Haya is an arabic word that was extracted from the word 'Hayat' which means Life. It may be translated as Modesty, humility or Shyness. Haya is an attribute which pushes a believer to avoid any sort of thing that is disregarded & detestable in Islam. It protects the believer from Neglect & Indifference. It helps one to avoid the Displeasure of Allah Ta'ala.

    Haya plays an important role in our Lives as muslims. It is a very important aspect of our Imaan(Faith). If we lack it, then assuredly, our Imaan is indeed in the weakest of Forms. This is Supported by the following Hadiths; The Prophet (SAWS) said: “ Faith(Imaan) consists of more than 60 branches. And Haya is part of Faith”. Another states that; The prophet(pbuh) said: “ Haya(Shyness) & Imaan(Faith) are two that go together. If one is Lifted, the other is Also lifted”.

     So, now that we are a bit enlightened on what Haya is, we should know that there are 2 types of Haya. Just like there are 2 sides of a coin. We have the good(positive) Haya & the Bad(negative) Haya. The good Haya is the type which makes you feel ashamed to commit a sin or a thing which Allah(SWT) and His Messenger(SAWS) have Forbidden. If you have this type of Haya, then you may carry on, you are on the right path In Shaa Allah.
The bad Haya is that which makes you Feel ashamed to do a thing which Allah(SWT) and His Messenger(SAWS) ordered us to do.
#SubhanAllah! May Allah grant us Forgiveness.

    Prophet Mohammad(SAWS) taught Us the importance of Haya. The believing man/woman ought to be ashamed of themselves if they possess it not. For Haya is not meant to be adopted only by the women.. It is an attribute every believing muslim Including the Man, must acquire! The Prophet(pbuh) states in another hadith; “If you have lost Haya, then you may do as you please”.
May Allah protect us from going after our whims & Desires.. Ameen.

     In the Society we live in today, Shyness, Humility, chastity & Modesty are regarded as traits of a weak person. They say it is Lack of confidence. But little do they Know.. These are the qualities you find rarely in A person. I personally believe, a person who acquires & adopts them all is one who is conscious of his/her actions in regards to This life and The Aakhirah.

     Haya is the basic Foundation of Islamic morality. When it is Lost, then certainly, everything is Lost. My dear Muslim sister, Pray to your Lord! Ask Him to guide you to the Right path! Pray & Prostrate to Allah; The Exalted in Might! Ask your Lord to make a place for you with the Believing women. In Shaa Allah.
But.. The Question is..
Who is the Believing woman?? And who is The disbelieving Woman?? We all gotta wonder..
We all gotta ask ourselves..

     The Believing woman is she who gives charity, fasts, prays QIYAM AL-LAYL (night prayers), observes HIJAB, Obeys her husband, Fears her Lord, is Kind to her neighbours and is Compassionate towards her Children.
Masha Allah, may Allah make us of the Believing women.

     And the Disbelieving woman on the other side of the Line, is she who makes a wanton Display of herself & let's down her guard. She is ignorant and Foolish, a mere Cheap, worthless & valueless product (of ridicule). She has no dignity, neither does she have self-respect, she has no value or honour for her religion.
#Subhanallah.. Astaghfirullah!

    So if that is the case, as we have it here.. Why don't we compare the 2 situations and then weigh?!....
.......Exactly!
My sister Wake up! And Choose wisely!
Allah is Al-Ghaffar (He who is all forgiving).
Allah is Al-Mumin (He who entertains Faith, The One who gives Faith to others).
Pray to Allah.. And Allah will Listen to you..
If Allah wills!

#Allahu Akbar!!
May Allah grant us Peace & Tranquillity!

Premarital Relationships in Islam

 PREMARITAL RELATIONSHIPS IN ISLAM

Bismillah..

Salaam..

When we talk about Pre-marital relationships, what comes to mind to most people is the idea of 'Dating'. Dating, as we call it, is the most common thing practiced amongst us today. It happens Everywhere.. From the mature ones to the immature ones. It is So bad that even the youngest of People do it. Children, Teenagers, The adults. This is all due to the excessive exposure we get, and are getting.

You see, some of us have good intentions at heart regarding these sorts of relationships. Atleast there is hope, want and perhaps a plan for something serious & productive, like Nikaah(Marriage) which is excellent! Because Marriage is Ibadah, Marriage is important, marriage is rated Highly in Islam. The Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah(SWT) be with him and his family) once Said; "Whoever marries, protects half of his Deen(religion), then for the remaining half he must only fear Allah!" (Allahu Akbar).

  

   But you see, the thing is, not all of us have decent intentions when it Comes to this and everything else. They say "We do it for the fun of it", some say "We are Friends with Benefits", others Say "No strings Attached", and here, the great Life motto comes in; YOLO! (you only live once). Ofcourse you do, obviously, but sadly and unfortunately we use this term to Negative and Disastrous uses. #Subhanallah..

Please. Tell me What it is you Think you are Doing! Where is The fun?? Show me The Benefits!!!

#Astaghfirullah. May we all be among the righteous ones, ameen.

I do not Need to be explicit about this, we all know exactly how bad the situation is today in our Society. However, I shouldn't get carried away &jump into a Different topic, but IN SHAA ALLAH, this particular issue shall be addressed in the nearest future.

  Now when we say Dating is, rather disallowed in Islam, we tend to come up with excuses! One way or the other. What we often say is 'we are only trying to get to know them better, some of us even go to the point of saying "if we do not hang out, or spend time with one another how are we expected to know the type of man or woman it is we are Courting, or Marrying". Do not get me wrong, this all makes sense, intellectually! Maybe a bit rationally too in some cases, depending on the person in question! Or whichever way BUT Islamically! BUT ISLAMICALLY!! This is because the concept of dating as we have it today involves a male and a female being together, alone, in an excluded place mostly. Islam has made it clear to us that where a male and a female are alone together, the third party is Shaytaan. And Truly we are Humans, and No human is Free from Vice. No matter how hard we try to keep away or stay away from Shaytaan, he always finds A way of getting to Us. Be Rest Assured dating is one of The ways shaytaan uses to push us to disobey Allah. This is without Doubt! What if death snatches us while we're so busy 'dating' and 'Having Fun'? We all Know death is inevitable and it Gives us no Notice.

So my dear muslim Brothers & Sisters.. if your religion, Islam, disapproves of it, I assure you, you stand in No place to argue. It's Like you are trying to Justify the Laws and Commandments of Allah(SWT). #Subhanallah.. May Allah grant us Forgiveness!

YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL.. WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR DIGNITY?

The way you dress says a lot about you, your personality, where you come from, your kind of family training, background, who you are and who you want to be in the society. Your appearance is a sign of what you have at heart. Believe it or not wearing thin and inappropriate clothing which almost reaches to nakedness is undoubtedly Unlawful Islamically. That is a fact!

Dressing in an Islamic way may attract few remarks but it attracts a great deal of respect, that is, for the sane and knowledgeable ones amongst us. It is compulsory, it is sunnah! We must do it! But we do not do it.. we forget about sunnah!


In Islamic dressing, explicitly saying, our main objective is to cover our (Private parts). For the boy or the guy or the man, it is his (private part), but for you Muslim sister, WALLAHI It is the entire body except for the palms. As long as he does that he is safe, he has got nothing to lose! But you my sister, you have lost it all!

Your body is a gift from Allah (SWT).. why ridicule it? People look at you,sometimes even stare! at you! and you blush, you feel happy, you are hot! Yes you should! You are a walking treasure! Antique! Oh my dear I hate to break it to you but all valuable things are kept hidden.. they are protected against dirt! So if you feel that way about yourself, then i must urge you to Protect yourself.. protect your body.. it is your treasure! Protect your dignity!

When we talk about dignity, the first thing that comes to my mind is respect and self-respect. Respect as we all know is an important factor, religiously, culturally or which ever way one can think of. We were all brought up to respect our elders, known ones and strangers. Islamically, 'respecting each other' is a very strong notion that Muslims act quite strictly upon. 

Now when we bring up self-respect, it is a completely different issue. Dress modestly, seek Islamic knowledge unconditionally, protect yourself against the dirt and impurities of this dunya(world). And last but not least.. Respect yourself my sister for that would compel others to respect you!

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE NAKED TO BE BEAUTIFUL

We are often so ignorant about the very important Islamic sayings, which we consider so little, unimportant and belittling. Those little things we do or do not do are the little things that would drag us to our doom. And those little things we could or could not do could be our guide to salvation.

It is now a very common thing for Muslim girls/women to go out of their respective homes without covering their bodies. We wear such skimpy clothing all in the name of looking hot. The baffling part is most girls/women know the implications and consequences, but they choose to be ignorant about it, plus they do not do that to please themselves but to actually please others. What is the gain???

They say you should only wear big veils or hijaab or anything that covers your body (the 'aura') when and if you are married. It is actually, sadly a mocking thing for the young & unmarried whom practice the sayings revealed to Us by The Holy Books.. So basically according to people of this generation and the previous, or rather people living in this 21^st century, in a world where Islam is practised, Only married women should cover their bodies. And indirectly saying, it is only natural for unmarried ladies to go out without doing so. Talking about the body, nowadays we do not even cover something as little as our hair. They say its stylish.. oh its chic.. oh its the suburban babe!! Why let people tell you what to do?? Why let them guide you to the wrong path when the truth is so visible to you???

To be continued...... Insha Allah!