Music, the Satanic Weapon

One of the most important aspects of Ramadaan is connecting with the Noble Quran and especially reciting it.

The Noble Quran is our lifeline to success:

1. “Be firmly connected to the Quran. Take it as your leader and guide because it is the words of the Lord of the worlds. It came from Him and will return to Him.” (Al Jaami al Kabeer)
2. “The Quran is more beloved to Allah Ta’ala than the heavens and the earth and all that they contain.” (Daarimi)
3. The Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam warned that a severe trial will take place. Ali radhiallahu anhu asked him what the means of saving oneself from its evil would be. In reply he said, “The Book of Allah Ta’ala.” (Tirmidhi)

Gaza is a clear proof of how the Noble Quran protects. The Hifz tradition was strong in Gaza before the 2023 genocide. After a year of brutal massacres and ethnic cleansing, why is the faith of the people still so strong? Why are they still so committed to defending their land? It is most likely the blessings and link that they have with the Noble Quran that is keeping them motivated.

4. We should make it a practice to recite the Noble Quran regularly in our homes. The Hadith promises that the house in which the Noble Quran is recited will see the members of the home increase, blessings will multiply, the Angels will come, and the devil runs away. On the other hand, life will become difficult for the house in which the Noble Quran is not recited, it becomes empty of blessings, the Angels leave, and the devil comes. (Ibn Abi Shaibah)

There used to be a tradition among the older people that they would recite the Noble Quran loud in the homes daily. We need to revive and uphold that tradition. Zubair ibn Bakkar says that his father saw him studying a book silently and told him, “Study loudly. Look in the book and raise your voice. In this way what the eye will see will reach the heart, and together with that what the ear hears will also reach the heart.” (Khateeb Baghdadi)

It takes 10,000 focused hours to excel in any field of this world according to studies. How much time are we dedicating to excel in the Noble Quran?

Music and the Noble Quran in one heart

In reciting the Noble Quran, a common complaint is that there is no time in the day. Let us be honest. When our time is taken up with browsing social media feeds, the internet and video content like YouTube, how can we expect to have that time for the Noble Quran?

The second thing that takes up the time and space in our hearts and minds that should have been dedicated to the Noble Quran is music. Ibn al Qayyim rahimahullah says, “Love for music and love for the Noble Quran cannot exist together in the same heart. One displaces the other.” (Madaarij al Saalikeen)

There are two types of people who are addicted to music:

1. One who openly engages in it and misses out on worship of Allah Ta’ala.
2. The other does acts of worship but the love for music is more in his heart than love for the Noble Quran. His mind is filled with the tunes and lyrics of songs and music.

Imam Ghazali rahimahullah sounds a stern warning and says, “The first sign of Allah Ta’ala turning His Mercy away from a person is when the person busies himself with useless things that have no benefit for him.” One such thing which falls under this category of things without purpose is music.

Abdur Rauf Sakhrawi observes that music is all around us. As a result, regarding music to be a sin has left our hearts. We tend to find nothing wrong with it.

Ibn al Jawzi rahimahullah in Talbis Iblis writes that singing and music have two worrying elements:

1. It distracts the heart from the Greatness of Allah Ta’ala and worshipping Him, and
2. It inclines the heart to seeking quick pleasures that seek their fulfilment in all the sensory desires. Singing is the charm that takes a person towards adultery.

It is thus no surprise that music through history has been linked to immorality and vice.

Music being Haraam (forbidden) is proven from the Noble Quran and Hadith:

1. “There is a man among the people who buys discourses of distracting amusements, so that he may mislead (people) from the Way of Allah and make a mockery of it.” (Noble Quran 31:6) Ibn Masud radhiallahu anhu, referring to these discourses, said on oath that it refers to music. Ibn Abbas radhiallahu anhuma concurs with this together with Hasan al Basri rahimahullah and others.

Qatada rahimahullah said that a person might not actually spend money on acquiring music, but buying here means that he likes it. Free downloading of music tracks and videos fits aptly under this explanation.

2. There was a person by the name of Nadr ibn Haarith who attempted to counteract the draw and appeal of the Noble Quran as recited by the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam by bringing into Makkah Mukarramah the stories of Rustum and others from Persia. He would have these recited to the public. He also had a singing girl. Anyone who showed an interest in listening to the Noble Quran, he would invite him home, feed him well, and get the singing girl to sing. Then he would ask if this was not better entertainment than the Noble Quran.
3. The Hadith of Abu Dawood and other collections outline the task of Prophethood to include destroying flutes, drums and other musical instruments.
4. A Hadith prophecies that people of the Ummah (nation) of Islam will be transformed into monkeys and pigs close to Qiyamah (the last day). They will fast and be Muslim but due to becoming accustomed and addicted to musical instruments, singing girls and drinking wine they will face this punishment. (Ibn Hibban)
5. A Hadith of Ibn Majah warns of people being swallowed into the earth, appearances and forms being changed, and the raining of stones when singing girls become common and wine is regarded as permissible.
6. The Hadith of Tabrani states that the income of a singing girl and her singing are both prohibited. The narration in Kanz al Ummal counts the income of the male and female singer as prohibited as is the income of prostitutes. In Mujam al Kabeer listening to and looking at singing girls is declared prohibited.
7. Nayl al Athar lists sitting in gatherings of music as disobedience, listening to it as a sin and taking enjoyment from it as being ungrateful.

The devil’s weapon

Among the weapons given to the devil to mislead and trap man is the power of his voice. “Use your voice to gradually entice whoever you can.” (Noble Quran 17:64) This is a feature of music that it gradually draws you in, breaking down the barriers and inhibitions. The devil has the ability to distract, tempt and trap man through the use of music and musical instruments by putting thoughts into the hearts and minds of man. Our nation of Islam is the venue for the final showdown and battle between man and the devil. As a result, the devil has been allowed an unprecedented opening up of a level of power which he never previously enjoyed. His voice reaches everywhere. Hardly a soul can escape the strike of music upon his ears through the TV, cartoons, music and more. Listening to music is not merely hearing it but being captivated by the tunes and messages.

To appreciate the stunning impact of music one need only look at the revenues earned and generated. Total global music revenue for 2024 is $65 billion, a rise of 10% from the previous year or a third of bread revenue. Paid streaming subscriptions are $14 billion. Record companies invest $7 billion annually in marketing alone. The smartphone we have in our pockets is a gateway to $10 billion revenue to the music market via apps. In 2022, 8,01 billion music tracks were downloaded. Sub-Saharan Africa is struggling financially with people unable to get jobs, yet the region is the fastest growing market for music downloads. It has seen a 25% rise in sales with South Africa taking the biggest share.

There’s a reason that so much money is spent on producing music – it has a definite effect on the heart and mind. A Hadith of Baihaqi tells us that music grows hypocrisy in the heart just as water causes crops to grow. Studies show that music activates every known part of the brain, including areas responsible for emotions. Experiencing music releases dopamine, the chemical in the brain responsible for pleasure and reward. Music can be used to affect, alter and change moods. Modern music uses that to great effect in being provocative and stirring base sexual feelings.

How did western music come into the Muslim world?

Colonialism brought new technology including media in its wake. Europeans started making celebrities of musicians in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. The gramophone, originally called the phonograph, came followed by the radio and film. In the 1960’s the radio increased its spread due to the transistor. Then the TV, PC, internet and the mobile phone came in quick succession.

1. The gramophone made its commercial debut in 1897 and spread to India under British rule in 1902.
2. A visitor to Syria in the 1930’s noted that the phonograph, radio and films were exerting their influence. The phonograph was so popular and commonplace that lemonade sellers in Syria carried them around going full blast as they sold their wares.
3. Tea shops in Tehran provided the phonograph to keep their trade.
4. Lahore had six picture houses in the 1930’s. In five years, it increased to 20 and the cinema proliferated.

In India, Angelina Yeoward, an Armenian Jew, called herself Guhar Jaan. She was a prostitute who lived in Calcutta’s red-light district. She became the first commercial recording artist in India. From being someone who people were embarrassed to listen to, she was transformed through technology and a concerted British advertising campaign into mainstream Indian society. The barriers to music were being broken down and people were becoming desensitized.

In Egypt, Umm Kulthoem was the singer who launched music into mainstream Arab society. European indoctrination laid the platform for an ideology change. This can be gauged by the fact that in 1897 Egypt there were a staggering 9,000 students at British missionary schools, while the prestigious Azhar Islamic university could only draw 11,000. Radio came to Egypt in 1934. Umm Kulthoem would have five-hour concerts on the radio bringing traffic to a standstill around the Arab world. She started off as a reciter of Nasheeds and religious poems, wearing a veil. At 19 she was singing songs with immoral words to mixed audiences with no veil and from there it all went downhill.

We have become conditioned to think that music is normal and acceptable. This is something recent. The term artist being used for a musician is recent usage. The Muslim society’s original term for a male professional singer was mukhannath (an effeminate man who behaved like women). The professional female singer was also held in contempt. Colonialism and the music revolution it brought in its wake changed perceptions and norms.

The culture of modern music is one of immorality and evil.

In 1969 in Woodstock, New York, USA half a million people under the age of 30 gathered for a music festival. They listened to music, experimented with drugs and abandoned societal norms by engaging in sex and nakedness in public. This is an indication of the association that modern music has with other major sins. The music industry sees singers facing abuse, and perpetrating abuse. Many turn to drugs and alcohol like Whitney Houston, Bobby Brown, Natalie Cole, Michael Jackson, Elton John, John Lennon, Britney Spears and the list goes on.

We need to objectively ask the question, “is music harmful?” A quick search of the music the majority are listening to, the songs topping the charts, and the lyrics being memorised will reveal the words to be pure filth. Drugs, promiscuity, violence and alcohol feature strongly. They teach us to follow our low animal desires, objectifying women and glorifying violence and drugs. They call to worship the material pleasures of this world.

A survey of lyrics from the 1950’s to the 2010’s looked at the key words in songs. Explicit words associated with shamelessness and sex rose 9%. Explicit lyrics have increased as the barriers are broken, and tolerance increases. The 1950’s had four swear words in songs with one of them being the word, Hell. By the 1990’s songs with swear words accounted for 20% of all songs and this continues to rise. Popular culture is dominated by sexually suggestive music videos both visually and with the words. Deviant sexual behaviour is glorified, and women are displayed provocatively. Music draws people in and makes them want more until it becomes an addiction.

Why are we so caught up with music if we know the sins involved? Ibn al Jawzi rahimahullah states that Allah Ta’ala is close to us, yet He defines the relation between Him and man like a person deals with someone far away. We need to travel to Makkah Mukarramah to perform Hajj, and we raise our hands in Dua as though asking from someone far away. An ignorant person senses the distance and falls into sin thinking that he is out of the Sight of Allah Ta’ala.

What is the remedy?

Remember there is always hope amidst the worst onslaught of sin. A Hadith of Ibn Majah reassures us that, “Allah Ta’ala will continue to plant shrubs in Islam by creating men of piety who shall remain firm in their obedience to Allah Ta’ala.”

1. As parents we need to adopt the correct nurturing of the mindset of our kids from the outset. Moulana Yunus Patel rahimahullah said that if a child desires a Haraam toy such as a musical instrument, explain to the child gently that Allah Ta’ala is not Pleased with it. Thereafter buy something better of a permissible nature within your means so that the child does not feel as if he is deprived of play. Make the child happy with Halaal so that they will grow up loving Islam.

This is even more critical with the habit parents have of allowing the phone to babysit their young ones with video streaming.

2. Addressing the youth, Moulana Yunus Patel rahimahullah said, “You is in youth. You are in your youth. It is in your hands to safeguard yourself in your youth or destroy yourself. If you safeguard your youth by staying away from sins like music, Allah Ta’ala will give you respect and dignity and you will enjoy a wholesome, happy life in your 20’s, 30’s and onwards.
3. We require rest but of the Halaal kind. Life is a tug of war between the pull of sins and the pull of Islam, the pull of the ego, desires and the devil and the pull of the soul.
4. Jalaluddin Rumi rahimahullah gives the parable of a thorny tree. A man planted it in the road. People were getting hurt. When he was told to remove it, he said that he will remove it tomorrow but that tomorrow never came. The tree became stronger. Now when he needed to remove it after years, he was gone old and weak and the tree was rooted firmly. He needed a bulldozer to remove it at that time. This is man. Sin in youth is easy to uproot like the young tree. As sins stay and you become addicted to them, the habit becomes more difficult to remove. When the vigour of youth goes, greater effort is required to remove the sin. The thorns of sins damage our Imaan (faith). The people of Allah Ta’ala are like the bulldozers we then require to aid in removing sin. Even major, lifelong sins can be removed by joining their company and asking for their help.

We need to be ready for the challenges ahead in life by leaving out and avoiding the weapons of the devil such as music. We need to urgently connect with the Noble Quran in Ramadaan and beyond to ensure that we live meaningful and fulfilling lives in this world and the next. To do this we need to remove music from our lives so that we can get space in our hearts and time for the Noble Quran.