Islamic Tolerance to Music - Essay Example

May 10, Islamic Tolerance to Music Introduction Islamic tolerance to music has been the focus of many scholars and is a significant issue in Islamic culture. Modern technology and current trends place music in many settings where the individual is placed in a situation of acceptance without regard to choice or preference. Even in Muslim communities music is a constant environmental accompaniment in restaurants, department stores, homes, and cars. There is practically no environment in our modern world where music is not available through some means. Ipod’s, cellular phones with Mp3 players, computers and the availability of music in almost any format make music a mainstay of today’s society and culture. It is imperative to be aware of what our religion teaches us about music, acceptance and tolerance of music, and to what extent we are permitted to listen to music. For this we need to refer to the Quran, Hadith and sayings of the Rightly Guided Caliphs and Prophet’s companions. According to these sources, music has been termed as ‘haraam’ in our religion. Interpreters of the Holy Quran have identified the term “lahwal hadith’ as listening and singing songs, buying music and buying instruments for amusement. The Qu’ran Sayyidana Abdullah Ibne Mas`ood, a close companion of the Holy Prophet was inquired the meaning of the phrase “lahwal hadith’ and he answered, “I swear by Him besides whom there is no other God, that it refers to ghinaa (singing), (Inter-Islam, 2001).” It is believed that he repeated this statement thrice and his views have been seconded by the Four Caliphs, the prominent Sahaba and other reliable personalities in Islam. Music is forbidden and also regarded as a major sin in the Muslim religion. Playing of musical instruments is also a major sin hence it is haraam to play the guitar, piano, drums etc. Imam Ali ibne Musa Reza says, “And to be engrossed in musical instruments is also one of the great sins,1 (Bhimji, Saleem).” A verse from Surah Luqman in the Holy Quran is often offered as a proof of prohibition of music, ‘And there are among men those who purchase idle talk in order to mislead others from Allahs path without knowledge, and who throw ridicule upon it. For such there will be a humiliating punishment.” The word “idle talk’ here refers to the word ‘lahwal hadith’ which has been discussed earlier. This word has been interpreted in two more ways but they refer to shirk (polytheism) and diverting people from Allah’s worship which takes us to the same idea of engaging in prohibited activities (Bilaal, 1986, p7). However there are contradicting views that can be found among people and some misinterpret that music is permitted in our religion. The Quran says, “And verily, We did favor some of the prophets over others, and to Dawood We gave the Psalms”. This verse of the Quran is not a proof for those who consider music being legal. Psalm (Zaboor) was the Holy Scripture that was given to Hazrat Dawood by Allah and it contained teachings of wisdom and talked about Allah’s greatness. Nowhere in the holy book is it mentioned that music or musical instruments are allowed. The truth is that Prophet Dawood was blessed with a melodious voice which was intensely beautiful and captivating that when he recited the Zaboor men, birds, animals and jinn gathered around him to listen to his recitation. This by no means indicates that Zaboor was reveled with musical instruments or talked about music (Bilaal, 1986, p4). Some people believe that another verse from the Holy Quran relating to Prophet Ayyub permits music and dancing. Allah the All Mighty, commands Prophet Muhammad in Holy Quran, "And recalls our servant, Ayyub, when he cried unto his Lord, Verily, Satan has afflicted me with distress and suffering. It was said unto him, Strike the ground with your foot; here is a spring for a cool bath and water to drink (Makaa)”. Many Sufis have taken the phrase ‘Strike the ground with your foot’ as an act for allowing music and dancing however the tafseer of the Holy Quran relates that this was an act that Prophet Ayyub had to carry out so that the spring of water is produced which was to miraculously cure and heal the Prophet of Allah (Bilaal, 1986). The general consensus about music and musical instrument by both the sects in Islam is the same. Both have addressed music and musical instruments to be prohibited. According to Hazrat Ali, “Angels do not even enter a house that has wine, drum, tambourine or a flute. Even the prayers of the inhabitants of this house are unacceptable. They are deprived of barakat. The Holy Prophet has also said, “Whoever listens to the entertainment (song and music), lead will be melted inside his ear on the day of judgement.” Moreover he also said “Singing and music are enchantment for adultery.” This means that music, singing and dancing are a stepping stone or a path that lead to adultery and other vices. The Sufi school of thought however regards music as permissible. A Sufi scholar Imam Al Ghazali wrote a treatise on music in his famous transcript “Alchemy of Happiness”. Critics however criticize the book “Alchemy of Happiness, (Hussain, 2012).” The only instrument that the Muslims are allowed to play is the Duff. It is a version of the drum but it is covered from one side. They are allowed to play on joyous occasions such as weddings, festivals, arrival of guests, etc. The Holy Prophet was also welcomed by the residents of Medina with the playing of the duff. However some scholars believe that only women are permitted to play the duff while some consider that it is authorized for the men and women both (Hussain, 2012). Sufism There has always been a varied attitude towards the use of music and musical instruments in Muslim. Though some interpretations of Islam consider music as haram, or forbidden, other branches of Islam such as parts of Pakistan and India where there us Sufism devotional music and singing is central to the religion (Laura, 2010). Sufism exists in every Country where there are Muslims and is the spiritual path and mystical way that leads Muslim seekers towards divine knowledge. Sufi doctrine suggests that dance or music, sama, can allow one to go beyond the material world (Ghomi, 2007, p66). Shams mentions three distinct types of sama, voluntary, compulsory and one reserved exclusively for spiritual descent. Mathnavi,a book written by Rumi, dance and music are introduced as the reflection of the sound of the universe that people sing and play. In the Qur’an the solemn divinity of music and its reflection is described referring to David’s heavenly voice and songs in passage 34:10 (Ghomi, 2007, p67). Dance and music in sufism are evidenced to be continuations of old traditions, early cave paintings and anthropology studies have been able to provide proof of this. Dance and music project the Sufi’s devotion to God’s unconditional love, peace, harmony, and tolerance. Through dance and music Sufi’s believe they are led to higher states and every sound indicates the glory of the beloved. Musical Persecution Through divine command music is not allowed in Islam religion and Muslims are asked not to indulge in music, musical instruments, dance and singing. In this era Muslims are intensely spoiled as they listen to music widely. I think that it is vital that one should aim to purify their belief and think about correcting themselves. Anytime there is talk of barring music in Islam there is also one practice which survives exception and that is the music of liturgy. This is also called the Azan, call to prayer, the recitation or cantillation, the Tajwid (Bedford, 2001, p4). The Qur’an provides no definitive or equivocal guidance. In November of 1999 singer Marcel Khalifa stood trial before a civil court for having performed a song by poet Darwaish, incorporating a passage from the Qur’an. To quote the Qur’an was considered one thing but to set the words to music with accompanying instruments was seen as something “beyond the respect due to God on earth, (Bedford, 2001, p4).” A second example involves a mob storming and killing a Sufi spiritual preceptor and his nephew for playing music in a disciple’s home while ‘eid prayers were in progress. There have been sectarian killings though this one differs because the provocation was musical. Conclusion It is of some importance to point out that Muslims do not use the term music in the Americanized way or as employed in the English language and other Western languages. Handasah al sawt is a recent term used by Muslims to separate their Islamic conception of music from the non-Islamic world. While nothing in the Qur’an specifically or explicitly deals with the topic of music there seems to be much stronger support both for and against music in the Haddith writing which describe traditions of the Prophet Muhammed (Maurer, 1998). The main reason against music in the Islamic world seems to be the thought that it is a powerful and intoxicating force, possibly diverting one from their devotional life and anti-music proponents view music’s lack of mention in the Qur’an as proof that it is unimportant in life. Those who support music believe that it impels a person to seek the spiritual world; Muslims very often believe that the influence of music upon man depends entirely on the listener’s original intentions. Despite mixed opinions and authoritative views of music in Islam Islamic music continues to strive to express as much as possible the beliefs, ideas and inspirations from the Qur’an. Islamic music has been compared to a Western jazz popular in the 1960’s and it is the Western romanticism that allow the Muslim artist to surrender to the divine law in an attempt to create a beautiful work of art. Abstraction is used in Muslim music and often rather than titles to pieces they entitle their works based on modes or scales that the music is based on. Islamic music is also frequently static, or non-developmental with no perceptible beginning or end. References Bhimji, Saleem. "The Status of Music in Islam." Islamic-Laws. Web. 10 May 2012. . Bilaal Mustafa Al-Kanadi, Abu. "The Islamic Ruling on Music and Singing." IslamHouse. 1986. Web. 10 May 2012. http://d1.islamhouse.com/data/en/ih_books/single/en_Music_and_Singing.pdf Makaa. "Quran Explorer - Sura : 038 Sad (THE LETTER SAD)." Quran Explorer - Sura : 038 Sad (THE LETTER SAD). Web. 11 May 2012. . Hussain, Abid. "An Islamic Perspective on the Performing Arts." Quran Explorer. 2012. Web. 10 May 2012. . Laura, C. (2010, July 2). Muslim pupils kept out of music lessons. Daily Mail. p. 39. < http://ehis.ebscohost.com.proxy.cecybrary.com/eds/detail?vid=2&hid=2&sid=b0cb5c52-6d66-4c21-bcf4-96c333bc1e6e%40sessionmgr4&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=bwh&AN=51870788> Ghomi, H. (2007). Dance and Music in Persian Sufism. Journal Of Social Affairs, 24(93/94), 65 Bedford, I. (2001). The Interdiction of Music in Islam. Australian Journal Of Anthropology, 12(1), 1. Maurer, John. "Music in the World of Islam: Handasah Al Sawt." Music in the World of Islam: Handasah Al Sawt. 1998. Web. 11 May 2012. . Bibliography Inter-Islam. "Music and Islam." Music and Islam. Inter-Islam.Org, 2001. Web. 11 May 2012. . Bigelow, Anna. "Sacred Spaces :Sacred Sounds Diversity and Conformity in Muslim Societies." UNC EDU. Mellan-Sawyer Seminar Conference, 24 Apr. 2010. Web. 11 May 2012. . Islamic Tolerance to Music Paper Revisions I decided to start fresh and from the beginning in rewriting this paper and to ensure that I pay proper attention to citing works properly and correctly using references. It is easy to copy word for word quotes and paragraphs though it is inappropriate in a scholarly work and I am able to creatively insert the needed information without plagiarizing. I improved the wording in the first paragraph and added a footnote regarding the second reference since there were direct quotes. These quotes were necessary as part of the assignment called for relevant passages that scholars refer to. In doing my research I discovered a second point of view and different belief by the Sufism Muslims. I decided to add some contrasting information in order to show two separate view points on musical tolerance. I also collected some more references and added to my bibliography what I did not quote from in the essay. Beyond Sufism I included several examples of antagonistic behavior towards musical inclinations in the Muslim world. Read More