TV and music forbidden
Mu'
meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam
Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and
Blessings be upon all of you)
One
of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:
how
could u say watching tv is ok. tv contains Pictures of animate objects. and u
say the picture is haram.
how
could u say music is ok . In one such Hadith, Rasululullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi
Wasallam) said, ‘Allah ordered me to destroy musical instruments.
(There may be some
grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not
change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our
readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
Tv and music forbidden
In the name of
Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever
Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can
guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam,
no dai, nobody!) worthy of
worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His
slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
We sincerely seek
your forgiveness and the forgiveness of Allah Subhanah if anything we have said
has given rise to a misunderstanding in this Perfect and Beautiful deen of
Islam. Allah forbid that we ever even
dare to imply something is halaal and legal when Allah and His Messenger (saws)
have declared it forbidden, or vice versa.
Our one and only intention in moderating this humble forum is to convey
the knowledge and guidance from the Quran and Sunnah to our beloved brothers
and sisters in Islam, seeking the Pleasure and Good Will of none but the Lord
Most Merciful.
We humbly request
you to allow us to clarify our position on the questions you have asked, and
sincerely and humbly seek your forgiveness and the forgiveness of Allah
Subhanah if anything we might have said has given rise to any confusion of
misunderstanding in any aspect of the deen.
Your Question:
how could u say watching tv is ok. tv contains Pictures of animate objects. and
u say the picture is haram.
Sunan
of Abu-Dawood Hadith 3585 Narrated by
Mu'adh ibn Jabal
Some
companions of Mu'adh ibn Jabal said: ‘When the Messenger of Allah (saws)
intended to send Mu'adh ibn Jabal to the
Dear and Beloved
Brother in Islam, the advent of photography or televisions are obviously a new
development which took place much after the Revelation of the Glorious Quran
and the establishment of the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws). Thus whenever the Ummah is faced with a new
thing or development, it becomes the duty of the scholars in the Ummah to do
‘ijtehaad’ on the subject matter and provide guidance on it in light of the Quran
and Sunnah.
The scholars in
Islam are almost unanimous in their opinion that images that are captured by
photography or through television are nothing but exact ‘mirror-images’ of the
creation of Allah Subhanah; and if these new developments of technology are put
to good use for the benefit of mankind, and which may encourage people to fear
and obey Allah Subhanah; there is absolutely no harm in viewing them.
Sahih
Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.834 Narrated
by Muslim
We were
with Masruq at the house of Yasar bin Numair. Masruq saw pictures on his
terrace and said, "I heard 'Abdullah saying that he heard the Prophet
(saws) saying, "The people who will
receive the severest punishment from Allah will be the picture makers.'
"
Sahih
Al-Bukhari Hadith 4.448 Narrated
by Abu Talha
I heard
the Messenger of Allah (saws) saying; "Angels (of Mercy) do not enter a
house wherein there is a dog or a picture of a living creature (a human
being or an animal)."
Sahih
Al-Bukhari Hadith 3.428 Narrated
by Said bin Abu Al Hasan
While I
was with Ibn 'Abbas a man came and said, "O father of 'Abbas! My
sustenance is from my manual profession and I make these pictures." Ibn 'Abbas said, "I will tell you only
what I heard from Allah's Messenger (saws).
I heard him saying, 'Whoever makes a picture will be punished by Allah
till he puts life in it, and he will never be able to put life in it.'
" Hearing this, that man heaved a
sigh and his face turned pale. Ibn
'Abbas said to him, "What a pity! If you insist on making pictures, I advise you to make pictures of trees and
any other unanimated objects."
The majority of the
scholars in Islam are of the opinion that the animate pictures which were
declared forbidden by the Messenger of Allah (saws) specifically relate to
hand-made sculptures or hand-drawn portraits or pictures of animate objects;
and that ruling does not apply to modern photography and television which are
nothing but exact ‘mirror-images’ of the creation of Allah Subhanah. And Allah Alone Knows Best.
Thus my beloved and
dear Brother, although most of the usage of television is nothing but a waste
of time, one must use ones best sense of judgment and watch only those programs
which are beneficial to man, and programs that impart knowledge which would
help man fear and obey Allah Subhanah.
For example if one watches the relays of the prayers from Makkah or
Medinah on television, or seeks to gain knowledge in Islam from the debates and
lectures of Brothers like Shaikh Ahmad Deedat, or Shaikh Zakir Naik, etc., or
wishes to watch the news to keep himself aware of the happenings in the world,
etc. there is absolutely no harm in viewing such programs. And Allah Alone Knows Best.
Sahih
Al-Bukhari Hadith 1.49 Narrated by An
Numan bin Bashir
I heard
Allah's Messenger (saws) saying, 'Both, the halaal and the haraam things are
evident; but in between them there are doubtful (suspicious) things, and most
of the people have no knowledge about them. So whoever saves himself from these
suspicious things saves his religion and his honor. And whoever indulges in these suspicious
things is like a shepherd who grazes (his animals) near the Hima (private
pasture) of someone else and at any moment he is liable to get in it.’
Dear and Beloved
brother in Islam, if one so fears Allah Subhanah and the Last Day, and in his
best and honest judgment fears that the images of television are no different
from the ones that were declared forbidden by the Messenger of Allah (saws),
and he strives his best to abstain from television; there is absolutely no
doubt that he will obviously be safer and closer to the guidance of the noble
Messenger of Allah (saws).
Allah Says
in the Holy Quran Chapter 64 Surah Taghabun verse 16: So fear
Allah as much as ye can; listen and obey; and spend in charity for the benefit
of your own souls: and those saved from the covetousness of their own souls,
they are the ones that achieve prosperity.
Your Question:
how could u say music is ok . In one such Hadith, Rasululullah (Sallallaahu
Alayhi Wasallam) said, ‘Allah ordered me to destroy musical instruments.
The details and full
hadith of the phrase quoted by you are as follows:
Al-Tirmidhi
Hadith 3654 Narrated by Abu Umamah
The
Prophet (saws) said, "Allah has sent me as a mercy to the universe and as
a guidance to the universe, and my Lord, Who is Great and Glorious, has
commanded me to annihilate stringed instruments, wind instruments,
idols, crosses and pre-Islamic customs. My Lord, Who is Great and Glorious has
sworn, 'By My might, none of My servants will drink a mouthful of wine without
My giving him a similar amount of pus to drink, but he will not abandon it
through fear of Me without My giving him drink from the holy tanks.'"
There is absolutely
no doubt that most types of musics, especially those that involve string or
wind musical instruments, the ‘impure’ music which facilitate ‘shirk’, ‘faheshaa’ and indecency, and the
contemporary music which is so rampant in movies, television,
radios, etc. today are definitely forbidden by the Messenger of Allah
(saws).
But if one takes
music to mean the melodious sound of the Muazzin while calling to prayer, or
the beautiful sound or chant of the ‘Qari’ when he recites the Holy Quran, or the tunes of chorus sung by the
mujahideen, etc.; these are not only
permitted, these are considered virtues
and a means of getting a huge reward from Allah Subhanah.
If one writes poetry
in the Praise of Allah and sings it in a melodious voice, there is absolutely no harm. Even if one writes poetry of love and sings
them to his wife, and there is no
indecency in the wordings, there is no
harm. Even singing and the playing of
the ‘daff’ (a tambourine or circular drum type instrument played by the hand)
at special occasions like marriage, etc.
was allowed by the Messenger of Allah (saws) in Islam.
Al-Tirmidhi
Hadith 3154 Narrated by Aisha
I had a
girl of the Ansar whom I gave in marriage, and Allah's Messenger (saws) said,
"Why do you not sing, O Aisha, for this clan of the Ansar like
singing?"
Al-Tirmidhi
Hadith 3153 Narrated by Muhammad
ibn Hatib al-Jumahi
The
Prophet (saws) said, "The distinction between what is lawful and what is
unlawful is the song and the tambourine at a wedding."
Sunan
of Abu-Dawood Hadith 3306 Narrated by
Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As
A woman
came to the Prophet (saws) and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah (saws), I have taken
a vow to play the tambourine over you.’
He (saws) said: ‘Fulfil your vow.’
She said: ‘And I have taken a vow to perform a sacrifice in such a such
a place, a place in which people had performed sacrifices in pre-Islamic times.’ He (saws) asked: ‘For an Idol?’ She replied:
‘No.’ He (saws) asked: ‘For an image?’ She replied: ‘No.’ He (saws) said: ‘Fulfil your vow.’
Every word has a
specific meaning, and when we use the
term ‘music’ it is understood to mean the contemporary music that we hear today
on the radio and televisions. If one
takes music to mean the pure music, like
the melody of the azaan, or the
recitation of the Quran, or the music
made by the ‘daff’ (tambourine), or the
music created by nature (birds, oceans, waves, etc.), these are absolutely legal in Islam.
Sahih
Al-Bukhari Hadith 5.268 Narrated
by Aisha
That
once Abu Bakr came to her on the day of 'Id-ul-Fitr or 'Id-ul-Adha while the
Prophet (saws) was with her and there were two girl singers with her, singing
songs of the Ansar about the day of Buath. Abu Bakr said twice, "Musical
instrument of Shaytaan!", but the Prophet (saws) said, "Leave them
Abu Bakr, for every nation has an 'Id (i.e. festival), and this day is our '
Sahih
Al-Bukhari Hadith 4.155 Narrated
by Aisha
Allah's
Messenger (saws) came to my house while two girls were singing beside me the
songs of Bu'ath (a story about the war between the two tribes of the Ansar,
i.e. Khazraj and Aus, before Islam.) The
Prophet (saws) reclined on the bed and turned his face to the other side. Abu Bakr came and scolded me and said
protestingly, "Instrument of Satan in the presence of Allah's Messenger
(saws)?" The Prophet (saws) turned
his face towards him and said, "Leave them." When Abu Bakr became inattentive, I waved the
two girls to go away and they left. It was the day of 'Id when negroes used to
play with leather shields and spears.
Either I requested Allah's Messenger (saws) or he (saws) himself asked
me whether I would like to see the display. I replied in the affirmative. Then
he let me stand behind him and my cheek was touching his cheek and he (saws)
was saying, "Carry on, O Bani Arfida (i.e. negroes)!" When I got tired, he (saws) asked me if that
was enough. I replied in the affirmative and he (saws) told me to leave.’
What is forbidden
are the string instrumental music, and
the other forms of contemporary music
and songs that we hear today… whereby
the words and the music exhort shirk, ‘faheshaa’ and indecency.
And Allah Alone
Knows Best.
Whatever written of
Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever
of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows
Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your
Brother in Islam,
Burhan