Nasheeds may be listened to, but on two conditions

Shaykh Wahid Abdus Salam Bali's answer is short, but most nasheeds today fail on these very two conditions.

How the question comes

A nasheed playlist on your phone. The words are beautiful, the melody draws you in — so you think, there is surely no harm in this.

But inside there are drums beating, music playing in the background. Some say it is merely “vocals”, others say this is also singing.

Some give it up completely, some listen without hesitation — and in the middle, many want to know what the real ruling is.

So the question is just one — what is the ruling on listening to nasheeds?

The Shaykh's answer

The Shaykh's answer — there is no problem in listening to nasheeds, but on two conditions.

First condition: the words must be permissible — it must not contain sin, obscenity, or incitement to anything bad. Second condition: it must not contain the “flute of Shaytan” — that is, musical instruments, what people call music.

In the Shaykh's words, ma'azif simply means musical instruments. So in terms of ruling, there is no difference between a nasheed with instruments and an ordinary song.

The evidence — the four things that will be made lawful

لَيَكُونَنَّ مِنْ أُمَّتِي أَقْوَامٌ يَسْتَحِلُّونَ الْحِرَ وَالْحَرِيرَ وَالْخَمْرَ وَالْمَعَازِفَ

There will certainly be some people in my ummah who will make lawful adultery, silk (for men), alcohol and musical instruments. (Sahih Bukhari 5590)Copy

The Shaykh explains — the phrase “will make lawful” itself proves that these things are haram; otherwise there would be no question of making them lawful.

What to do

1. Listen through your playlist once — are the words permissible? Is there no incitement or obscenity?
2. If there are musical instruments in the background, remove it — this is exactly where the condition is broken.
3. Keep an alternative — a nasheed with voice only; and even better than that, recitation of the Qur'an.
4. Be strict with yourself, not blaming others — start with your own list.

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Source: Based on a talk by Shaykh Wahid Abdus Salam Bali

Translation and compilation: Raqi Faisal Ahmed Sabit — Al Qur'an Ruqyah Healing Center