The Evils of Music The Devil's Voice & Instrument

by Imam Abu Abdullah Muhammad b. Abu Bakr b. Ayyub b. Qayyim al-Jawziyah (d. 751H)

From the plots of the Shayṭān (Satan) and his traps which he uses to influence those who possess only a small share of knowledge, intellect, and religion—and with this he captures the hearts of the ignorant and the people of falsehood—is listening to whistling (al-mukā’), clapping (at-taṣdiyyah), and singing accompanied by instruments, which are forbidden, that turns the hearts away from the Qur’ān and causes them to become preoccupied with disobedience and transgression.

So it is the Qur’ān of the Shayṭān and the dense barrier that keeps people from the Most Merciful… Through it, the immoral lover entices his lover to the very limits of their desires. With it, the Shayṭān deceives the astray souls and makes it seem good to them through scheming and delusion. He inspires within them baseless doubts to justify its “goodness’’ and his suggestions are accepted; because of this, it causes the Qur’ān to become abandoned.

Genres: Islam

130 pages, Paperback

Published June 1, 2017

Reviews

[hiba ☕︎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

﷽

By Allah, how many free women have become lewd women due to this singing? And how many free men have been infatuated with young boys and girls because of it? [...] And how many from amongst the affluent and rich have become, as a result of it, humiliated after previously adorning themselves with ostentatious garments and furnishings? And how many of those in good health who have been exposed to it [singing] become afflicted at night by all type of maladies? And how many offer their concern and grief to the one with whom they are madly in love, but find nothing in return in terms of acceptance of such offerings? And how many are forced to swallow their agony, and how many blessings have been removed and replaced by malice? And this result from singing is supposedly one of its gifts!

A favourite. I have a very strong distaste for music mostly because of the emotional predicament it puts you in, with horrible lows and soaring highs—which is why, out of all the nuggets of wisdom in this book, I felt the aforementioned quote was the most relevant one to our age that thrives on "trying to feel something". With such unnatural emotional instability, how do you ever expect your heart to connect to the Qur'an when it is so clouded?

It's actually really disgusting and scary the things that music makes people do, the way it intoxicates the mind, the way it controls the limbs. Ibn Qayyim رحمه الله likened it to alcohol and what a perfect similitude. You are not in your right mind when you listen to music, and everyone—whether they want to admit it or not—knows this.

I was a bit overwhelmed by the number of weak ahadith that the translator pointed out—side note, science of ahadith is so...wow. SubhanAllah. Such a complex and rich and deep part of our religion. I was really at a loss for words after reading some of the translator's notes on the ahadith used in this book—though there were still a lot of sahih ones. It made me really anxious at first, but I just kept reminding myself that this was waswasa, and that I know with all my soul that it is absolutely impossible to have both the Qur'an and music in your heart, and that anything that takes you away from the Qur'an is bad. Simple.

Nonetheless, Ibn Qayyim رحمه الله was so, so, so wise, subhanAllah. Everything he mentioned was so relevant, you'd think he was alive now and writing about the fitnah that has overtaken us. I had to check online (multiple) times to make sure I was reading a book by Ibn Qayyim رحمه الله and not the translator—that's how accurate it was! May Allah ﷻ widen his grave.

Everyone must read this book and try to implement it. If you already don't listen to music, try deleting apps like IG or TikTok that thrive on it. Even the smallest quantity can touch your heart; it is so, so, so scary the diseases music can brew in there. Be careful and protect yourselves.

[Lubat · Rating 4 out of 5]

First book that I completed in Ramazan.... Alhamdulillah Alhamdulillah 😭

[Aiman Sabir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hadhrat Abu Hurairah (radhiyallahu anhu) narrates that Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said: "Listening to music and singing is sinful. Sitting at such gatherings is fisq (immoral transgression). Deriving pleasure from it is kufr." (Nailul Autaar)

This book is a wholesome collection of the narrations that are mentioned in the Quran and Hadhith, about the prohibition of all kinds of music and its destructive effects on the souls of mankind.

The scholors have collected several names of music that are self-explanatory of the wickedness that music causes.
These are:
1. Diversionary wordplay (al- lahw)
2. Nonsense (al-laghw)
3. Falsehood (al-batil)
4. Dishonesty (az-zur)
5. Whistling (al- muka)
6. Clapping (al-tasdiyyah)
7. The utterances of illicit sexual relations ( ruqya az-zina)
8. The Quran of Shaytan (Quran ash- shaytan)
9. The source of hypocrisy in the heart (as- sawt al ahmaq)
10. The sound of the sinner (as-sawt al fajir)
11. The voice of Shaytan (as-sawt ash-shaytan)
12. Instrument of Shaytan (mazmur ash-shaytan)
13. Heedlessness (as-samud)

I can't praise this book enough. It is indeed a perfect eye-opener that clearly explains these numerous Ahaadith in which Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) severely condemns music and singing. And I'm sure after reading this, there cannot be a Muslim with a healthy Imaan who will still believe in the permissibility of the voice of shaitaan or will follow or enjoy the trap of him any longer.

I pray that may we all free up our hands and our hearts of this Dunia and its deceptions as early as possible. I pray that we receive the most perfect gifts in abundance from the Divine. May we not be distracted by Shaytan and our 'Nafs' that we fail to hear and see the existence of our God. And may we always remember that whatever we sacrifice for Him, will come back to us in many shapes and forms, and that will always be perfectly personalised, curated and made specifically for us! 
That's the promise of the One who is the most truthful of all!

P.S:
Today, I've crushed one of the biggest idols of my heart. I've vowed to get over my obsession with kpop, classical, jazz and all kinds of music. It used to seem impossible for me to do it, but it only takes a second of relatization for you to leave the fraudulent trade that only causes loss. One needs to make a good transaction in order to get infinite yield.
So I wish you all do the same one day!

[.🍃. thecursed_Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a hardcore lover of music, I'm ashamed of every Lana del Rey, Arcane banger songs I have ever listened to.
while I thought there is nothing wrong with it
this book shred that thought and make me want to stop music
1. al-lahw
2. Al Batil
3. laghw Al Hadith
4. az zur
5. As samud
may Allah forgive me, I hope this is the beginning of an end for my love of music.
Imam ibn Qayyim is my Roman empire 🥰🥰🥰, Honestly his books are actually easy to understand and great.
may Allah reward him and have mercy upon him {Ameen}

[Abdullah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is a must read for those Muslims who claim that music or singing to some extent is permissible as it leads us through the mini stories of different scholars and how they approached the gatherings of singing or music while reflecting upon the Ahadith and events of the Prophet ﷺ and explaining them in contrast to how music and singing evolved in the time of the author.

[bayaan]

“and the person who loves singing is between two affairs: either he completely throws his inhibitions aside and embraces being sinful, or he makes religiousness apparent and thus becomes a hypocrite. So he makes apparent his love for Allah and the Hereafter while his heart is steeped in desires and love for what Allah and His Messenger hate from the likes of the sound of instruments and music makers and whatever singing calls someone to and inspires within him”

اشتكي لله مني

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, concise book, yet complete enough for beginners.

And can I just add what a breath of fresh air it was to have an Islamic book without ANY grammar mistakes, spelling errors and typos. It's sad how rare that is, and therefore deserves to be mentioned here.

[Iqra · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read and absolutely and eye opener.