Slippery Stone: An Inquiry Into Islam's Stance on Music

by Khalid Baig

What does Islam say about poetry, singing, musical instruments, musicians, and the business of music? How have Muslim societies historically looked at these questions and how have their attitudes changed in the media age? Why have mosques remained music-free while churches have not? What is the truth about the much-publicized music controversy in Islam? Why did Sufis call sama as the slippery stone? These are some of the questions explored in-depth in Slippery An Inquiry into Islam's Stance on Music. Of late, increasing attempts are being made to promote Islamic music, and the distinction between what is allowed and what is not has become hazy and unclear for many. This book demystifies the issue of music in Islam by going to original source books in Arabic, many of them brought to light for the first time in the English language. It traces the attitudes of the Muslim society about music and the musician throughout its history and quotes extensively from the deliberations of the Qur an and Hadith scholars and jurists from all schools of Islamic Law, both Sunni and Shi'ah. Separate chapters are devoted to a discussion of the views of Sufi masters as well as the arguments of Ibn Hazm. It examines in considerable depth the impact of colonialism and the media revolution (beginning with the gramophone) on the attitudes of Muslim societies regarding music. It also subjects the works of Orientalists to a scrutiny that was overdue. By referring to it as a slippery stone, Sufis vividly pointed out the dangers associated with this enterprise and emphasized the need for caution. History is filled with the corpses of those who fell off the slippery stone by ignoring this advice. Combining historic, cultural, and jurisprudential perspectives this book brings the truth of that metaphor into sharp relief. More than six hundred references and more than a hundred twenty biographical notes on the authorities quoted add to the value of a discussion that is comprehensive without being boring, and detailed without being confusing. This book has left no stone unturned in its examination of the slippery stone. Foreword by Syed Salman Nadvi

Genres: Islam

384 pages, Paperback

First published October 6, 2008

Reviews

[Umar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Almost done this one.

Despite the title, this book is not what it sets out to be. It doesn't really seem to be an inquiry at all, and right from the get-go he assumes the reader picks up the book because he agrees music is completely verboten in Islam and this is just to make oneself feel better about having that opinion. The book is not surprisingly written for youth apparently, though it would confuse a Muslim youth even more.

The only explanation of what is permissible with music is one brief paragraph One would think this book being published in 2008, there would be more discussion about Youtube or mp3 players or how Muslims can be empowered by audio technology, but there is no mention at all about that nor about Muslim nasheed artists except a condemnation at their imitating the West nor mentioning any strategies on avoiding music in one's environment. Again, the author just seems so out of touch and this is why the book will fail to reach the youth.

Overall, the book is a good overview of the topic from classical sources. He quotes extensively from hadith, Qur'an, and historical sources. He doesn't add his own voice, except for under the breath criticism (saying Orientalists get glee out of Imam Ghazali's view on music, why don't politicians honour qaris in same way they honour singers, etc.) He has a few quotes from Western thinkers (i.e. Adorno) to support his views but otherwise has an anti-Western, anti-Orientalist view throughout.

He does this weird thing where he is arguing against imaginary Orientalists, when really the book is written for Muslims to make sense of music and Islam...The books weaknesses are those of the Indian Islamic tradition: limiting discussion to East Indian Islam, isolation from the world, which includes isolation from other Islamic scholarly traditions, not giving attention to the other Islamic opinions on the topic, except selectively so as to hide, and just being generally out of touch. The author seems too afraid to discuss those opinions.

[Umbreen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only got through about 50 pages. It starts out already having formed that assumption that music is not allowed in Islam. It only seeks to validate this assumption. This makes it hard to take the book's points seriously because, while reading it, I got the impression that even if there were evidence to support that music is permissible in Islam, the author would have conveniently forgotten to add it in there.

[Raqib Reefat · Rating 5 out of 5]

You must complete it to judge it..

[Rainecko · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d always heard very surface level answers to this topic in the past, but reading an in depth unfiltered study on this matter clarified this topic far more for me than ever before.

Whilst the writing did feel dense at times, Shaykh Khalid Baig didn’t shy away from explaining intricate aspects about music in excruciating detail, and the timeline of what led to the common application of music was also a very fascinating addition that added a crucial element of well-roundedness to such a seemingly controversial topic which, in reality, isn’t really all that debated after all.

My biggest takeaway is that I now know my stance on this topic and why I have that stance. This book will absolutely be a crucial source of reference if any discussions arise on the topic of music in the future!

[Amna Shoaib]

i have not read this book yet