Part 5

After having conveyed the previously-mentioned categories of tafseer, Ibn Jareer relates the commentary of Ibn Zayd about the verse, {And there are among men those who purchase idle talk in order to mislead others from Allah's path without knowledge, and who throw ridicule upon it.} Ibn Zayd said, "The people referred to [in this verse] are the disbelievers. Don't you see that it says [in the immediately following verse], {And when Our revelations are recited to such a person he turns away in pride as if he hadn't heard them, as if there was a deafness in his ears.}(*42) The people of Islam are not as those described here, although some say the verse refers to Muslims [as well]. The verse refers to the disbelievers who pitched their voices in a tumultuous clatter in order to drown out the hearing of the Quraan."(*43) At-Tabari concludes by offering his own weighted preference for the general, inclusive meaning as conveyed in this final category. He states, "The most correct view regarding the meaning of {lahwal hadith} is the one which indicates every form of conversation(*44) which diverts from Allah's path - the hearing of which has been prohibited by Allah or His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). This is because the statement by Allah, the Exalted, is general and inclusive, and does not exclude certain forms of conversation. Therefore, His statement remains in its general context unless proof which specifies it appears; and singing and polytheism [shirk] are included in this general statement."(*45) From what has preceded, it is to be understood that a specific or exclusive meaning such as singing or shirk cannot be proven; rather, the verse and particularly the phrase {lahwal hadith} should be interpreted as anything which diverts one from Allah's path. Music, singing, etc. (since they occupy people's attention and distract them from Allah's worship and remembrance and invite to His disobedience), no doubt fall under the general censure, blame and rebuke cast upon those who fall into this category. However, this verse is not itself an explicit, unequivocal proof for the prohibition of music, singing, etc. Rather, its prohibition is conditional and incidental as stated above. Thus, this issue requires other external proofs which are both clear and categorical, so as not to leave the least bit of doubt in the mind of the conscientious, truth-seeking believer. In order to achieve such a lofty, yet absolutely vital objective, it is necessary to turn to the second source of the Islamic Shariah, the authentic sunnah of Allah's Messenger (upon whom be blessings and peace). CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE hadith LITERATURE A meticulous, critical analysis of the relevant texts from the hadith literature reveals that, contrary to the commonly-held belief, there are a number of authentic narrations from the prophetic sunnah which clearly point to the indisputable fact that music, instruments, singing to accompaniment, etc. are objects prohibited by the Islamic Shariah. The exceptions to this general rule are specific, limited types of innocent singing or chanting without any instrumental accompaniment or to the accompaniment of the simple hand drum (daff) on certain occasions designated by the sunnah. Their details require discussion later. Unfortunately, due to certain modern scholars' blind imitation (taqleed) of a few earlier scholars, many Muslims entertain the misconception that all the hadeeths relating to music, singing, musical instruments, etc. are either weak (da'if) or forged (mowdoo'). A critical analysis of the available hadith literature clearly reveals that this is an untenable position. In order to substantiate this claim and to dispel such false notions, it is necessary to quote a number of authentic traditions along with the translation of their meanings. THE TRADITIONS AND THEIR DEGREE OF AUTHENTICITY THE NARRATION OF ALBUKHAARI: The translation of the hadith follows: The Prophet (Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said, "There will be [at some future time] people from my Ummah [community of Muslims] who will seek to make lawful: fornication, the wearing of silk,(*46) wine-drinking and the use of musical instruments [ma'aazif]. Some people will stay at the side of the mountain and when their shepherd comes in the evening to ask them for his needs, they will say, 'Return to us tomorrow.' Then Allah will destroy them during the night by causing the mountain to fall upon them, while He changes others into apes and swine. They will remain in such a state until the Day of Resurrection."(*47) A CRICTICAL DISCUSSION OF ITS ISNAAD:(*48) Prior to a discussion of the meaning of the part of this hadith relevant to this treatise, it is necessary to refute certain unfounded criticisms of its authenticity directed at it by a few scholars of the past and present, struggling under unfortunate misconceptions. At the beginning of the isnaad, Imam Al-Bukhaari related, "Qaala Hishaamu-bnu Ammaar..."("Hishaam bin Ammaar said...") This statement was misconstrued by Ibn Hazm to indicate that there is a missing link between Al-Bukaari and the next narrator (i.e Hishaam),(*49) implying that the hadith's isnaad is disconnected (munqati') and therefore not valid as proof in the prohibition of music, song, musical instruments, etc. This type of isnaad, termed mu'allaq, contains a missing link. However, Al-Bukaari's hadith is authentic, because there exist fully-connected chains for it which fulfill the condition of authenticity.