Intermediate
Transactions
Surah: Luqman (6)
The Ruling on Music — Between the Scholars and the Quranic Foundation
وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن يَشۡتَرِي لَهۡوَ ٱلۡحَدِيثِ لِيُضِلَّ عَن سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ بِغَيۡرِ عِلۡمٖ
— لقمان الآية 6
The cited verse:
"Among people is one who buys idle talk to mislead from the way of Allah" (Luqman 31:6) — Ibn Masud, Ibn Abbas and a group of Companions and Successors said: "idle talk" (lahw al-hadith) means singing and musical instruments. Ibn Abbas said: it is singing and whatever distracts from the remembrance of Allah.
The second verse: "Incite with your voice whoever you can of them" (Al-Isra 17:64) — Mujahid and Ikrima said: "his voice" means singing, flutes, and entertainments.
Scholarly positions:
The second verse: "Incite with your voice whoever you can of them" (Al-Isra 17:64) — Mujahid and Ikrima said: "his voice" means singing, flutes, and entertainments.
Scholarly positions:
- Hanafi, Maliki, Hanbali: Singing accompanied by instruments is forbidden — especially when combined with lewdness.
- Shafi: Nuanced — what neither distracts nor arouses is disputed.
- Ibn Hazm: The prohibition is not established except by explicit text.
- The principle: Whatever distracts from obligations or leads to what is forbidden — is forbidden by consensus.
Source: Ibn Kathir, Tafsir (6/332); Ibn al-Arabi, Ahkam al-Quran (3/1498); Ibn al-Qayyim, Ighatha al-Lahfan (1/253); Ibn Hazm, Al-Muhalla (9/60)
Test Yourself
What Quranic verse is cited as evidence for the prohibition of music? What was the interpretation of Ibn Masud and Ibn Abbas?
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