One of the more controversial topics in the present day in Islamic circles, and one of the most asked about issues by youth is that of music and its legality in Islam.  Many answers youth get are unfortunately very dogmatic, simplistic, and black and white, without a reasonable respect for nuance and the intelligence of the youth asking the questions.  Too extreme responses such as “music is haram (forbidden)” seem to do more harm than good and drive youth away.

It would be one thing if these speakers and scholars were taking a difficult and unpopular, but principled stand to defend the teachings of Islam.  However, the nearly unanimous judgments of major Islamic scholars show that the extreme positions espoused by many speakers in public to the youth do not reflect genuine Islamic teachings.  These judgments do not, for the most part say that all music is forbidden or sinful, but rather tries to give guidelines as to what is sinful and what not.  One common guideline for recognizing sinful music is “music which is associated with gatherings of iniquity.”  This is a long way from declaring ALL music forbidden. 

 There are others who admit that the true position of Islam is less extreme, but who avoid their responsibility to guide the youth by giving unrealistic and unhelpful advice such as “well, music isn’t all forbidden, but trying to understand what music is acceptable and which is not is hard, so best to just avoid it altogether.”  This does not help the youth to understand this issue and does not help them in addressing their needs in a realistic way.  Such precaution is good advice perhaps to a mystic or ascetic, but hardly advice for the average young person, especially in this culture.

There is a great need, given the urgency of this question, for the leadership of the community to adopt a more realistic position that still respects the principles of Islam.  Otherwise, the youth may be driven away through our negligence toward improper actions and wrong influences in rebellion at too unrealistic and too strict a discipline.

How should we understand what is proper music and what is not?  There are a number of Qu’ranic verses which have been associated in the ahadith (oral tradition) literature with music, or at least, certain types of music :

1. Surah Al-Hajj, 22:30:  “That (shall be so); and whoever respects the sacred ordinances of Allah, it is better for him with his Lord; and the cattle are made lawful for you, except that which is recited to you, therefore avoid the uncleanness of the idols and avoid false words…”

2. Surah Al-Muminoon, 23:1-3: “Successful indeed are the believers, Who are humble in their prayers, And who shun vain conversation…”

3. Surah Al-Furqan, 25:72: “And they who do not bear witness to what is false, and when they pass by what is vain, they pass by nobly.”

4. Surah Al-Luqman, 31:6: “And of men is he who takes instead frivolous discourse to lead astray from Allah's path without knowledge, and to take it for a mockery; these shall have an abasing chastisement.”

5. Surah An-Najm, 53:60-61: “And will you laugh and not weep?  While you are indulging in varieties?”

In the traditions, the Imams of the ahlul bayt (as) identify music as one important example of vain or frivolous discourse covered by these Qu’ranic teachings.  Some scholars interpret this to mean that all music is vain discourse, and thereby forbidden.  However, given that most major Shia scholars today do not say that all music is forbidden, there must be an alternate interpretation.  It seems that the most sensible interpretation that affirms the truth of these Qu’ranic verses and the traditions that link them to music is to say that these verses warn about vain conversations or vain pursuits in general, and that what the imams are saying is that this message is not limited to simple verbal conversations, but can also include other forms of communication, including music.  That is, the traditions are not saying that all music is vain talk, but rather that music that is vain or frivolous falls under the same Qu’ranic prohibition as frivolous verbal conversations as a pointless waste of our precious God-given time.  A generalization of this to 21^st century forms of communication would suggest that by analogy, other pointless wastes of time, such as non-purposeful bickering on online forums, frivolous conversations on MSN Messenger, spending long amounts of time watching frivolous programs on television, playing mindless video games, or in general on any sort of frivolous entertainment should similarly be avoided.  I will note that this is not meant to be taken as a “fatwa” declaring video games, online chatting and discussions, or television to be haraam, but merely an attempt to highlight more broadly that the message is about frivolous wasting of time rather than specifically about music.  One of the dangers of identifying these verses too specifically with music is that one can potentially miss the more general message of using time wisely.

In this light, the question of how to judge what is acceptable and unacceptable in music becomes clearer.  We have to ask ourselves a few questions.  How does this piece of music affect me?  How does it touch my soul?  For all music touches the soul, entering through the ears and connecting in a very direct, immediate way with the soul, imparting its characteristics, whether good or bad, in an almost subconscious, involuntary way, to the listener.  Where does it lead me?  Does it call me upwards?  Or does it drag me down?  Does it speak to my spirit, to the heavenly part of me, or does it speak to the baser animal part of me?  Does it call me to be a human, to raise myself, or does it call me to be an animal, to degrade and lower myself?  Does it reflect values of balance and harmony that reflect the harmony of God’s creation and invite me to create a similar harmony within me?  Or does it reflect imbalance and dissonance and produce such dissonance and imbalance within me as an influence?  Does it elevate me or lower me?  Does it speak to my reason, or does it stoke my lusts?  What were the intentions of the person who made the music?  What sort of person was/is it?  Does it do something positive for me, or does it simply entertain me and waste my time?  Does it bring me despair and emptiness, or does it bring me hope?  These are the key issues.  

There are some basic guidelines that can help one to judge whether a piece of music is a positive, beneficial influence or not.  The following are not hard and fast rules; there are exceptions to these rules, but these are usually good guidelines, signs that there is something wrong with the music.  We need to look at lyrics, pitch, rhythm, and quality of the sound.  There are a few guidelines that can help to identify music that is inappropriate:

1. Profanity in lyrics.  In a very limited sense for dramatic emphasis it might be tolerable, but for the most part it shows baseness and lack of intelligence in the performer.
2. Vacuousness, lack of sense, pointlessness or foolishness in the lyrics.  Makes for a waste of time.  Empty.  Doesn’t bring you anything.
3. Lack of harmony and balance in the tone.  Presence of harshness, disharmony, dissonance.  Excessive percussiveness or sharpness.  Jarring tones that clash. 
4. Lyrics with improper messages of un-Islamic nature.  Celebrations of senseless violence, celebrations of sexual depravity like nudity and fornication, celebrations of drunkenness, drug taking, or other intoxications, celebrations of gambling or of excessive wealth or materialism, celebrations of pridefulness, promotions of racism, promotions of degrading images of women or ethnic groups, excessive pessimism, nihilism, or promotions of atheism.  Such content breeds and encourages bad values.  The only value of such music is perhaps to understand such mindsets, but there are probably better ways to do so.
5. Unrestrained sensuality or sexuality in the tone and style, seductiveness.  Sounds that though smooth and inviting on the surface, are like siren songs, stoking lust excessively.
6. Excessive stoking and manipulation in general of emotions – fear, anger, sadness, or even joy.  All music, and indeed all art affects the emotions by nature, and emotions in themselves are not a bad thing.  But it is when the emotions are stimulated in such a way that they go beyond all reasonable balance, such that the emotions and not the soul and mind are in control, that there is a problem.  This does not mean that music cannot have strong emotional reactions at different moments within a piece, but rather that in healthy, productive music, there is an overall balance of the different emotions that are touched, and subtlety.  Good and healthy music does not just play with the emotions of the listener in some decadent soap-operaish as if in some game, but rather, there is a purpose for the feelings that are produced, leading to something meaningful, teaching some new and powerful and inspiring lesson about what it means to be human.   

Now, it should be noted, to be fair to the extreme voices in the community about music, that much of what you will see sold at HMV or playing on the radio or Much Music today fails the above tests.  Almost all of it is either deadly harmful or a complete waste of time to listen to.  But still, there is a minority that is acceptable, and we must avoid being too drastic in our conclusions.

It is good for the leaders of the community to warn of the seductive dangers of music, which are very real, to point out to the youth of the ways in which music can capture your soul and thoughts, and how it can affect your mood, behavior, and outlook.  But we must be realistic in the way we describe these effects so as not to drive away and lose our youth.  They are the future of our community.