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Islam, Music, And Personal Boundaries
Peace be upon you.My question is this: music itself is not inherently forbidden, but due to vulgar lyrics, something permissible can become impermissible. If a person listens only to instrumental music, then it is permissible, unless music becomes his constant preoccupation or obsession in life. I have taken a brief look at the chapter on Islam and music in Syed Mazoor ul Hasan’s book Maqalat, and the matter became clear to me.Now the issue is that I wish to acquire different musical instruments. However, a question repeatedly arises in my mind: does this inclination fall into the category of making music one’s “constant preoccupation”and can such an understanding be considered valid?
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7 Replies
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Islam, Music, And Personal Boundaries
updated 3 months, 3 weeks ago
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The concern about “constant preoccupation” is mostly about an activity mentally taking over your life to the point of addiction or the neglect of your daily responsibilities. It only becomes a concern if it disrupts your prayers, work, family life, or your sense of priority. Logically, spending time to master a musical instrument is a very productive and high-cognitive activity; it requires deep discipline and focus, which is very different from a mindless obsession.Even choosing music as a profession is perfectly acceptable, as the craft itself is a neutral skill. The only real boundary is whether the content—such as the lyrics or the message—clashes with your moral and ethical principles. If the music is a source of peace, creative expression, or aesthetic beauty, it aligns with the natural human appreciation for excellence. As long as your interest remains a balanced part of your life that adds creativity without displacing your core duties, there is no issue at all in pursuing this path or acquiring instruments.
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Thank you for your opinion. I do not wish to use these things as a profession; this is simply a personal interest and for personal use.
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And what is your opinion on the view that music creates hypocrisy in the heart?
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For me, music is fundamentally a neutral thing; it isn’t inherently bad, but the issue arises when an imbalance occurs. Until I was about 14 or 15, I always thought songs were haram and never listened to them, but later I realized that isn’t the case. Even now that I listen to music, I have never actually felt my heart slipping away or my spiritual connection weakening because of it.From a psychological and practical standpoint, I see two main issues. First, even if we don’t necessarily like a song, if it catches our brain’s attention, it becomes repetitive on our tongue through “earworms,” though this is easily controlled and isn’t a major problem. Second, and more importantly, the music industry often portrays things that become “normalized” in society. For example, in rap music, slurs are used so often that they have become a natural habit in daily conversation and social media just to seem “cool.” This desensitization is a real concern, but again, it can be kept under control if a person has the capacity to resist that influence.Islam tells us to keep a watch out for these things because not everyone is born with a strong spiritual connection or high self-awareness; these are learned traits. For the majority of people, keeping these influences under control is difficult, and since developing that level of self-regulation takes time, many of our early scholars and Buzrugs advised avoiding music altogether as a major precaution. It wasn’t because the sound itself was evil, but because they wanted to protect people from the psychological and moral “drift” that often comes when one lacks the awareness to filter what they are consuming.
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This is exactly my point.Even when I was very young and did not yet have developed critical thinking, if I heard music at night coming from someone’s room, I would wake up from sleep and sit by the window outside just to listen. In other words, I have had a deep interest in music since childhood. I even gave up music completely for two months.These things are not impermissible in themselves; rather, we make them so. Anything that starts to dominate the mind excessively becomes a source of trial and leads one into heedlessness from the remembrance of God. Just as children are a blessing, yet we sometimes turn them into a test for ourselves.Now I have reached the conclusion that I should limit myself to listening only and not purchase or use musical instruments.
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That is a really mature and self-aware conclusion to reach, and I truly respect that you’re taking such a clear stance for yourself. It’s not easy to be that honest with your own inclinations, but that’s exactly what these principles are meant to help us do—recognize our own boundaries so we can stay balanced.
At the end of the day, it’s all about staying in the driver’s seat of your own spiritual focus and making sure you’re the one in control of your hobbies, not the other way around.
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Thank you for your time. JazakAllah.
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