Review By Ahlam Chahid
On Friday February 29th at 6pm about 175 college students, parents, children, Muslim males and females filed into City College's spacious ballroom to attend an event that, for many, proved to be a rather life-altering discussion. Dawah center Of New York in conjunction with City College's Muslim Student Organization and the Women in Islam club set up a rather needed talk about the Islamic stance against music entitled "The End of Music" which was delivered by Sheikh Kamal El Mekki.
One could sense a feeling of eagerness and interest in the air before, during and after the event. After all, music has posed as a serious satanic obstacle for many believing and righteous brothers and sisters. For many, their hearts have become engulfed and swayed by what wrongfully seems, to some, as a simple and unimportant manner. Deeper thought into the manner has convinced a stark majority of the attendees of the gravity of music, for time and time again it has diverted Muslims from the straight path and temporarily blinded them from their true goal and drives in this life- attaining Allah (swt) love and a longing for paradise. As Sheikh Kamal El Mekki right fully put it, music has caused religion "to take the back seat". How many individuals, when asked the simplest questions about the Prophet Mohammed (sws), companions, or even the names of the Mothers of the Believers have nothing to reply with besides a blank stare. Yet when asked about the names, biographies, and latest gossip of singers; individuals who generate and deliver the worst messages to our youth, you'll find these very individuals with scores of answers and eagerness.
The talk was divided into two parts; the first discussed why music is haram and the second analyzed the arguments that exist for those that say that music is halal.
Sheikh Kamal El Mekki pointed out logic, statistics, stories from our time and the time of the Sahabah and evidence from the Quran and Sunnah to explain why music is haram. For instance, as many of us know Halal things are always surrounded by good and righteous things and individuals (such as Prayer, recitation of the Quran, etc) and Haram things are usually accompanied by Haram attributes. Music is known to by surrounded by many haram things such as alcohol, intermingling of the genders, inappropriately dressed females, and night clubs- just to name a few. One cannot fathom music to be played in a righteous setting such as a Masjid. Even the feeling that is gotten from listening to music is a weird type of high, one that deviates the individual from the Quran- one rarely can switch from listening to a music CD to recitation from the Glorious Quran. Umar ibn Abdul-Azeez wrote to the mu'adib his sons' tutor: "Let your first lesson for them be the hatred of musical instruments that come from (or begin with) Satan and end with the wrath of Allah; for it reached me from the people of knowledge that listening to music and songs grows hypocrisy in the heart as water makes plants grow." Quran takes the individual in one direction (abandoning ones desires, guarding chastity, etc) while music drags the individual in the other direction, these are two opposing mediums which cannot both reside in the heart of the believer. After all, as was mentioned during the event, it is not scholars, righteous woman or men, or people you'd turn to for serious advice who write the lyrics to songs. If music were a good thing, it would have surely benefited and softened the hearts of the musicians- however we know very well that they lead empty lives of psychological depression and bad behavior.
On average individuals aged 15-20 listen to 26.8 hours of music per week- this is precious time that is needed in defending and educating others about Islam, time that we will be held accountable for on the Day of Judgement. The speaker during the event noted a story of a young brother who while downloading free music off of the internet realized that for every second that he spent downloading he was upsetting Allah (swt).
In terms of proof from the Sunnah, while there are issues which the companions differed on- music wasn't one of them. The Sahabah all came to the conclusion that music was haram and not one of the 4 madahibs say that music is Halal. Perhaps the most terrifying reality mentioned by Sheikh Kamal El Mekki was that the angel of death has overlooked us so many times and has taken the lives of our brothers and sisters instead, however one day he is bound to overlook others and take your life- how can one be so sure that his/her last words will not be the lyrics of a song instead of Lah Illaha Illalah. Many will relate to having a song stuck in their head or sometimes we can't help but completing the words to a song we overhear playing in a department store. These are impulses some experience while they are alive and conscious, so what could possibly guarantee us control on our death beds.
The event was extremely enlightening and served as a motivational push for many. One sister who attended the event vowed she'd delete all of her songs off of her Ipod the minute she'd gotten home. Sheikh Kamal El Mekki ended with a motivational note; whoever leaves something for the sake of Allah (swt) will surely be rewarded with something far better- so leave music for the sake of Allah and He will replace it with something better.
Poem by Kamal El Mekki
O Muslim, lawful things have good attributes
Where is the good in singing, dancing and listening to flutes?
Can we compare the words of singers and sounds of Musicians
To the Glorious Quran, its lessons, wisdoms and admonitions?
How many singers do you know and give admiration,
And how many do you know of the companions and the following generation?
How much do you spend on singers from your dollars?
Compared to how many you know of Islamic Scholars.
Do you see how much is memorized of Music songs?
While you ignore the book to which memorization belongs?
How much do you memorize of these incantations?
And swayed back and forth in intoxication?
Have you not seen those who follow the misguided?
And increase the loudness of the Music, when they should hide it?
And who writes their songs? thinkers, or men of academia?
Or maybe scholars, like Ahmad, Malik or maybe ibn Taymiyah.
O you who listens to music..
Don't you see that All the songs of the world and all the lyrics you've seen
Wouldn't compare in reward to Alif Laam Meem
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