This subject has been on my mind a lot lately. Inshallah this will be very brief and just a few of my thoughts. I'm not going to get into whether or not music is haraam. There are plenty of different viewpoints on that: it's haraam, its halal if its only drums, is it cool if it's Islamic i.e. nasheed or groups like Native Deen.
A little background on my history with music. Okay so music has always been a big part of me and my life. My parents were big jazz fans and my name(real name) was inspired by Billie Holiday. Music has always had a deep emotional connection with me whether it's joy, sadness, anger etc. I have listened to ALL genres of music: classical, metal, pop, hip hop and jazz to name a few. I moved to Atlanta and was exposed to a whole new type of music that at first I was like this music is crazy and then later grew on me. Recently I have relocated to the sticks and music is just not that big a part of my life anymore. I don't watch the shows like TRL and 106th and park anymore, maybe because I'm older now and just can't get into or maybe because my mind state has just changed. I hardly listen to music anymore and if I do it's only in the car. I find that when I hear songs now I have no idea who the artist is and when I hear songs I used to listen to the connection is no longer there.
So I say all this to say that I've noticed that since I'm not listening to music as much I find myself listening to more quran and lectures online. Instead of looking up different artist on YouTube I'm looking up subjects like hijab, marriage, salah, surahs, etc. When I think about the number of lyrics that have been committed to my memory over the years its crazy to me! If I knew as many lyrics as surahs and ayas I could probably be hafiz by now. I view MOST music as a distraction from the siratal mustaqeem be it subtle or in your face. Look at the song titles that our out: I kissed a girl, My girl got a girlfriend, Juicebox, I'm in love with a stripper, Ms. independent and many more. Then to go along with the songs we have music videos which have a strong effect on how young women view themselves particularly in hop hop and pop. Many studies have been done on the negative effects of music videos and how they shape young girls self images.
So I'm not judging or saying stop listening to it now! I'm just saying if you listen to music(myself included) think about the effects mainstream music has and how much space it takes up in our minds that could be filled with Quran, ahadith, knowledge, etc.
Asalaamu alaikum
Nadira
Muslimah2Muslimah
SubhanAllah I know what you mean!
ReplyDeleteMy daughter can listen to a song like 5 times in a row and we both have memorized the lyrics but play a Qur'an ayah and not only we don't memorize it we can't even remebe how it starts liek 10 minutes later. I want to give up music really I do but everytime I try and I ask hubby to back me he says No, he follows a different interpretation that it's ok to listen but not to play. I dunno but that's the straw that breaks the camels back you know and I can't seem to bother deleting EVRything when he's jsut gonna get angry and reload it the next day. *sigh* a Jihad for sure sister.
Asa AMW, it truely is a jihad! Songs are set up to be easily remembered and catchy a def distraction. Even if you hear a song once it stays with you and might be humming it l8r on that day and not even realize it.
ReplyDeleteAlhumdulilah the Quran has been made easy for us to memorize we just have to take the steps of implementing into our daily lives. Reading surahs after salah, YouTube surahs I put surahs on my Ipod and listen to them on repeat. May Allah make it easy for you, your family and all of us to stop listening to music-ameen.
Nadira
Great and insightful post!
ReplyDeleteThis is actually a great way to look at music from a religious point of view and it makes sense why music could be wrong for us. We had a discussion on this topic in Muslim Club of my high school and someone brought up the question of why music is bad for us. This was very helpful =]
ReplyDeleteI could not agree more with you statements you made about music taking up alot of the space in a person's mind.
ReplyDeleteSalaamualaikum!!
ReplyDeleteUr blog is amazing alhumdulilah, but on this point i cant back any one... music is haraam in my view even states in surah luqmaan ayah 6. The resons is because ur cannot have both quraan and music in ur HEART, theres only room for one, music is anti islam, and so are instruments, and if no one has ever heard, even in christianity shaytaan is the BEST musician ever.
Does this mean i dont listen? no, its a huge fitnah for me, but i realize i need to stop. reason is because i honestly want my children to focus more on deen than the catchy tune they hear playing, music magnifys emotions times 10, u can be sad, play a heart broken song and cry ur eyes out, and think about 100 things that havent even happend to u, or u can be sad, read quraan cry for the sake of allah and wake up liberated and refreshed.
I even noticed how certain songs, glorifies haraam, and makes u want what the song is talking about, to the point where u may not go after it but in ur mind u desire it and ur iman weakens more and more. may allah help us all with this issue, i rather be able to have a soft heart and cry and weep for the sake of allah than cry over some sad lyrics some one wrote and I MYSLEF havent even been through it :), allah hafiz sisters!!! wa salaamaualaikum warahmatuaallah
Salam,
ReplyDeleteCould anyone comment of whether there is any authority on reciting particular surahs after prayers, like after fajr surah yasin or after isha' surah mulk??...I have been trying to find out for a very long time, also I see alot of people talk about things like, certain surah is cure for eyesight or heart ailment...I feel Qur'an is for our guidance and for people to learn wisdom, it cures deseases of souls...but I am not sure if it cures physical ailments just by recitation, usually without understanding.
If anyone has answer to my confusion please mail me on mahjabeen_01@yahoo.com or mahjabeensalman@gmail.com, thats because I usually just check my mail and dont surf the net...
Jazakullah-hul-khairankaseerah,
Ma'Salam
786
ReplyDeleteSalaamu alaikum rahmatullah wa barakatu.
i was just passing thru but this post caught me eye because music has always been a major part of my life. in fact, my mom used to sing alFatiha in a song and i had it memorized before i was 3. there where always singers, poets and musicians in our house and for as long as i could remember there was music, mostly culture music, playing. it is no wonder why i am a singer poet and musician now. i think it is important for us to keep in mind that everything is from Allah ta'ala, good and bad. when we consider this we have protection from shaytan when he uses things like music to lure us to sin. anything can be used as a tool of shaytan, even our own intellect. also, i think we should consider that everyone is in his own rank or degree so as we grow in our understanding, we learn that some things that may be haram for most might be halal or even fard for others. of course that's not to say that is true for all thing, in all issues, but think of ones like Rumi with poetry or, in our own time, Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens)with music. whatever is it is that we do, if we do it for the cause of Allah ta'ala and for that reason alone, we avoid the possibility of our deeds being tainted by our open enemy. i had to come to terms with this myself because music is in me and when i realized that it was a duty for me, the melodies started to flow and the words cam more frequently....
Masha'Allah, i love what you ladies are doing and i pray that your are rewarded with the highest Paradise under grace and in a perfect way. thank you, dear beloveds, please keep up your fabulous work.
masalaaama