Music in Islam: Haram, Halal, or Does It Depend on Your Intention?
A question that Islamic scholars have debated for 1,400 years — and still haven't finished.
So here's the thing.
I run two YouTube channels. One is called Workout Music Motivation — energetic music for exercise, with lyrics that encourage you to keep going, stay patient, stay consistent, and put your trust in God. The other is called Sufi Cosmic Meditation — slow, deep dhikr set to music, designed to bring you into a calmer, more present state with Allah.
Both channels were built with the same intention: to help people stay connected to God, in a way that actually works for them.
And on both channels, almost every single week, the same comments show up. I know them by heart now:
"Brother, please make a version without music."
"Music is haram. Istighfar."
"Nasheeds should not be accompanied by instruments."
I'm not angry about those comments. I genuinely mean that. The people writing them aren't coming from a bad place — they hold a particular belief, and that is entirely their right.
But there's something I want to talk through with you today. Not to win an argument. Not to prove anyone wrong. But because I think this topic deserves to be discussed with more honesty, more depth, and more fairness to everyone involved.
So if you have a few minutes — sit down with me. Let's talk.
First: The Quran Never Says "Music Is Haram"
This is something we need to establish honestly, right at the start.
I've looked. You can look too. There is not a single verse in the Quran that explicitly says: "music is forbidden." Not one.
What exists are verses that have been interpreted — and that's where the debate begins.
The verse most commonly used by those who prohibit music comes from Surah Luqman, verse 6:
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَشْتَرِي لَهْوَ الْحَدِيثِ لِيُضِلَّ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ وَيَتَّخِذَهَا هُزُوًا ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُّهِين
"And among people is one who buys idle talk (lahwal hadith) to mislead from the way of Allah without knowledge, and who takes it in ridicule. Those will have a humiliating punishment." — (Quran 31:6)
Ibn Mas'ud radhiyallahu 'anhu interpreted lahwal hadith — "idle talk" — in this verse as singing and music. He reportedly swore by it three times to emphasize his conviction.
But — and this is important — Ibn Mas'ud's interpretation is not the only one. Other scholars understood lahwal hadith to mean any form of speech or entertainment that distracts people from Allah: gossip, false stories, meaningless content. Music is one possible interpretation, not a certainty.
Then there's a verse that rarely gets mentioned in this debate, but which I think is deeply relevant. Allah speaks about Prophet Dawud in Surah Saba, verse 10:
وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا دَاوُودَ مِنَّا فَضْلًا ۖ يَا جِبَالُ أَوِّبِي مَعَهُ وَالطَّيْرَ ۖ وَأَلَنَّا لَهُ الْحَدِيدَ
"And We certainly gave David from Us bounty. O mountains, repeat Our praise with him, and the birds as well. And We made pliable for him iron." — (Quran 34:10)
Prophet Dawud alaihissalam was gifted with the most beautiful voice in human history. In both Jewish and Islamic tradition, he played music while glorifying Allah. And Allah describes this in the Quran with reverence — the mountains and birds joined in his praise alongside him.
If music itself were problematic, I don't think Allah would have chosen this image.
The Hadith — Two Sides, Equally Strong
On the hadith side, the debate gets even more alive.
What is most often used to prohibit music:
لَيَكُونَنَّ مِنْ أُمَّتِي أَقْوَامٌ يَسْتَحِلُّونَ الْحِرَ وَالْحَرِيرَ وَالْخَمْرَ وَالْمَعَازِفَ
"There will certainly be among my nation people who will make lawful fornication, silk (for men), intoxicants, and musical instruments (ma'azif)." — (Reported by Bukhari)
This is the strongest weapon used by those who prohibit music. And I won't dismiss it — this is attributed to Bukhari, a name that carries enormous weight in hadith scholarship.
But here's something worth knowing: Imam Bukhari himself placed this hadith as mu'allaq — meaning the chain of narration is not fully connected at the point where it appears in his Sahih. This is precisely what scholars like Ibn Hazm later debated, with Ibn Hazm stating clearly that this hadith cannot serve as a definitive proof of prohibition.
This doesn't mean the hadith is fabricated. But in the science of hadith, there are levels of authentication — and the standing of this particular narration is not as airtight as is often assumed.
Now, what is often forgotten:
Aishah radhiyallahu 'anha said: "Abu Bakr came to my house while two young girls were beating tambourines and singing. The Prophet ﷺ was lying with his face covered. Abu Bakr scolded them. Then the Prophet uncovered his face and said:
دَعْهُمَا يَا أَبَا بَكْرٍ، فَإِنَّ لِكُلِّ قَوْمٍ عِيدًا، وَهَذَا عِيدُنَا
"Leave them, Abu Bakr. Every people has its celebration, and this is our celebration." — (Reported by Bukhari and Muslim)
This hadith is undisputed in its authenticity. Inside the Prophet's own home, there was singing and tambourines — and the Prophet didn't just allow it, he actively protected it from Abu Bakr's correction.
There is another narration that is equally striking:
"When the Prophet ﷺ arrived in Madinah, the women of the Ansar came out to welcome him, beating tambourines and singing:
طَلَعَ الْبَدْرُ عَلَيْنَا، مِنْ ثَنِيَّاتِ الْوَدَاعِ
"The full moon has risen over us, from the hills of Thaniyyat al-Wada'..."
And the Prophet did not forbid them." — (Narrated through multiple chains with good standing)
Picture that moment. The Prophet arriving in a new city, welcomed with music and song — and he smiled. No prohibition. No correction.
Even the Greatest Scholars Disagreed
I want you to know something that might surprise you: the most influential scholars in Islamic history held different views on music. And this is not a sign of weakness in the religion — it is evidence of how rich and intellectually honest the Islamic tradition truly is.
Imam Al-Ghazali — one of Islam's greatest theologians, author of Ihya Ulumuddin — wrote at length that music and singing which awakens love and longing for Allah is permissible, and can even become an act of worship. He wrote that the stiff soul sometimes needs to be "warmed up" before it can receive light — and that music can be that warmth.
Ibn Hazm of Andalusia was direct: there is no authentic proof that music is categorically forbidden. He strongly criticized those who declared it haram without sufficient evidence.
Imam Malik was known to permit singing, and the people of Madinah in his time were well known for not objecting to music.
On the other side, Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim held that music which causes heedlessness is haram. I can respect that view — and it is a view sincerely held by many devout Muslims today.
Both sides have great names. People who devoted their entire lives to knowledge. And they disagreed.
In Islamic jurisprudence, this is called khilafiyyah — a legitimate difference of scholarly opinion. It is not a matter that can be resolved with a YouTube comment.
So What's the Actual Standard?
If you read carefully through the positions of scholars on both sides, there is one thread that almost all of them share:
It's not the music itself that is the problem. It's where the music takes you.
Music that distracts from prayer and obligations, that inappropriately arouses desire, that accompanies sinful behavior, that makes a person forget Allah entirely — that is what is problematic.
But music that reminds you of Allah, that builds your resolve to do good, that helps the soul become calm and present before God — most scholars, across both camps, leave considerable room for that.
And that brings me back to what I actually make.
About What I Create — and Why
I won't pretend my choices are beyond question. They aren't. And I'm fine with that.
But let me share something honestly.
On Workout Music Motivation, I make music with strong beats because I know there are millions of people who run, lift weights, or cycle with earphones in. They're not going to stop mid-workout and sit quietly with an acapella nasheed — that's just not where they are. But if in the middle of their training session, the music in their ears carries lyrics reminding them to be patient, to stay consistent, to trust that Allah has never abandoned them — is that not worth something? Is that not better than listening to something with no spiritual value at all? like this video 👇👇👇
On Sufi Cosmic Meditation, I make dhikr with slow, layered music. This tradition isn't something I invented. The Mevlevi dervishes have been doing it for eight hundred years. Al-Ghazali wrote its intellectual defense long before I was born. In this context, music is not the destination — it is the bridge. A way to quiet the noisy mind so the heart can be fully present in dhikr.
Nasheeds without music? I love them. I genuinely respect Maher Zain, Mishary Rashid, all of those beautiful works. But that is not my voice. And I believe Allah created human beings with many different doors leading toward Him — not all of them the same shape. like this video 👇👇👇
One Thing About Saying "Haram" So Easily
There's one more thing I want to say — respectfully, but directly.
In Islam, declaring something haram is a very serious matter. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, known as one of the most careful scholars in history, once said:
مَنْ قَالَ حَرَامٌ فَعَلَيْهِ الدَّلِيلُ
"Whoever says something is haram, the burden of proof is upon them."
On the question of music — which, as we've seen, is an area of legitimate scholarly disagreement with major figures on both sides — typing "this is haram" in a comment section with such ease is something I think deserves a second thought.
You are allowed to disagree with my choices. You are allowed to hold the opinion that music is forbidden — that is entirely your right and I respect it. But there is a difference between saying "I personally disagree with this, in my view this is not recommended" and pronouncing a flat haram on someone else's work that was created with sincere religious intention.
The first is the manner of a knowledgeable Muslim engaging with difference. The second is... well, we all know what it feels like to read it in the comments.
A Closing Thought: This Is Not a Fatwa. It's an Invitation to Think.
I'm not here to issue a fatwa. That's not my place, and it's not what you need from a Medium article.
What I want you to take from this is one thing:
Islam is a rich, wide, and deeply nuanced religion. It contains room for legitimate scholarly disagreement — and the debate about music has been alive for over a thousand years, among people far more learned than any of us. That is not a crisis. That is a tradition.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
إِنَّمَا الأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ
"Actions are judged by their intentions." — (Reported by Bukhari and Muslim)
If the intention behind the music is to bring people closer to Allah — through the energy of movement, through the stillness of meditation, through lyrics that call people toward goodness — then that intention is known to Allah. And I am at peace with that.
To those who don't enjoy music: your view is valid, and there is plenty of other content out there that may serve you better. The internet is vast.
To those who find something meaningful in what I make: thank you for being part of this.
And to all of us — whatever path we choose, may it always lead toward the same place.
Toward the One.
If you hold a different view and want to discuss it, the comments are open. Good conversation, held with good manners, is also a form of worship.
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